View of the Bailey Range from Hurricane Ridge. Beyond this range lies Mount Olympus, the tallest mountain on the peninsula at just under 7000 ft. These particular peaks are not visible from Seattle as they are too far within the peninsula. The main peaks that one sees from Seattle are the Brothers, Mt. Jupiter and Mt. Constance, as shown on this webpage (scroll down once).
Hurricane Ridge is aptly named - it was very windy here. The combination of wind and the cooler temperatures that prevailed at this elevation made me feel like I should have brought my winter coat to protect me. I was wearing a sweatshirt and a coat beneath it to keep warm. The fierceness of the wind appeared too great for what I thought would be adequate protection. I thought that I was going to spend all my time here within the shelter and warmth of the visitor center. It was not a happy prospect given how much I had looked forward to this trip. Vikram didn't seem to feel as cold as me because he was better prepared for the cold. In any case, we warmed ourselves inside the visitor center for a few minutes, and then ventured outside again. The wind didn't seem quite as chilling this time because it calmed down every so often. In addition, the constantly shifting clouds meant that the Sun could peek through and provide us with occasional warmth.
View toward the Elwha river valley. This river has two dams on it, which are slated to be removed over the next 5-10 years so that salmon populations and the overall health of the river can be restored.
While warming ourselves inside the visitor center, we did manage to visit the gift shop. Though we had to request to be let inside and had to promise not dawdle since it was a minute past closing time. We quickly snapped up a T-shirt each and I bought an oven mitt. The mitt was adorned with a beautiful American Indian design, created by a person of Tlingit heritage (from south-east Alaska). I really love these red, white and black patterns, so much to Vikram's dismay the oven mitt has acquired the elevated status of a souvenir rather than that of an oft used kitchen aid.
Wildflowers at Hurricane Ridge. While these are pretty, the ones we saw along the road to Hurricane Ridge were even more colourful.
We saw an American kestrel hovering above this grassy patch. It's amazing to watch the bird stay almost stationary while suspended in air. It hovered for 15 seconds or so at a time over two minutes before flying off to investigate another part of the grass for morsels to eat.
We decided to walk along the Cirque Rim trail, and that was a very good decision because we were sheltered from the strong winds by sub-alpine firs. The Strait of Juan de Fuca was visible from a small part of the trail. The mountains to the north of Hurricane ridge had been extensively burnt. A sign along the trail explained that the fire had occurred the year before and that fires are indeed common in this area, the rain-shadow region of the park. Some plants, like the lodgepole pine, depend on them to release their seeds.
A Columbian black-tailed deer made an appearance not too far from the trail.
The tree on the right of the photo is rather interesting. A number of its branches are growing right next to the ground forming a "tree skirt." This is very common as the combination of high winds and winter snow promotes the growth of low lying branches rather than ones higher up.
Our desire to see the black bear again made us re-trace our steps along the Cirque Rim trail. Unlike the black-tailed deer, which continued to be visible as it climbed the steep mountain side, the bear didn't desire to be seen!
We walked all the way to the west end of the Cirque Rim trail. From this point, we could see an isolated, heart shaped patch of snow that partially filled the cirque. (A cirque is a region on the mountain side excavated by glaciers, it is shaped like an amphitheatre.)
Vikram and me with the Bailey Range in the background. You can clearly tell that the wind was strong from the wild way in which its arranged my hair. The Carrie glacier appears right above my head in the photo. Mt. Carrie is to the right of the glacier.
We left Hurricane Ridge around 7:30p.m. for the 40 minute drive to Port Angeles. The fact that the sun was still up prompted us to walk along the waterfront in Port Angeles. This trail was pleasant and scenic. It took us about 20 minutes to get to City Pier from our hotel. Then we went in search of a place to eat. Our quest resulted in discovering that most of Port Angeles shuts down by 9p.m. We ended up going to the India Oven again to pick up a few items as it was still open. We also popped into the Safeway for a few groceries to supplement our Indian food.
