Only did a half mile of this trail. Wind was blowin' pretty bad, and started hurting my teeth. So, turned around once I got to Little River Trailhead. It was sunny at that time. Trail in good condition. Autumn is really showin off up there. Not too busy on the trail either. Had a chipmunk pop out of a bush and pose for me.

Our group of Intrepids parked at the Hurricane Hill parking lot and began our hike amid cries of 'spectacular scenery'!...This is a short hike modestly uphill, around the other side of Hurricane Ridge...views of Mt Olympus and the entire Olympic range were a panorama around us. The day was completely clear and sunny, we saw many blue grouse near summit of hill. Fall colors starting to show in patches of huckleberry bushes.

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.

Today we were celebrating Annie’s 35th b’day and my 50th hike of 2009! We set our sights on somewhere in ONP. I pm’d Bobbi another nwhiker for ideas of hikes since this is her backyard. She ended up coming with us, and was our personal tour guide! What a great time we had! No goat sightings today but plenty of flowers, butt burning hills to climb, and lots of deer and marmots. The views were truly spectacular today, I picked the best weather day and the mountains did not disappoint us. Thanks ladies for an awesome hike. If you want to see Avalanche lilies now is the time! I’ve never seen so many! I got a decent shot of the 1 tiger lily we saw too, oh and chocolate lilies (my first time seeing those live). It was an exciting day full of laughs, and great company.

The fearless foursome from the Elwha trip went up to Hurricane Ridge to hike and take in the views. Joani and I had been up the road in June when construction was just starting. The road is now in much better shape and should be completely repaved by the end of September. The road work is truly magnificent and the Park Service and contractor (it appeared to be a Port Angeles company) should be praised for the excellent work. Another note, Joani left her favorite vest up the Elwha trail on Wednesday. We drove to the Whiskey bend trail head on Thursday and found it on the trail head sign. Many thanks to the person or persons who found and returned it to the trail head! Our hike on Hurricane Ridge took us to Sunrise point with great views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Victoria, PA, the Olympics etc. etc.. The hike (high ridge trail loop) is easy and well worth the effort. Excellent views of the old ski lift that went down the north face of Hurricane Ridge and which my wife had never seen nor known about. Lift appears in excellent shape despite being shut down for 25 or 30 years, maybe more. Other than views we saw a deer and brown bear (back bear with a brown coat). The bear was close to the visitor center and attracted a large crowd, including a Park Ranger. The bear was unfazed by the people viewing her but I for one was glad to walk away from her area.