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If you are big on nature, or just enjoy a slight on top of the world feeling then this hike is definitely for you. The views from the peek are just fantastic and unbelievable. With the clouds scattered around us and the wind throwing them around the scenery was ever changing.
[svgallery name="Mount Ellinor - Sept 09"]
We did this hike back in September on Labour day. I do have to admit the hike up wasn’t the easiest i have been on, with 4.5 round trip and a total elevation gain of 2100 ft the climb is quite steep. Usually on these trails the beginning feels easily and it gradually gets harder, but this one as soon as we started the trail looked like a staircase the climbed through the woods. The switchbacks get shorter and more and more steep until about half way
Suspended bridge, crystal clear waters, crisp air and 1000 some odd year old trees are the highlights of this very short hike. The trail is mostly flat and about 1.5 miles round trip, but it has so much to offer. We go there that day late and we were losing light so we didn’t get a chance to go through the whole loop, but what we saw was already amazing. We are planning on going back to the trail very soon.
For more details on the trail and directions check out the National Park Services website.
[svgallery name="Grove of the Patriachs - Aug 09"]
[svgallery name="ONP-Alava"]
We just got back from a nice long weekend spent in the Olympic National Park. We arrived at Lake Ozette camp ground Friday afternoon in 2 cars completely stuffed with our packs. After filling up water, redistributing some weight from some packs to others (mostly to mine and Vinay’s) we set on a 4 mile hike down the Cape Alava trail down to the beach. The trail was one of the nicer ones I have seen in a while. The whole path was a very nice and sometimes bouncy boardwalk that led us through the woods all the way to the pacific beach. Once at the beach, we set up our tents and after having our food went immediately to bed.
The next day when we all woke up (some later than others, yeah OK fine, i was the last to wake up. Don’t tell me you thought otherwise) we realized that the fog had been so strong the night before that none of us realized there were a few other islands in front of us. On Saturday we went for a very nice hike along the the beach, sometimes sandy, sometimes rocky and watched the fog go inland and back to see.
One of the most amazing things that i think caught us all by surprise was how high and low the tide can get. On the first night the water was a few meters from our tents, but by the next morning the water had receded so much that you could pretty much walk to the nearby islands.