On a chilly October morning we began our journey to Washington's Olympic Peninsula. The weather forecast called for cold but clear and sunny conditions. Possibly the last clear weather window of the season, and so we figured the best way to enjoy it would to have some adventures in Olympic National Park.
A quick stop for a scenic views of Lake Crescent.
Our final destination for our first night was picturesque Lake Ozette, 3 miles from the western coast of the Olympic Peninsula.
The next day we began our brief but beautiful hike out to the coast, to a place called Cape Alavah. We saw some really cool mushrooms along the way. These pretty purple ones are part of the Cortinarius genus, I believe.
The lovely feather moss, Hylocomium splendens.
A Boletus mushroom.
When we arrived on the coast we were greeted by the pungent aroma of tons and tons of decaying seaweed, as well as a distant chorus of barking seals, who must have been gathered on the island in the background of this photo, as that is where all the sound was coming from. They kept up a constant barking for 24 hours a day, I don't know how they have so much energy.
We set up camp among these awesome twisty trees.
After appreciating the glorious coast we hiked back inland to Lake Ozette.
We then decided to drive up to the Northwestern tip of the peninsula, through the town of Neah Bay, up to Cape Flattery. This rocky headland is exposed to the intensity of the Pacific ocean on 3 sides, and has very nutrient dense waters, due to the colliding ocean currents. As a result its a very popular spot for marine mammals and birds. We saw a very large seal, a sea otter and a number of Bowhead whales.
Our next destination was many miles inland, to the heart of Olympic National Park. We stayed our next night in the Sol Duc campground and prepared to begin our 3-day, 19mile, hike around the Seven Lakes Basin. We were surrounded by beautiful old growth forest as we began our ascent into the alpine.
Sol Duc Falls.
As we slowly climbed, the trees got smaller and the views got more impressive.
We stayed the first night at Lunch Lake, it was very scenic, but also quite cold, and during the night we had a mountain goat visit our camp.
The morning light hitting the lake.
The next day, as we gained elevation, our hike we made more difficult by a bunch of snow and ice on the trail.
Quite sketchy in places.
As we rounded the ridge, this spectacular view of Mount Olympus came into sight.
We watched as mystical fog rolled around in the valleys around us.
Heart Lake!
Another purple Cortinarius!
It was hard to say goodbye to this magical forest.
A quick stop for a scenic views of Lake Crescent.
Our final destination for our first night was picturesque Lake Ozette, 3 miles from the western coast of the Olympic Peninsula.
The next day we began our brief but beautiful hike out to the coast, to a place called Cape Alavah. We saw some really cool mushrooms along the way. These pretty purple ones are part of the Cortinarius genus, I believe.
The lovely feather moss, Hylocomium splendens.
A Boletus mushroom.
When we arrived on the coast we were greeted by the pungent aroma of tons and tons of decaying seaweed, as well as a distant chorus of barking seals, who must have been gathered on the island in the background of this photo, as that is where all the sound was coming from. They kept up a constant barking for 24 hours a day, I don't know how they have so much energy.
We set up camp among these awesome twisty trees.
After appreciating the glorious coast we hiked back inland to Lake Ozette.
We then decided to drive up to the Northwestern tip of the peninsula, through the town of Neah Bay, up to Cape Flattery. This rocky headland is exposed to the intensity of the Pacific ocean on 3 sides, and has very nutrient dense waters, due to the colliding ocean currents. As a result its a very popular spot for marine mammals and birds. We saw a very large seal, a sea otter and a number of Bowhead whales.
Our next destination was many miles inland, to the heart of Olympic National Park. We stayed our next night in the Sol Duc campground and prepared to begin our 3-day, 19mile, hike around the Seven Lakes Basin. We were surrounded by beautiful old growth forest as we began our ascent into the alpine.
Sol Duc Falls.
As we slowly climbed, the trees got smaller and the views got more impressive.
We stayed the first night at Lunch Lake, it was very scenic, but also quite cold, and during the night we had a mountain goat visit our camp.
The morning light hitting the lake.
The next day, as we gained elevation, our hike we made more difficult by a bunch of snow and ice on the trail.
Quite sketchy in places.
We watched as mystical fog rolled around in the valleys around us.
Heart Lake!
It was hard to say goodbye to this magical forest.
