Outdoor adventures, mostly gravel rides, but not always
An easy beach trail along the Olympics' South Coast
A tale of so many fronts: sun, fog, thicker fog, sun breaks. “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes” was never truer advice.
A beautiful alpine meadow filled with wildflowers & views
The upper meadow at Marmot Pass is one of my favorite locations in the Olympics having hiked there a few times. The WTA reports suggested the wildflowers were in bloom – perfect!
An easy loop around the Icicle Creek Gorge with a variety of water views
A nice morning loop around Icicle Creek with a variety of forest, hill, and water views.
A hike through the remains of a forest fire to a picturesque alpine lake
We go to the trail early (7:30 am) mid-week to plenty of parking. The trail to Eightmile Lake starts through a burn from 2017 resulting in little cover from the sun and a lot of shrubby new growth. Fortunately the views along the trail are plentiful from the start and the grade wasn’t too bad for our mixed-skills hiking party.
A short and steep loop to expansive views into the heart of the Olympics
With record breaking heat descending on the PNW, I sought relief in the mountains and took advantage of the snow melt to photograph wildflowers. I really enjoyed this loop and until recently it was not on my radar; nor others apparently because very few trip reports were available at the WTA.
A day hike to the Mt Townsend summit from the Little Quilcene River trailhead
A nice day hike to Mt Townsend from a new-to-me trailhead. The wildflowers are out in force and the trail is in great shape without a single blow down.
A classic Enchantments hike to an alpine lake
With the snow mostly gone, I opted for the classic hike to this gorgeous alpine lake.
A mixed surface trail run through the Olympics
We wanted a bit of an adventure run without a lot of running through snow and this route was nearly perfect.
A loop trail over Mt Townsend with a stop along the way at Silver Lakes
Mt Townsend is an extremely popular hike in the Olympics appearing in all the popular day hike books. This route built on the standard hike by adding an extension to make a loop via a short jaunt on FR 2870 and the Silver Lakes Way Trail.
One of the more beautiful hikes in the Olympics, especially for visiting high alpine lakes
I hadn’t been to Royal Lake since a backpacking trip in July 2011. At the time we were unable to make it to the upper basin because of a late melting snow pack. I was excited to explore the upper basin on this trip as over the last few years I had become pretty familiar with the region from prior rides and hikes.
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