Mt. Baldy, September 28, 2012

Today I hiked up Mt. Baldy in Olympic National Park. I left home about 6:45 and got to the trailhead at 8:45, started hiking at 8:50. The trail goes straight up a ridge and it's brutally steep. The only good thing is there's no erosion, and the trail is in good shape.

 I sweated up the lower portion of the trail. It's so steep in places I climbed for a minute and took a half a minute rest.

 The leaves are turning autumn colors in places.

As I got higher I could see across the valleys. The alpine grass is turning a russet color.

It's lovely to be up in the alpine. It's completely open and the ridges seem to stretch away forever.

I got to the top just after noon, about 3 hours and fifteen minutes. Not bad considering it was 3,700 feet of elevation gain. From the summit, I could see Mt. Olympus in the distance.

I ate a hiker's lunch: salami, cheese, crackers, and M&Ms.

This view is looking up Royal Creek, where Guy and I hiked last month.

Just below the summit. I put my vest on because the breeze was chilly.

Alpine plants.

 I got back to the trailhead at 2:50, about two hours after leaving the summit. My legs were sore from the steep descent, and the bottom of my right foot was bruised a bit. Got home by 5:15 and took a shower. Great hike!

Obstruction Peak hike with Ray Flagg

Ray Flagg picked me up at 6:00 AM, when it was still dark. We drove through Port Angeles, up the Hurricane Ridge road, and turned down the Obstruction Peak road, a narrow dirt road that has steeeeeep sides in some places. By 8:25 we were at the trailhead at Obstruction Peak.

At the trailhead

We hiked about two miles until we came to a place where the trail drops into Badger Valley. We stopped for awhile and took in the view. Several groups of hikers passed us, including a very cheerful group of eight women and one man.

 The trail meanders along the top of the ridge, with stupendous views everywhere. We could see Mount Olympus off to the Southwest, Mount Deception to the Southeast, and the Elwha and Lillian drainages lay at our feet. The weather was perfect -- sunny and cool. You couldn't ask for a better day.

Looking down into Badger Valley

 After awhile we started back, arriving at the trailhead about 2:30. On the way back, I took a few photos of flowers. After I got home, about 4:30, I realized I got quite a sunburn on my face.

Google Map of Obstruction Peak trailhead:

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Mount Townsend hike with Larry Riggs

On Labor Day, Larry Riggs visited us from the Bay Area. We left the house about 7:45 and got to the Mount Townsend trailhead by 9:10. It was a clear, cool day. perfect for a hike.

We toiled slowly up the trail. It's a good trail but pretty steep all the way. We took lots of breaks and arrived at the top about 1:20. The views were great all around.

 There were a lot of people at the top, including a family with three little kids.

We started down at 2:10, and got home by 6:00. Katy had a fresh-baked apple pie waiting for us, which we dug into after a dinner of shishkebabs from the charcoal grill.