Trip Report: Hoh to Hurricane Ridge

Hoh to Hurricane Ridge

The next morning we got up and broke camp and headed up to the northern side of the Olympic Penninsula. We first stopped at Soleduck Valley to visit the Sol Duc falls (yes, I spelled both of those right). The falls were beautiful as was the morning light in the forest. While we were there we overhead a convesation where a college age looking girl announced to her boyfriend "I'm really disappointed with this. They said it was a rainforest. I thought it would be like the Amazon but it's just plain ol' trees here!" Wow. We laughed until our sides hurt. Apparently she needs help with geography...the whole temperate verus tropical distinction seems lost on her. LOL.

After Sol Duc falls, we stopped for a short mile hike through some forest. In the later months it goes through a section of river that is a spawning point, but for our trip it was all just very beautiful scenery.

After Sol Duc we headed towards Elwha Valley, stopping off at Marymere falls, on the coast of Lake Cresent. The water in Lake Cresent was so beautiful and blue - I would be sorely tempted to spend a week at a rental house up on the shores there one summer. It looks like heaven. Once we got to Elwha Valley, we stopped just inside the park ticket booth. Madison Creek Falls is a waterfall that's only 200' of hiking on a handicap accessible, paved trail. It's not far from 101 and well worth the turn off.

With Elwha behind us, we headed on to Hurricane Ridge. It's a ridge-top drive through the Olympic Mtn chain. At the top is very nice visitor's center where one can even rent skis for what seems to me like an insane day of hiking up hills to ski back down them in 2 seconds. But then, I don't ski, so I don't expect to understand the appeal. :) What we did see were several cyclist riding the long steep uphill to the endpoint so that they could turn around and descend the next 8 miles back. As we were driving by we even saw Tyler Hamilton, the retired pro rider that we named Tyler our cat after - but didn't recognize him in time to holler his name as he took off downhill. Brett took an amazing panorama at the top - and I scored a spoon. :) We spent the night at Heart o' the Hills campground, halfway back down the ridge.

Link to pics here.