These were taken less than 10 minutes apart … from Marrowstone I have to cross Indian Island to get home in Port Townsend. The top photo is looking pretty much southeast … Mt Rainer lies just to the left of the closest point. Below looks southwest to the Mt Constance – Buckhorn group of peaks … the northeast corner of the Olympic Mountains. Taken with my 70-300mm zoom on my Nikon D850: the top photo at 70mm and the bottom at 300mm.
I like the multiple layers in this image: the fields, the trees, the slight hint of a pond, the Olympics in the distance and a few clouds in the sky.
These were taken from the boat launch and campground area of Fort Flagler State Park on the north end of Marrowstone Island. The top photo shows the northeast corner of the Olympic Mountains including Mt Constance (the tallest pointy one) … the more rounded summit that looks higher, but is only closer, is Mt Townsend. In the foreground distance is a crane loading (or unloading) munitions from a Navy ship at the Naval Magazine on Indian Island. Below shows the northeast Olympics running west towards Port Angeles. The water in both images is the mouth of Kilisut Harbor off of Port Townsend Bay.
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).
