Hiking Hurricane Ridge (part 1)
Sep. 7th, 2021 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerOlympic Peninsula Travelog #8
Olympic National Park, WA - Sat, 4 Sep 2021. 11am.
Finally we begin our hike along Hurricane Ridge— a hike 13 years in the making! As skilled hikers we know that every hike begins with proper preparation. No, we didn't spend 13 years preparing, though we did spend an hour or so studying trail descriptions and maps. Then the visitor center at the trailhead had an even better map than we'd found online: this 3-D map of the Olympic Mountains.
"You are here" marks the visitor center. The Hurricane Hill trail heads off to the west/right from there, climbing out to Hurricane Hill, the highest point on the ridge.
I'd start the description of our hike with a picture of Hurricane Hill from the trailhead but there isn't one. The shape of the ridge is such that you can't see for a while after you start. Nobody's left wanting for views, though, as the Olympic high peaks to the south are constant companions.
The view of Mt. Olympus and neighboring snow-capped peaks wasn't the only view worth enjoying. While they were our constant companions to the left, Mt. Angeles and the Klahhane RIdge were our constant companions to the right.
In these photos you can see another piece of our preparation: coming dressed for the success. Though it's still summer, the weather up here at roughly 1 mile altitude will barely reach 60° today (about 15° C). And the wind is howling. They call it Hurricane Ridge for a reason! I'm wearing 3 layers of clothing; Hawk has 5. We packed extra layers beyond these in case the weather wasn't this "good". 😮
Finally after an enjoyable first leg of the hike the first real sight of Hurricane Hill came into view.
Hurricane Hill, elev. 5,757', is the top of the ridge at the right of the frame. You can see the trail winds around to the right, then around the far side of the knob to the left, then on up to the top of the ridge. From down here it looks so far! The starkness of the landscape ahead distorts the scale.
The adventure continues! Keep reading in Part 2: It's (always) Mountain Time.
Olympic National Park, WA - Sat, 4 Sep 2021. 11am.
Finally we begin our hike along Hurricane Ridge— a hike 13 years in the making! As skilled hikers we know that every hike begins with proper preparation. No, we didn't spend 13 years preparing, though we did spend an hour or so studying trail descriptions and maps. Then the visitor center at the trailhead had an even better map than we'd found online: this 3-D map of the Olympic Mountains.
"You are here" marks the visitor center. The Hurricane Hill trail heads off to the west/right from there, climbing out to Hurricane Hill, the highest point on the ridge.
I'd start the description of our hike with a picture of Hurricane Hill from the trailhead but there isn't one. The shape of the ridge is such that you can't see for a while after you start. Nobody's left wanting for views, though, as the Olympic high peaks to the south are constant companions.
The view of Mt. Olympus and neighboring snow-capped peaks wasn't the only view worth enjoying. While they were our constant companions to the left, Mt. Angeles and the Klahhane RIdge were our constant companions to the right.
In these photos you can see another piece of our preparation: coming dressed for the success. Though it's still summer, the weather up here at roughly 1 mile altitude will barely reach 60° today (about 15° C). And the wind is howling. They call it Hurricane Ridge for a reason! I'm wearing 3 layers of clothing; Hawk has 5. We packed extra layers beyond these in case the weather wasn't this "good". 😮
Finally after an enjoyable first leg of the hike the first real sight of Hurricane Hill came into view.
Hurricane Hill, elev. 5,757', is the top of the ridge at the right of the frame. You can see the trail winds around to the right, then around the far side of the knob to the left, then on up to the top of the ridge. From down here it looks so far! The starkness of the landscape ahead distorts the scale.
The adventure continues! Keep reading in Part 2: It's (always) Mountain Time.
