Mount Storm King

Monday morning, we woke up and went to breakfast at 48 Degrees North next door to the hotel.  On the way, we saw the sky light up fiery orange as the sun began to rise.

We arranged for a seat next to the window to watch the sunrise with a yummy breakfast.  The Belgian waffle was delicious.  After breakfast, we got our stuff together and made our way to Crescent Lake in Olympic National Park.  Parking at the Storm King Ranger Station, we got on the Marymere Falls Trail and passed by Lake Crescent.  It was beautiful in the early morning light.

The trail then passed under the highway.

As we entered the forest, some of the trees were really amazing.

In about 3/4 mile, we split from Barnes Creek Trail and crosses on a footbridge.

Right away, we crossed Falls Creek on another footbridge.

The trail got moderately steep here and made a split, we went left to the first overlook for Marymere Falls.

The water level was a little low, but the waterfall was still very scenic.

The trail continued to an upper overlook of the falls before looping back around.

Hiking back, we took the steep Storm King Trail and started making our way up the mountain.  Almost constant switchbacks, it was just up and up.  Near the top, we started seeing some nice views from the trail.

Where the official trail ended, a path continued to a point where we needed to used fixed ropes.  There was a pile of used climbing gloves here, which was nice.  We climbed the ropes up and came to an overlook with wonderful views.

At the overlook, we stopped and ate lunch.  Some other people were feeding Canada jays up here, but we only took photos.

There was also a couple dark-eyed juncos up here.

The Canada jays flew around us while we ate, hoping in vain we would give them some food.  It did make for some nice photo opportunities.

The panoramic view of Lake Crescent from up here was just phenomenal.

We spent some time up here then headed back down.  Once back at the parking area, we took the short Moments in Time Trail through a forest at Barnes Point.

There were a couple spots to go out on the lake.

Looking up, we could see Mount Storm King, though the overlook was well below the summit.

The lake was really beautiful.

There were a lot of big ferns growing in the forest, much larger than the ones back home.

We finished the loop and returned to our car.

From here, we started driving back to Port Angeles and took Olympic Hot Springs Road to the end where it is closed.  A short paved trail led to Madison Falls.

It was a pretty waterfall despite the poor lighting and low water.

Definitely worth a short hike and close to Port Angeles.

After this, we headed back to the hotel.  For dinner, we went to the wharf and ate at Downriggers.  Then we went for a walk on the waterfront trail.  West of downtown, a bridge crossed Valley Creek where it flowed into the sea.

We hiked down to the boat yard and then turned around.

We got back right around sunset and climbed the tower, but it was not nearly as colorful as the night before.

Then we headed back to the hotel and started getting packed up.

Mount Ellinor

Sunday morning, I woke up before sunrise and walked down to the dock for a beautiful view over Hood Canal.

On the floating part of the dock, a couple sea lions were basking.  I watched them for a short while, but they got into the water before the sun came up.

A short staircase led down to a little beach that was just beautiful.

Once the sun rose, we headed back to the room to pack up and check out.  We headed into town for breakfast at Hoodsport Coffee and then back into Olympic National Forest to the lower trailhead for Mount Ellinor for a steep mountain hike.  The trail started out moderately through a beautiful forest.

In about 1.5 miles, the trail met up with the spur from the upper trailhead and here it got starting getting really steep heading up.  There were a few breaks in the trees for a nice view of Mount Washington.

After splitting with the winter trail, the trail got even steeper and very rocky.

We found a nice outcrop to stop and take a break and enjoy the view of Mount Rainier in the distance.

The Sitka mountain-ash had berries and the leaves were changing.

The last push was very rocky and steep.

Eventually, we crossed into Mount Skokomish Wilderness and made it to the summit.  The views from up here were amazing.  Mount Olympus was visible in the distance.  With Hurricane Ridge Road closed, this would be our only chance to see it.

Lake Cushman was far below.

We climbed onto some rocks that I believe were the very highest point and had lunch up here, enjoying the views.

Mount Rainier was also visible in the opposite direction.

We could also see Mount Washington just to the north.

We talked to a local who helped us identify some distant snowy peaks, including Mount Baker and Glacier Peak.  After enjoying the summit, we made the steep hike back down.

From here, we headed back to US-101 and continued north.  Near Brinnon, we took Dosewallips Road for about 3 miles to a pull off after crossing Rocky Brook.  A short hike on an old road led up to the 200-foot Rocky Brook Falls.

The lighting was poor and the water level was low, but it was still a beautiful waterfall.

I wore water shoes and splashed around in the water a bit.  A little warmer and I might have taken a swim.

After some pictures, we headed back.

We continued north on US-101 to Port Angeles and checked into the Red Lion for a couple nights.  We walked down to Songoku for some good sushi for dinner.  Leaving the restaurant, the sun was setting, so we headed down to the waterfront to watch a beautiful sunset.

The waterfront trail led back to the hotel and we retired for the evening.