I was recently up at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park and several deer wandered by. A young buck following a young doe. They were unconcerned with the constant stream of hikers going by. While they do have some natural predators (cougar), people aren’t in that category. (but their cars are)
Another set of images from a recent hike in the Olympic National Park. The top image is looking north from the end of the Blue Mountain road … a short walk takes you to the summit for an unobstructed view in all directions. The top image shows the town of Sequim and the Dungeness Spit, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and some of the San Juan Islands in the distance. The bottom image shows a view from the Grand Ridge Trail running out of Deer Park.
A wonderful hike runs along the Grand Ridge Trail from Deer Park towards Obstruction Point. There is some moderate elevation gain, but the trail starts at Deer Park which is in the subalpine zone, so there is no climb to “the high country”…. just a long dusty drive.
This is the abandoned car campground on the Dosewallips River. It makes a great spot to hike to and spend an evening or two while doing some dayhikes. It is also very interesting to watch the natural world reclaim the area. Stinging nettles are plentiful … that’s the majority of the ground cover in the near areas. But it makes a wonderful place to walk after dinner.
The Dosewallips River in early July is running high with snow melt in the high country. With our early hot weather, it is melting out quicker than expected … This image was shot from the Dosewallips Campground. There was a bend in the river that gave me a view up the valley some … I’m not out wading in the cold water.