These are the last shots from my recent trip up to Deer Park in the Olympic National Park. In the panorama below, the three valleys (from left to right) are the Graywolf River, Cameron Creek and Grand Creek. Where they all run together is the Three Forks Shelter.
These shots were taken along the Slab Camp Trail out of Deer Park in the northern section of the Olympic National Park. Deer Park is in the subalpine area and is reached by an 8 mile drive on a steep, narrow, dusty road.
The Slab Camp Trail runs just at the upper edge of treeline for much of its upper end. You get these peeks out through the trees over to the peaks of the ridges along the Graywolf River.
The Slab Camp Trail runs from the subalpine meadows near Deer Park in the Olympic National Park down to Slab Camp on the Graywolf River in the Olympic National Forest. We just hiked the mile and a half from Deer Park to the park boundary, only dropping 600 feet of elevation. Once in a while we had some clearing and views, but most of the afternoon we were hiking with clouds blowing over the ridge, cutting our view down to the local environs. Just happy that it never rained.
Walking through fields of lupine up in the high country is one of my favorite things. It’s especially nice when it’s not wet and overgrowing the trail. Then your boots get wet … and usually your socks. It can be uncomfortable the rest of the day. Fortunately, this was dry and away from the trail. Another close up “panorama”.
Most of the white flowers here are American Bistort with one or two strays mixed in.
This was taken on the High Divide trail in Olympic National Park.
This is the photo that I chose for the cover of my hiking memiors: 60 Years of Hiking in the Olympics. I haven’t been able to get a book seller to carry the hard copy yet, but it is available as an eBook on the Amazon Kindle website.
I’ve got it priced low. By the way, if/when I get it available as a hard copy, I’ll let you all know. The 5.5″ x 8.5″ size is priced at $24.99 US and the interior photos are black and white. The Kindle version is priced at $2.99 US and the images are all in color (except for early images that I took on B&W film.) It is available globally.
Here’s the link (or search for “60 Years of Hiking”):