Hiking to Sunrise Point

Olympic Peninsula Travelog #20
Sunrise Point, Olympic National Park - Mon, 6 Sep 2021. 10am.

This morning we got up early to start our day in Olympic National Park. It feels ironic that this morning, our last day in the area, was the one we got up early. We ate breakfast, packed our bags, and checked out from the hotel by 8am. The previous 3 mornings we didn't roll until 9. But getting an early start today was imperative. We needed enough time to hike several miles in the park and still be able to drive 3+ back to SEA airport in time for our flight home.

We arrived up at Hurricane Ridge before 9. The sky today was brilliantly clear compared to the gloom of the past few days. It made me wish we had time to re-do all of Saturday's hiking up here! Alas we only have a few hours.



I slaked my thirst to do everything over by just taking a few pictures over. Here's a view (photo above) of the park's high peaks seen from Hurricane Ridge. Mt. Olympus is in the way back toward the left. On the far right is the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center.

We began hiking around 9. Our goal for the day was to hike to Klahhane Ridge— or at least toward it. More on that in a moment. Our immediate goal was Sunrise Point, a dual-peak hill a few hundred feet above the trailhead.



Once we were over the first hump of Sunrise Point the views toward Klahhane Ridge opened up significantly. In the photo above you can see Sunrise Point's second peak on the left. In the distance is actually Klahhane Ridge, with Mt. Angeles its peak. The half-tree-lined ridge in the mid ground is actually still part of Hurricane Ridge, I believe. Maps and guides are unclear on whether that's part of Hurricane Ridge or Klahhane Ridge. Either way that's where we'll go... soon.

I mentioned the other day that one weird thing you have to get used to about hiking peaks is that while you're looking up from below you're frequently looking up at the peak; you set that as your frame of reference. But once you're atop the peak it's no longer in the frame. It's under your feet! If you want photos of the mountain you're in the wrong place. 🤣 Thankfully the point of hiking to Sunrise Point is not to see Sunrise Point— it's actually kind of ugly as a treeless, triangular summit— but to see from Sunrise Point.



Here's a view back down over Hurricane Ridge to the high peaks again. As we've gained elevation, Mt. Olympus more clearly emerges in the distance (left).

You can also see in this photo that the parking area on Hurricane Ridge is not very full. When we finished our last visit Saturday afternoon it was packed. This is one of the benefits of getting an early(ish) start on the day. There are still a fair number of people on the trail already this morning... but nothing like the human parade on Saturday.



Mt. Olympus isn't the only great view from up here, of course. This photo shows the view up the Elwha Valley— miles further upstream than we were able to get yesterday— from Sunrise point. In this view, Olympus is off to the left and Obstruction Point is off to the right.

Another thing you have to keep in mind when hiking mountains is that sometimes the view is not where you're focusing. You may be looking down at (or below) your feet and not see something above, or be looking far off and not see what's below your feet. A small herd of deer were foraging on the steep hillside below Sunrise Point.



This is another benefit of being out early(ish) in the morning. It aligns better with the activity cycle of wildlife; they're most active in the hours after down and before dusk. And with fewer of us humans on the trail at this hour, there's less chance of us frightening them off.

To Klahhane Ridge and Back

Olympic Peninsula Travelog #20
Back at Hurricane Ridge - Mon, 6 Sep 2021. 12pm.

The trail to Klahhane Ridge is a long one, almost 8 miles round trip, and with lots of up and down. We weren't sure how much we'd have time or energy for. We decided to take it one section at a time.

From our perch atop Sunrise Point (previous blog) at end of the first leg of the hike, we could see a lot of the trail below us.



The route toward Klahhane Ridge started from the saddle between the dual peaks of Sunrise point. It descended at an angle across the flank of Sunrise on a path that seemed barely carved out from the steep hillside (left in the picture above) then up along the ridgeline to a knob, then continuing along the ridgeline slightly down and back up to a higher knob. We decided we could get that far with our time and energy.



The trail went by quickly. It helped that there were views in all direction, including every time we stopped to look behind us (picture above). Time flies— and so do distance and exertion— when you're having fun.



We got to the second knob we targeted. When you look back, though, you realize it's actually the fourth knob— counting the two we climbed at Sunrise Point. This is where we turned around, figuring the round trip with its distance and elevation gains made a reasonable half-day hike.

Back at Hurricane Ridge we found just a smidge more energy in our reserves. We extended our trek with a walk along the paved paths there. By this point in the day the trails were crowded— and the parking lot would be full when we returned to it— but we enjoyed the distance views nonetheless.



In this photo (above) you can see Hurricane Hill. It's the tallest peak, on the left. We hiked Hurricane Hill Saturday. The valley the ridge circles around is actually a glacial cirque. The glacier that carved this area is long gone, though a few small ones remain below the peaks of Mt. Olympus and its neighbors.