Olympic NP

A view of the Olympic range from Hurricane Ridge. The biggest challenge of this hike was "kick-stepping" my way down a steep snow slope, and then having to climb my footsteps back on the return.

A small island on Lake Angeles shrouded in mist. It looked like Avalon. 

Most of the hikes along Hurricane Ridge were snowed in. One regular hiker told us there were more downed trees in the national park than there had been in the past sixty years. Because the Olympic Peninsula gets so much rain, even the biggest giants have shallow rooting systems, since most of the rain is near the surface. As a result, the forests are particularly sensitive to blow downs. Olympic NP is the epitome of a pacific northwest rain forest. Some of the biggest trees in the world are here, draped in thick coats of moss and lichen.

While the east side of the park is in the rain shadow of the Olympics, the west and southwest part of the park is particularly lush. There are some great hikes around Hoh and Quinault Rain Forests.