I try to remember to keep looking up as I hike along trails. If you keep your eyes constantly moving, there is much more you will notice. When my attention gets snagged, I try to remember that if I’m noticing something, it’s a good idea to evaluate if there is a photo there.
This is the view from the Slab Camp trail looking SSE into the central Olympics.
This view is from a mile or so down the trail from the above. In this image you have a better view of the valleys coming together, close to meeting at Three Forks on the Gray Wolf River.
The valleys are the Lost Creek, Cameron Creek and Gray Wolf River.
Both images are composites of several frames … with the final file running over 130MB.
The subalpine areas of the Olympic National Park are not easy to access, except for two locations where roads run up to over 5000′: at Hurricane Ridge and at Deer Park. The road to Hurricane Ridge is two lane, paved the whole way and open year round (weather permitting … and usually only on the weekends during the winter). The Deer Park road is narrow, winding, gravel and closed once snow begins to fall. Both areas have trails that you can hike. This is the view from along the Slab Camp trail, running east from Deer Park.
I was up hiking in one of the easy to access alpine areas in the Olympic National Park and saw this Townsend’s Chipmunk hanging from a Canadian thistle top. I love the way the back toes are splayed out.
There aren’t a lot of days when it is bright and sunny in the Olympic National Park … often the clouds are low and drip on a regular basis. This is true even in mid-summer when the lowlands are hot and dry. It is therefore always a pleasure to chance upon clear sunny weather and be hiking into sunlit openings.