A view of the trail (over/a)head from the parking lot of the Swithchback Trail.
We departed at 9am for the Visitors’ Center for the park in Port Angeles. Maribeth and Steve dropped us all off while they ran off the get provisions for lunch. While at the center we took in the audio/visual presentation on the park and cruised the exhibits. We loaded up again and headed up the road to Hurricane Ridge.
“Up the road” was the operative phrase. The highway rose up the valley along the steep sides of the mountains. The trailhead for the Switchback Trail is three or so miles from the visitors’ center at the top of the ridge. The aptly named Switchback Trail rises up the side of a steep slope in switchback fashion. Maribeth didn’t know the vertical rise in the first half mile of the trail which rivaled the path up to the Torres del Paine in Patagonia (according to our National Geographic map of the park, the rise looks to be about 1000 feet - that's an image of the map above). Maribeth emphasized taking it slow and not over exerting yourself. At the very beginning of the trail, our ascent was carefully observed by a deer in the shadows. There were numerous wild flowers on the climb, but due to the precarious nature of the trail on the hillside I didn’t stop to snap pictures as often as I would’ve liked. Indeed, I generally kept my camera in my pack on this stretch of the trail.
The Switchback Trail meets the Klahhane Ridge Trail at the top of the climb, which follows the side of the ridges, rising until it reaches the overlook above the visitors’ center. The trail passed some incredibly steep subalpine meadows – their grasses golden in the late summer sun. There was a stretch where the path ran on the top of a ridge with the slopes falling off to either side. At one spot we found what looked like puma scat. (When Steve looked at the photo and asked a few questions, e.g. how thick are they, his assessment was it was likely coyote or other smaller animal.)
Maribeth met us at the foot of the next major climb, telling us to put it into low gear. The last uphill stretch went through the “vertical meadow” which kept me focused on the next three feet of trail until I reached the top where folks from the visitors’ center walk up from the other direction to use the point as an observation area.
The last little stretch of path took us downhill to the visitors’ center where we took the van a bit further up the road to where Steve had laid out the lunch spread.
A view of the trail (over/a)head from the parking lot of the Swithchback Trail.
A thistle complete with honeybee. Edible thistle (Cirsium edule).
A fuzzy view of the deer that was observing our initial ascent on the trail.
Pausing for a breather - Jonathan is on the next switchback above me.
Common (Scarlet) paintbrush (Castilleja miniata var miniata).
Our first view of the Olypmic glaciers.
Lynne and Regan on the last stretch of the Switchback Trail.
A wider view of the top of the Switchback Trail.
The road to the Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center.
Michael, Lynne, and Regan forge on the Ridge Trail.
Going around a corner of the ridge.
A view out the canyon.
Lynne and Regan.
The trail leads across many alpine meadows.
The central range of the Olympics.
The trail ran along the top of this ridge with vistas on both sides.
More trial along the ridge.
A look back along Kahhane Ridge.
There were portions of the trial that lead through the trees.
A closer, but slightly fuzzy view of paintbrush.
Looking up the slope.
I'm guessing that this is woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum lanatum).
Jonathan navigating the trail on the steep alpine slopes.
I'm guessing (again) that this is pearly everlasting.
No idea what this one is.
Scat - probably coyote. The diameter was too small to be puma.
Another switchback rest with Maribeth and Jonathan.
The trail we recently trod.
More trail.
Another view of the glaciers.
Looking northward - fog on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The trail ahead with some people on it.
More trail ahead to the right of the tree in the center of the image with glaciers in the distance.
Looking back along the valley.
Pausing for a shot.
Ridge upon ridge upon ridge fading to blue.
More woolly sunflower I'm guessing.
The road up to the visitors center.
Another purple wildflower.
The visitors center overlooking the valley to the south.
Olympic range with a golden alpine meadow in the foreground.
Looks like a bellflower of some sort.
Rather than take the afternoon walk, we opted to return to the lodge as Jonathan’s heel was bothering him. So we went back with Maribeth – and a side trip through Port Angeles to drop off the quiche dishes at the bakery. The fog was on the Straits of Juan de Fuca. As we entered town we could see one freighter out on the water at the edge of the fog, while there was a tanker partially visible.
When we got back to the lodge, I waded in the shallows of the lake, while Jonathan got all the way in. We adjourned to the bar where we were the custodians of the Country Walker tab until Steve and Maribeth came to relieve us of the task.
Our dinner that night was the farewell dinner, but the main event was the Yankee swap of farewell presents. I ended up with a cube of scenes from the national park. The most popular item was a set of cards with drawings by Maribeth. Jonathan ended up with a wood carving of a banana slug.
The main building at Lake Crescent Lodge.
Deck furniture made from skis - I didn't think they made comfortable chairs.
Mary, John, and Dede.
Lynne, Regan, Steve, and Maribeth.
Regan contemplating the possibilities with the hat.
Peter gets a laugh.
Steve modeling the hat (which he won).
Virginia, Ray, and Kathryn.
Maribeth, Virginia, and Ray.
Sondra making a selection from the remaining gifts.
It's a wooden carving of a banana slug.
Michael modeling another hat.
Oops, looks like Peter ended up with this hat.