Taking advantage of beautiful warm spring weather, we went up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. The views were stunning, but comparing the view (above) with a photo from about the same spot back 5 years ago and three weeks later in May shows that we have a very low snowpack this year.
For another view, this time looking down the Elwha River valley. This one is a little more difficult to compare snowfields, because they are similar and both are a long ways away.
This was taken a few years ago when I was more able to wander around the high country. We were on our way up to the High Divide and then down to Hoh Lake and back. (Note that the pack doesn’t have a sleeping bag or other items strapped to it … a sure give away that this is a day hike.) We were camped down in the basin (which requires a hard to secure reservation for camping) and were enjoying the scenic highcountry without having a heavy pack. The 7 Lakes Basin is a frequent camp location to those hiking the High Divide loop trail, which provides some of the most stunning views of Mt Olympus and the central Olympics.
I was up on Dodger Point in the Olympic National Park in June when all the Avalance Lilies were in bloom. It was amazing. I’m not concerned about having a lot of other folks heading up there and having the meadow distroyed by wildflower fans. Currently it’s a 18 mile hike to get to this location, and 10 miles of that is a continuous uphill … not really steep, but just continual up.
These are trees above the Sol Duc vallely in the Olympic National Park on the Deer Lake Trail. While it wasn’t raining on this day, I haven’t spent much time in the Sol Duc valley without it getting cloudy, foggy, rainy, or at least drippy. And I’m not exactly sure if the Sol Duc meets the definition of a rain forest. The next valley down does meet the rainfall requirements … as do the next 3 major valleys after that. (Bogachiel, Hoh, Queets and Quinault)
Regular readers will have noted that I often have images of misty mountain ridges. And yes, I really like the mystery of watching clouds move through the forested ridges that are so common in the Olympic Mountains. So, I hope you enjoy this one, it’s a nice one that shows the misty mood pretty well.