Hurricane Hill — Friday, Jul. 17, 2009

Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast

It was a perfect day to visit Hurricane Ridge--although it was quite warm, there was a breeze at the top that kept it comfortable. Lots of people on the trail to Hurricane Hill. We went there first, and looked out at the great views, and then headed down a short distance to the intersection with the Hurricane Hill trail to the Elwha. After only a few yards in the meadow near the intersection, we saw a marmot so large that for a moment I thought it was a bear cub. Once we had left the main trail, all the crowds were gone, and we didn't see another person until we returned to the main trail several hours later. I've found that this lonely trail is the real reason I return to Hurricane Ridge. The views are far more spectacular and interesting as you continue along the ridge and descend into enormous meadows, and this time the flowers were in bloom. I was particular impressed with the great numbers of wild roses in the meadows. (The trail along the ridge is steep and has places that are difficult at times to keep your footing, due to the bad tread, especially on the way down, and it is quite overgrown in the meadows.) We descended to about 4200 feet and decided we better turn back, knowing that we had to climb back to 5500 . I found that the heat had made the return more difficult than I expected. Somehow, a reverse elevation hike seems more tiring. It was nice to relax a bit before the long drive home by sitting on the deck of the lodge with ice cream.