On Veterans's day this year, I joined my local club (Peninsula Wilderness Club) on a hike up to Heather Park via the Mt Angeles Trail. Heather Park and Mt Angeles are near Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. For a November, we have been very fortunate this year to be able to climb so high in elevation before reaching any significant amounts of snow. The snow we did encounter on this hike was not very deep, and we had no problems reaching Heather Pass and above to point 5740 that some were incorrectly referring to as First Top (roll mouse over map to see route). It was a nice day to be out, but maybe a few too many people for my liking. It was OK though because most of the folks were friends and that is a side effect of hiking with a club.
Cheryl and I were going to do the whole loop that can be done by hiking up to Klahane Ridge via the Mount Angeles, AKA Heather Park Trail and back down via the Lake Angeles, AKA Klahane Ridge Trail, but I'll be honest in that I was pretty much done once we arrived at Heather Park. Too much time behind a desk the previous couple months had rendered me almost completely out of shape and I was pretty tired. More so than normal for me after an almost 4000 foot climb.
This video contains many of the following pictures but also includes some timelapse footage I took from the top of the ridge.
This was a banner year for mushrooms. A very wet beginning to September followed by a dry October and November created a huge amount and variety of mushrooms growing in the forest. I saw these little guys and couldn't resist pausing to get a shot or two of them.Neat little mushroomsWonderfully groomed TrailThis is the Heather Park Forest Camp. It was abandoned during its construction when Olympic became a national park. This structure is at right around the 5300 foot level which is well above the 3500 foot "no fires beyond this point" mark.The abandoned Heather Park Forest Camp.Source: USFS via ONP archives, courtesy of Rod Farlee. Original Caption: "Construction of alpine shelter at Heather Park Forest Camp. Shows fireplace and two stoves in process of construction. Approximately 300 tons of rock used in this shelter. All rock from top of Mt. Angeles where it is wedged off and rolled some 1000 feet down the shale slide, where horse and sled drag to location. Some of the stones weigh 1000 pounds or more. All rock placed by hand, and no mortor used except in construction of stoves and fireplaces and that invisible. Foreman Fred Kelly, left, and Ranger L.D. Blodgett, second from right."Source: USFS via ONP archives, courtesy of Rod Farlee. Pictures show the Heather Park Forest Camp being constructed before ultimately being abandoned, likely due to the creation of the National Park. The photos are undated, but likely from 1937-38. After a chilly start to the morning, it was nice to see the sun coming out. Oddly enough, the higher we climbed, the warmer it was.Looking out towards Sequim and the Dungeness SpitFrom the pass, we climbed up to point 5740. Mt Angeles fills the frame here.Looking down at Heather Pass from point 5740.Looking down at Heather PassMost of these folks are from the PWC event. There were twelve of us, which I believe is the maximum group size limit for the park. Technically, Cheryl and I hiked up before everyone else arrived at the trailhead and were kind of like our own individual group.Heading back down the trail.Low lying clouds with Sequim and Dungeness Spit in the distanceTrail porn
It was a great day to be in the mountains. It was very warm at the pass, made warmer by my friend Cheryl's hot cocoa spiked with a little Fireball in her ultra lightweight reusable Starbucks cups. I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather have been right at that moment. I wonder if Fireball would like to sponsor me No? Swiss Miss? Starbucks? Cmon, I need a fancy sponsorship to further my hiking career! Ha! At any rate, I was nice and warm on the hike back to the trailhead.
Headed up to do that trip from switchback trail to spend the night at Heather Park tomorrow night and come out at Heart o’ the hills on Saturday.
Jim 07/14/2016
Headed up to do that trip from switchback trail to spend the night at Heather Park tomorrow night and come out at Heart o’ the hills on Saturday.
Jim 07/14/2016
How was the trip Jim?