Olympic National Park - Hurricane Ridege Loop Trails

Monday- Hurricane Ridge

My humble little campsite...

I followed the same pattern - rose at 6, changed clothes, brushed teeth, but this time I packed the tent (but left the fly and footprint in the backseat to dry, and threw everything in the car and headed to Port Angeles for breakfast.  

On the way, I drove along Lake Crescent as the sun was rising and was treated to this beautiful scene.

In just moments, the sun was high enough to illuminate the eastern end of the lake.

According to the signage, "this fiord-like terrain with steep rock walls and a long narrow lake was carved by a glacier.  As the glacier receded, it left the lake whose 600' depth demonstrates the strength of the glacier's gouge.


I found a little coffee bar and got a large light and sweet with a toasted bagel.  I stopped at the Olympic NP welcome center for intel and then proceeded up Hurricane Ridge Road. The entrance road to Hurricane Ridge was long, steep and winding, but the slow climb was perfect for taking in the mountain views.  

I parked the car at the Hurricane Ridge Ranger Station...

 ...and was awestruck by the glacial views that we so easily accessible.  

 Here's how you can ID all the peaks!

The panorama...

  Most of the Ranger Station wasn’t open yet, so I started out on the Cirque Rim Trail.  The Mountain View’s were nice but not spectacular.  

 The round peak is Hurricane Hill.  The two little spikes are Unicorn Peak and Unicorn Horn with Griff Peak to their right.  Lost in the haze is Vancouver Island, the Straight of Juan de Fuca, Victoria, San Juan Island, and the British Columbia Coast Range.

Another view with some cool framing.

I took some photos of a doe and her fawns and then made my way up to Sunset Ridge for sweeping views of the alpine scenery.  

I climbed up to Sunrise Ridge for some sweeping views - here looking west.

In B&W...

 A panoramic shot...

I took a picture of a couple from Brevard County in NC and we talked for a while about Kathi and I retiring there.  As I bid my future neighbors farewell, I continued on the High Ridge Loop Trail that circled me back to views of the Lilian and Elwa River valleys ...

 ... and the Olympic Range came back into view.

 The snow towards the center of the frame is the Blue Glacier with Mt. Olympus (7,960') to the right (I think!) and then Mt. Carrie (6,995') to the right of that.

I couldn't get enough of these views!

 In B&W...

I made my way back to the Ranger Station and soaked up the info inside.  Check it out!

Did you know that the first documented ascent of Mount Olympus was made by three members of the O'Neil Expedition in 1890?  For reference, Washington only became a state in 1889 and the Olympic Peninsula was a mysterious and forbidding wilderness.  In 1907 the Mountaineers, a Seattle hiking club organized an expedition to climb the East Peak, Middle Peak and West Peak (the tallest).  The party that reached the West Peak included Anna Hubert, the first woman to climb Mt. Olympus.

Here's a cool topo rendering of the range relative to the Hoh River Valley and Cape Flattery and the Ozette beach area.

These mountains were formed by plate tectonics and glaciation.  Cool!

More fascinating topo displays:  looking south from Port Angeles...

Cape Flattery and Ozette...

The Hoh River flows into the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary in the upper right of the photo below.

Great views, easy access, short hike, Hurricane Ridge is a must see spot in Olympic NP, especially when there’s more snow at altitude.

I made some purchases in the gift shop (one of the best I found) to commemorate my trip, stamped my National Park Passport but they didn’t have a park pin (which I collect) and said they were sold out everywhere.  A little crestfallen, I started down the mountain, but had to stop to take in the miraculous views.

I decided to stop at the Park Welcome Center on the way out and found that they had just restocked the pins - Booya!

They also had this little piece of gold which they pulled out of the file upon request.

Triumphant, I jumped into the car and checked my ETA for Seattle.  I had plenty of time to make it before my 5pm rendezvous with cousin Jennifer so I treated myself to a shower at a local
Port Angeles hostel (info provided at the Olympic Welcome Center).

The Toad Lily House Hostel - shower, 5 bucks placed in an envelope next to the roll-top desk.  Groovy! 

 Refreshed, I grabbed  a quick lunch and then hit the road.  I guess I lallygagged long enough for
traffic to set in because The GPS was now getting me into Kirkland at 6pm.  I opted for a quicker, shorter route that involved taking a ferry (to get the full Seattle transportation experience).  Unfortunately, I sat for a 45 minute bridge lift across Squamish Harbor to Port Gamble and then just missed the early Kingston/Edmonds ferry so I cooled my heels in the parking lot for another hour before I could board. Finally, the ferry pulled into the pier...

 and we could board.

 Then (!) in the middle of the Puget Sound, the Coast Guard decided to do a man overboard drill which delayed me even further! To pass the time away, I found a puzzle and added a piece to its completion - no easy feat since all the edges and major blotches of color had already been placed.  I rolled into Jen’s place 2 hours late, but I dumped the car and we headed to her marina for a quick boat ride on Lake Washington.  Jen showed me the sites including Bill Gates compound and various other homes of the rich and famous from Google, etc.  We ate Asian chicken salad at the marina park as her lovable son filled the sky with cattail seeds an we watched the setting sun drape the Olympic range in a blanket of orange hue.

 We made it home, I patted their pup Luna on the head, and crashed.