This tree was along the trail from Boulder Camp (in the upper Dungeness River valley) to Marmot Pass. I thought it looked like a sentinel watching over the trail. It is in the Buckhorn Wilderness outside of the Olympic National Park and is very much in the rain shadow section of the Olympic Peninsula… hence the lack of much undergrowth.
The Dungeness River runs north out of the Olympic Mountains into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There are no dams and the water is clear (no glaciers in this section of the Olympics). The Upper Dungeness trail runs along the river for the first couple miles before climbing to higher elevation. It is a very pleasant hike, the river cools the air even on warm days.
I saw this butterfly landing on yarrow up at Camp Handy while out backpacking in the Olympic National Forest. Was glad it stayed around long enough for a photo or two. (confession: I had to look up the identification in a book on my return home)
This is the view north from Constance Pass, the divide between the Dosewallips valley and (above) the Dungeness River Valley. You can just make out some of Vancouver Island around the Victoria area across the Strait of Juan De Fuca. This area is mostly in the Buckhorn Wilderness area of the Olympic National Forest, not in the Olympic National Park.
Along the ridge near Constance Pass are a couple of rock shelters (shown below). I haven’t been able to track down their origin. However, they must have provided a welcome windbreak during stormy weather.
