I have often posted images of the trail up the North Fork Skokomish … or showed images of the area. I was going through photos and found this nice pair of photos about 5 miles up the trail, where it crosses a small creek. A National Park crew was installing a new bridge. With hand rails on BOTH sides! Quite nice.
This is a shot from a viewpoint that overlooks Lake Cushman and has looks up the valley (which runs around to the right) of the North Fork Skokomish River. One of my favorite hiking locations. I was on my way back from a hike up Mt Rose, which is the hillside on the right of the image. It’s a steep trail and a good workout. I didn’t get anywhere near the top, since it was New Year’s Eve Day and therefore not many hours of daylight … and I got a late start.
This is the ridge that is just west of the North Fork Skokomish just north of the Staircase Ranger Station in the Olympic National Park. There’s something about misty ridges that attract and hold my attention. I’m not sure why that is … mystery? memories of when those clouds started raining on me?
It is something that comes with the coastal areas in the Pacific Northwest, though.
In the top photo, notice the Madrone tree in the middle … the one that looks all shabby. That is what the bark looks like when it doesn’t get much sunlight.
A couple of valley views. Number 1 is farmland off the Larry Scott Trail. Number 2 is looking southwest across the Chinese Gardens (there’s no gardens there anymore … refers to their historic location) in Fort Worden State Park.
