#hike12

Date: March 30, 2018/April 1, 2018

Location: Olympic National Park - Washington

Distance: 8 miles

Trails: Marymere Falls, Mt. Storm King, Sol Duc, Maple Glade, Hall of Mosses

WHAT A HIKE.  Hike 12 encompassed several trails from my weekend away on the Olympic Peninsula in Northwest Washington.  For this, I'm taking all the little hikes I did over two days and counting them as one for record keeping purposes, as many were at just about a mile.  It's amazing - as I look back at previous hikes, they were longer but much less impressive.  A mile on the Olympic can blow your mind.

Marymere Falls: This trail started at the Storm King Ranger Station and goes through a tunnel, under US-101, and follows the river back to a couple of bridges and some stairs to a waterfall viewing area.  The sound of rushing water, the bright green undergrowth, and the moss covered logs all accompany you along the path.  Take your time, take it all in.

Mt. Storm King: This trail branches off of the Marymere Falls path and goes straight up!  I climbed about 17-1800 feet in 1.4 miles, and I didn't make it to the very top due to wind and lack of confidence.  BUT, I did make it up past the marked trail and had excellent views.  If you don't mind heights or just love hills, this is the trail for you.  It begins with sweeping switchbacks and transitions to more straightforward and steep trails.

Sol Duc, Hall of Mosses, and Maple Glade:  These trails are rainforest hikes!  The Quinault Rainforest area houses the Maple Glade and by far my favorite.

yesterday i went back to kelly butte natural area. i have been wanting to go since i first visited. on my way down 103rd to the gates, and even up the road to the actual park there was a couple and their dog. they were the only people i saw though. the road can be steep (first photo) but once i got up there it was fine.

i headed to the trails taking a similar route as last time but turned down a different trail instead. heading down a hill i saw what looked like a fence and the parking lot below. i was still able to make my way by identifying overhang branches or bottles on the ground. after going up and down a few trails i went back to the junction connecting to my previous trail. i turned another way to connect to the trail i was on last time. instead of turning around at the bottom of the hill, i explored the trails turning off of it. one of those smaller trails led me to a hill over the underground reservoirs (third photo). those are recent, and while that area has been taken care of the hiking trails have not. it was after that when i decided to turn around.

there is still another bit of trails that i have yet to explore. and even more smaller trails to wander. i was going to get coffee afterwards and needed the time to get there and stay there. i ended up hiking just over a mile. if i include the paved road it would have been a mile and a half. again, i estimated the elevation gain. the weather is forecasted to be rainy all week so i will see what happens in terms of more hiking this week.

-n.