This shot is taken from the upper trailhead to Mt Ellinor in the SE corner of the Olympic Mountains (but outside of the National Park). Notice the ‘crepuscular’ rays that coming down from the upper clouds. I hadn’t seen such very often.
This image is taken up the valley of the North Fork Skokomish not too far from where the upper image was taken. Although from several thousand feet lower and on a different day.
Mt Ellinor and Mt Washington provide the south end of the view of the Olympics from the Seattle area. There is a trail that runs to the top of Ellinor, while Mt Washington is an ‘easy’ more technical climb. The stunning views from the summit of Ellinor provide an attraction that draws thousands of hikers each summer. (Hint: avoid summer weekends. Don’t expect solitude.) There are several different trailheads, letting the hiker choose the length and strenuousness of the hike. A dusty gravel logging road provides access to the higher trailheads. The view from the top of Ellinor includes a view of Lake Cushman (below).
From the summit of Elinor, you can see Mt Washington and the Puget Sound basin, including Mt Baker (on the far left skyline, below) and Mt Rainier.
Turning the other direction you have a stunning view of the southern and central Olympics (below).
This was a late fall hike to the summit of Mt Ellinor and the view northeast to some of the Skokomish Range (the southeast corner of the Olympic Mountains … and outside of Olympic National Park). It was a light snow year … typically by mid-November the snow is deep enough to cut off access. While the weather here looks great, on the way back down (the opposite direction from the view here, and much easier traveling) the clouds moved in and it was socked in with thick fog. Good thing I knew where I was.
This photo was taken on my way up Mt Ellinor (see the previous post) on a day when the weather was deteriorating rapidly. It was a good hike anyway. The funny thing that happened was that when I returned to my car, I found that someone had decorated it with a bagel stuck on my radio antenna. (see below)
And no, I didn’t eat the bagel. (I was a little surprised that it wasn’t attacked by crows or ravens.
Mt Ellinor and Mt Washington are the two southernmost prominent peaks in the Olympics visible on the Seattle western skyline. Mt Ellinor was named after Ellinor Fauntleroy, a member of a pioneering Seattle settler family. Ellinor has a trail to the summit and is one of the most heavily hiked trails in the Olympics. The view is spectacular. Mt Washington has some technical climbing in order to access the summit.
Below is a closer view of Ellinor.
