Deer Ridge — Wednesday, Jul. 30, 2003

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

The Deer Ridge Trail apparently doesn't get a lot of use--we only saw one other person on it and the trail register showed no-one for the past few days. Of course the heat might have had something to do with it. The trail begins at 2540 feet and climbs slowly at first, only gaining 750 feet for the first mile and a half. But after that it becomes VERY steep; the forest service says it's a 35% grade at times. Luckily, the steepest portions were in the forest; it would have been unbearble to climb so steeply in the direct sun. The trail breaks out into open slopes at around 2.5 miles and the views are magnificent all along the ridge, which continues all the way to Deer Park at 5.2 miles, at about 5300 feet. The last two miles have quite a gentle elevation gain and it gives you a chance to enjoy the views of Mount Baldy and surrounding peaks and down to the Grey Wolf basin far far below. The hot dry weather has really taken its toll on this area, however. There were only scattered, dried flowers here and there; the meadows must be splendid when it's been a ""normal"" summer. It's a bit disconcerting to reach Deer Park and find automobiles at the upper trailhead. (It would have been even more so to have taken the hike a couple of days earlier and found Laura Bush's convoy of vehicles in the parking lot!) But on Thursday, the camping area was deserted except for the parked cars, and we had a nice cool lunch on a picnic table under the trees. You need to watch your feet on the way down since the trail is very narrow and beginning to slide downwards in places; there's quite a steep slope beneath you the whole way. I'm glad I had a hiking pole.