Category: Day Hikes (Page 2 of 13)

I’ve been camping, hiking and backpacking at the Hoh Rainforest several times, and it never stops enchanting me. Gordon Hempton, who studies nature sounds and is the founder of “One Square Inch of Silence” says that the Hoh Rainforest is one of the quietest spots in the lower 48 states – “quiet” as in no human-made noise pollution, so that the true sounds of nature can actually be heard. It is indeed a special place.

The Hoh Rainforest is also one of the places with the most biomass per square acre on the planet. Verdant doesn’t even come close to describing the sheer amount of green there. This is the first time I’ve been to the Hoh Rainforest without seeing elk, but I did hear a barred owl for the first time.

(HINT: It’s called a “rainforest” for a reason. It averages 12 FEET of rain per year. Rain + soil = mud. If you show up in your designer $300 sparkling white Nikes, they will not be sparking white for very long.)

The Hall of Mosses Trail is fantastic, almost otherworldly, with massive sheets of moss hanging from big leaf maple trees. This is a one-way trail, but apparently some people aren’t able to understand the signs pointing in one direction. Sigh.

The Spruce Nature Trail is a lovely walk through soft, cushioned earth with more ferns, conifers, and moss than anywhere I’ve ever seen. The Hoh River is beautiful along part of this trail, and I’ve never seen better examples of nurse logs anywhere else. There is a fantastic example of what the rootball of a single downed tree can sustain, how it can support and nourish new life. As Robin Wall Kimmerer and Suzanne Simard say – it’s all connected.

The Hoh River Trail is an out-and-back that leads up the valley toward the Blue Glacier 18 miles away, under Mount Olympus. We hiked the first few miles of this trail at 6 a.m. and didn’t see another human, just us and the sights and sounds of Mama Nature for miles.

Magic. Mother Nature’s Magic.

My first time at Cape Disappointment, and my first camping trip of the year, were just perfect (except for mosquitoes, but we won’t talk about those little blood-suckers much here). There is a little bit of everything here, beautiful forests, beaches, the Pacific Ocean, lighthouses, a wonderful visitor center, and old bunkers. On the far side is Oregon, in between the end of the Columbia River where it empties into the Pacific.

The mouth of the Columbia River, in particular the Columbia Bar, is a particularly treacherous section of boat/ship travel that has claimed over 2000 wrecks over the centuries, sometimes called “Graveyard of the Pacific.” It is considered one of the most dangerous sandbar crossings in the world.

The Campground was very quiet, and my site was close to the beach, but thankfully not too close because the wind out on the beach in the afternoons and evenings was fierce! But long morning walks barefoot in the sand were a joy after a dark and dreary winter.

The short Mckenzie Head Trail leads up to a hill with views, and several old military bunkers that nature is slowly taking back.

The Forest Loop Trail (1.5 miles) is a wonderful forest trail with a lot of little plant gems – it was a slow 1.5 miles because I kept stopping to look at all the spring blooming plants, until mosquitoes chased me along my way again.

The Cape Disappointment trail including the Lewis & Clark Visitor Center, Deadman’s Cove, and the Cape D. Lighthouse is another lovely forest + coast trail well worth exploring. The Visitor Center is built on top of old military bunkers, and it’s fun to explore through some of the tunnels and rooms, imagining what it would have been like to be there when they were active.

My final hike was the North Head Trail, from near McKenzie Hill out to the North Head Lighthouse. Again, beautiful forest and ocean views in one trail. Some of the spruces here are massive, with a large diversity of forest plants and critters including some impressive slugs.

What a good way to welcome in the 2024 hiking season.

I’m heading out on 55+ miles of the Wonderland Trail in less than 2 weeks, and wanted to test my endurance on a long and hard day hike just to know I’ve got what it takes!

Owyhigh Lakes in the White River area of Mt. Rainier is beautiful, and is an excellent place to see a large variety of wildflowers. It’s a worthy destination in and of itself, with Governor’s Ridge as a backdrop — 7.5 miles and 1650 feet of elevation gain/loss over a very well maintained trail to get out and back.

We like to continue on along the trail as if we were heading toward Hwy 123, and head up to a gorgeous saddle/viewpoint with stunning views of Mt. Rainier/Tahoma, Goat Island Mountain, Fryingpan Creek, the Summerland area, and the Cowlitz Chimneys. We could go even higher, but getting to the incredible open space at the saddle is so spectacular that we don’t feel the need to go further. The last 3/4 mile has over 1000 feet of elevation gain… Steep and not for anyone with vertigo or a fear of heights.

