Autumn ridgeline walking in the Olympic Mountains can be a beautiful experience, if you time the weather and peak color. Typically Olympic Elk can be viewed in the alpine during these months and black bear can be found trying to fatten up before winter, but not this year (
Because of record setting drought).
For this trip we would be
experiencing autumn in Seven Lakes Basin, which can be a very touristy backpacking destination; if you do not catch it right. To avoid the crowds we decided to spend a few days off trail and do a little peakbagging
in the Bailey Range.
During the campsite period of our trip. The weather often turned to less than optimal conditions. We spent most evenings in thick cloud cover and even some wind with rain. I was glad to have
checked the weather before heading out the door. It literally rained the night before our trip and started up again, just after arriving back at the trailhead.
The Park's webcam can also be a powerful resource, to avoid bad weather.
These are some photos from the 4 day adventure.
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| Ridgeline hiking in the Olympic Mountains |
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| Autumn in the Sol Duc |
Overall it was a good trip in Olympic. It's been real interesting year, to see how drought affects the mountains. I look forward to when the peninsula goes back to normal. The highlight of the trip was climbing up high,
to see the Queets Glacier; all the way across the Park.
For more info about hiking in the Park. Be sure to
check out my Olympic Mountain Trail Guides List!
Written by Barefoot Jake in October 2015
