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canyonwalkerOlympic Peninsula Travelog #7
Olympic National Park, WA - Sat, 4 Sep 2021. 7pm.
Here it is entry #7 in a series of blogs about visiting Olympic National Park and I've just now gotten to the park. In blog seven. We had good reason to take our time getting here, though. The three waterfalls we visited yesterday on our slow drive out here were gorgeous. In case you're wondering, "What's the deal with all these waterfalls? Do you guys have like, a book or something?" the answer is Yes, yes we do have a book. And we supplemented it with a pamphlet we picked up yesterday at a ranger station that lists 25 waterfall hikes in the area. Trust me, there are more waterfall blogs to come!
But today is not about waterfalls. Today is about Hurricane Ridge. And lest you think 7 blogs constitutes taking a long time to get here consider that it's actually taken us 13 years.
13 years. The last time we stood atop Hurricane Ridge and gazed at the high peaks of Olympic National Park was June 2008. The pic above is today. Mt. Olympus, elev. 7,980' is on the left, mostly obscured by clouds. On the right is Mt. Carrie, elev. 6,995'.
What's different now from 13 years ago? We're here later in the summer so there's less slow. During our 2008 trip there was still enough snow lingering atop this ridge at elev. 5,242' that the trails were all blocked. We drove up here, looked around a bit, and had to drive back down the mountain. Today, instead, we'll hike along Hurricane Ridge to the top of Hurricane Hill— which is what we wanted to do 13 years ago. And later this weekend we'll come back up here for another hike out Klahane Ridge.
Why wait 13 years to come back? Eh, that's just how long it took. It's a short season up here, just a few months, between when one winter's snow reliably melts and the next winter's snow begins to fall. With our ability to travel constrained by being working stiffs with meager US vacation benefits, the opportunity to return hasn't come around too often. We've considered it a few times in past years but have chosen to pick other items off the bucket list instead. It's a big list! And our opportunities are too few. But here we are now. Time to hike!
Olympic National Park, WA - Sat, 4 Sep 2021. 7pm.
Here it is entry #7 in a series of blogs about visiting Olympic National Park and I've just now gotten to the park. In blog seven. We had good reason to take our time getting here, though. The three waterfalls we visited yesterday on our slow drive out here were gorgeous. In case you're wondering, "What's the deal with all these waterfalls? Do you guys have like, a book or something?" the answer is Yes, yes we do have a book. And we supplemented it with a pamphlet we picked up yesterday at a ranger station that lists 25 waterfall hikes in the area. Trust me, there are more waterfall blogs to come!
But today is not about waterfalls. Today is about Hurricane Ridge. And lest you think 7 blogs constitutes taking a long time to get here consider that it's actually taken us 13 years.
13 years. The last time we stood atop Hurricane Ridge and gazed at the high peaks of Olympic National Park was June 2008. The pic above is today. Mt. Olympus, elev. 7,980' is on the left, mostly obscured by clouds. On the right is Mt. Carrie, elev. 6,995'.
What's different now from 13 years ago? We're here later in the summer so there's less slow. During our 2008 trip there was still enough snow lingering atop this ridge at elev. 5,242' that the trails were all blocked. We drove up here, looked around a bit, and had to drive back down the mountain. Today, instead, we'll hike along Hurricane Ridge to the top of Hurricane Hill— which is what we wanted to do 13 years ago. And later this weekend we'll come back up here for another hike out Klahane Ridge.
On the Bucket List, Off the Bucket List
When we were thwarted from doing these hikes in 2008 we were disappointed. They were the thing we most wanted to do in the park. The trip was hardly a failure, though. We did other things in and around Olympic National Park instead. We put Hurricane Ridge back on our bucket list. We knew we'd have to come back out here eventually to hike it.Why wait 13 years to come back? Eh, that's just how long it took. It's a short season up here, just a few months, between when one winter's snow reliably melts and the next winter's snow begins to fall. With our ability to travel constrained by being working stiffs with meager US vacation benefits, the opportunity to return hasn't come around too often. We've considered it a few times in past years but have chosen to pick other items off the bucket list instead. It's a big list! And our opportunities are too few. But here we are now. Time to hike!
