Hurricane Hill — Saturday, Jun. 19, 2004

Olympic Peninsula > Northern Coast

Hurricane Hill trail is clear of snow and downed trees all the way to its junction with the paved route from the Hurricane Ridge area. This is one of the nicest trails in the Olympics for quick access to high vistas in a lonesome setting. If that sounds too good to be true, here's an alternate description: Hurricane Hill trail is steep, cruel, and ungentlemanly in the lowest sense of the word. It's one thing to make you work for it; it's another to soften you up with a thousand feet of elevation in the first mile, then sucker punch the weary hiker with sudden pitches of straight up on skiddy dirt track in an endless and viewless wood. By the time the light at the end of the forest is reached, the average outdoorsperson would be shocked to learn that it's only been four miles. From here on out, reap the spectacular harvest of your hard work, as you climb above the treeline into remote and gorgeous meadows far from the madding crowds. Keep and eye out in the first meadow past the trail for black bears lazing in a patch of sun, and enjoy the unbroken display of wildflowers about your ankles and mountain topography across the Elwha valley. Don't be surprised to have the trail all to yourself pretty much until near its junction with the paved trail. If you've run out of water (as most everyone on this trail does, despite crossing a couple fine waterup streams in the woods), but not out of energy, wander to the top of Hurricane Hill, then down the paved trail two miles or so to the parking lot, and another quarter mile to water spigots providing some of the most delicious drinking you'll ever taste. From here it's only a couple more easy wandering road miles to the visitor center where a bowl of Campbell's noodle soup goes for four and a half bucks. I killed off four nitrate delivery system hot dogs-- a cool twelve bucks with tip, but who's counting? It's a celebration of life.