Along the way is a gorgeous view of the Goat Rocks area and Mt. Adams to the south. The last mile of trail is very exposed, steep, and hot. And guaranteed to make your heart pound and your breath quicken. But totally worth it. This is a place to linger, to have a picnic lunch, settle in, and simply let the views soak in.

Overall 10 miles and 2700 feet of elevation gain/loss. No numbers I can assign to the incredible views, they’re priceless 🙂

Marmots and Bears and WOLVERINES, Oh My!!!!

I’ve been out to Skyscraper Pass many times, it’s by far one of my favorite hikes at Mt. Rainier. But this time was special – we saw one of the 2 known adult wolverines who have moved into the national park after over 100 years of being absent!!

We were in the upper part of Berkeley Park, heading from Sunrise toward Skyscraper. Marmots were whistling and screeching like crazy all over Berkeley Park. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, dropped my hiking poles, fumbled for my big camera, and BAM it’s one of the 2 known adult wolverines in Mt. Rainier National Park. I only got one photo, s/he was moving fast and I had a hard time getting focused.

I can’t tell you how much this made my summer. There has been a successful breeding female there for several years now, and a wandering male. Not sure which one we saw, but I’m still in awe. A WOLVERINE?!?!? Wow.

As a bonus, we saw a far off black bear on our way back to the car, along with several marmots and a pica. I’m usually thrilled to see bears, but today it was the wolverine who stole my heart.

Check out The Wild with Chris Morgan podcast about the incredible Mt. Rainier wolverines Then you’ll realize how crazy amazing it was that we actually saw one. The episode is called “True Grit – the wild wolverine” Listen directly from the podcast website, or anywhere else like Spotify, Apple, or Google.

Or read this article about how rare and elusive these creatures are. Yep, I’m still pinching myself and telling myself it was real!! I submitted the sighting to the Cascades Wolverine Project.

I love the views from the Fremont Lookout trail, from the Sunrise area – 360 degrees of gorgeous! Unfortunately it was fairly hazy and we didn’t have good visibility of the North Cascades, but it’s still well worth heading out this way for the views of Tahoma and surrounding areas. The wind was intense at times, but that helped with mosquitoes and also with the heat later in the day.

After the Fremont Lookout, we hiked down toward Shadow Lake, with a little mini-glissade (my only one of the year!) and then up toward the Emmons Vista, with wonderful views down into the White River Valley, the Emmons Glacier, and Mt. Rainier. We missed seeing a mama bear + 2 cubs by less than a minute! But we saw a lot of marmots, always fearless and they seem to love to pose for photos.

Crystal Lakes – it’s a love/hate thing for me. The lower part of the trail is through boring, dull forest without many redeeming features. But the upper part, and the lakes themselves are well worth the grind! To the southwest, Crystal Peak looks down from up above. Wildflowers were just starting to show up in force.

And… I saw my first porcupine in the wild! I didn’t have my camera, only my cell phone, but was able to get a few photos and if you use your imagination, you can see Mr. Porky in the center of one of the photos.

Such a peaceful place, and even better with a good friend and iced tea/wine with our lunch break near the upper Crystal Lake. While there aren’t any good views of Mt. Rainier itself, except for a few peek-a-boo views along the trail, it’s still well worth the climb for the peace and beauty of this area.

The first time I looked down on Grand Park from Skyscraper Pass, I thought it was a golf course. It’s a beautiful, massive meadow on the north side of Tahoma that is accessible via either Sunrise or Lake Eleanor. I almost always get beautiful reflections at Lake Eleanor.

The views from anywhere in the Grand Park area are incredible. Looking due south is Tahoma itself, views of the Fremont Lookout to the left, and Skyscraper Mountain to the right. Wide open spaces. This is the kind of place to plan on spending a whole day, relaxing, wandering, and not rushing. The only downside is the relentless mosquitoes that swarm most of the summer.

The Eastside Trail that parallels Hwy 123 on the eastern portion of Mt. Rainier National Park isn’t on most people’s radar, and I like it that way! It’s usually snow-free before many other trails, and if done from the top down (with a car shuttle) is a wonderful 8-mile stroll through some beautiful old-growth forest with multiple waterfalls, ferns, and wildflowers.

I’ll let the photos do the talking for this one… I’ll just mention that there is a fantastic lunch spot with a gorgeous waterfall view about half-way.