This huge Western Hemlock is signed as the Largest Known Western Hemlock. (there has been arguments back and forth between Washington and Oregon about which state has the largest tree) That’s my pack leaning against it … it’s a large expedition pack … not a small daypack. This wonderful tree is located in the upper East Fork Quinault valley in the Olympic National Park.
The Enchanted Valley trail runs up the East Fork Quinault in the Olympic National Park. This is a rain forest valley and the forest is primarily Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock. Along the river bottom there are willows, maples and lots of alders. The image below is a small group that is in the middle of the stream bed … and likely to be washed away with the next big storm.
This is taken from the Slab Camp trail out of Deer Park in the Olympic National Park. The valley you are looking directly up is the Upper Gray Wolf. The ridge line on the left side of the image is Gray Wolf Ridge. I was stuck by the regular ridges running down from the main ridge to the right of the Gray Wolf. Cameron Creek runs along the base of that ridge.
Menzies Larkspur is a fairly common alpine wildflower in the Olympics. This one lives up on the shoulder of Green Mountain.
A quarter mile walk up an abandoned road takes you to the summit of Blue Mountain and a panorama of spectacular views. This is the view to the east, showing Mt Baker in the distance and Admiralty inlet in the middle of the image … this is where the Strait of Juan de Fuca meets Puget Sound (also known as the Salish Sea). What looks like an island in the right middle foreground is actually the north end of the Quimper Peninsula … location of my home town Port Townsend.
Note: while researching the course of the lower Gray Wolf River, I noticed that Green Mountain is west of Deer Park and the road above Deer Park climbs Blue Mountain. My mistake … I have called it Green Mt for years. Oops.