A Hot Hike and A Goat

July 2, 2015 / nicholasgosling / Leave a comment

This past Wednesday my wife, son, and I hiked up Mount Ellinor in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness. We started at the upper trailhead (saving ourselves almost two miles of hiking versus starting at the lower trailhead) and ascended roughly 2,000 feet over a little more than a mile and a half. It was HOT – especially since we started at noon. My wife did this hike a year ago at this time and saw snow along the trail. This year, no snow – just lots of dust.

Mount Ellinor is a very popular hike on the Olympic Peninsula. Even on a Wednesday, the upper parking area was almost completely filled. The mountain is best known for its amazing views, steep ascent, and plentiful goat population. The views on Ellinor are spectacular – both along the trail and at the summit. The goats are pretty neat too. I did this hike last September for the first time and didn’t see a single goat. On that day I couldn’t see much of a view either because of the cloud cover, so I was happy to experience Mount Ellinor in all its splendor. I had almost given up on seeing any goats last Wednesday but halfway down we saw one hanging out on the side of a cliff trying to stay cool in the shade. Smart goat!

Mount Ellinor is a great hike and its views are well worth the climb. It’s pretty cool seeing wild mountain goats up there too. If you do plan on hiking Ellinor in the summer, I suggest starting in the morning. I also heard several people say that more goats were out earlier in the day. Here’s a neat video from the Forest Service about hiking Ellinor. Check out some of my photos below. I’ve also heard Ellinor is a popular place to watch fireworks displays go off throughout the South Sound. Have a Happy July 4th and enjoy the hiking!

Why the McLane Creek Nature Trail offers more than just nice hiking

May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 / nicholasgosling / Leave a comment

McLane Creek Nature Trail at Capitol State Forest is more than just a great hiking trail. In fact, it’s two hiking trails: McLane Creek NT and Centennial Demonstration Forest, both nicely tucked into the same property. While the .75-mile-long Centennial DF traverses some pretty country, including a working demonstration forest, most people visit to hike the nature trail and to watch for wildlife at the beaver pond encircled by the McLane Creek trail. If you have kids, McLane Creek NT’s many boardwalks, bridges, and viewing areas should keep them entertained, engaged, and (hopefully) excited about the outdoors.

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Review: 5 Reasons to Climb Mt. Rose (Maybe Just Once)

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 / nicholasgosling / 2 Comments

Mt. Rose in the Mt. Skokomish Wilderness presents a challenge for even the most seasoned hikers. Much of the only trail to its summit, Mt. Rose Trail #814, ascends rather steeply for most of the way. Within a mile of the summit, hikers take a loop path; here they can choose the steeper Summit Route to the left or the longer and slightly more gradual Ridge Route on the right. Along the summit ridge, the trail offers fantastic southern views of Lake Cushman and the Olympic NF peaks on the lake’s southern border. Looking northward on the trail presents glimpses of the popular Mt. Ellinor, as well as Mt. Washington, Mt. Pershing, and other major peaks in the Skokomish Wilderness. For all its difficulty and limited views though, Mt. Rose does beckon some and present opportunities for other hikers.

View from the top

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Review: Tolmie State Park

May 5, 2015May 10, 2015 / nicholasgosling / Leave a comment

Tolmie State Park in Olympia lets you hike, swim, and sunbath on the beach all in the same day. Tolmie encompasses some 1,800 feet of sand beach and coastline and a couple miles of inland hiking on trails that wind through old-growth forests. The main hiking trail is short at Tolmie (only a few miles long), but the scenery is pleasant and worth a trip. Also, the state park offers some great amenities, including beach access, picnicking areas and shelters, and boat moorage. The trails are short enough that you can easily bring the family to Tolmie for an afternoon or for a day at the beach and/or a hike.

Looking out towards the beach.

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Review: Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve

April 28, 2015 / nicholasgosling / Leave a comment

Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve in Olympia offers a couple miles of hiking, but its real attraction is its strange bubble-like hills. A natural and scientific curiosity, Mima Mounds’ hill-studded grasslands seems out of place surrounded by evergreen forests and the Capitol SF peaks in the background. Several theories exist as to why the small grass-covered mounds exist. These theories range from the extraordinary, such as the one that gophers made them, to the tame, like the most accepted belief that they were created by glacier deposits. An educational kiosk (and viewing platform) at the beginning of the trails describes these various theories. This Wikipedia page describes some of the theories in greater detail.

Situated adjacent to Capitol State Forest, Mima Mounds offers a great educational experience and family outing. I rank this hiking area high on the family friendly list as it features several picnic areas and easy, flat walking paths. I also think that the area serves families well because of its amenities. In additional to lots of educational signage, the site includes two raised observation platforms (one of them handicapped accessible) that can give you a pretty good vantage point looking westward over the grasslands. If you do visit, bring your sunscreen though – there’s no shade at all on the trails.

Mima Mounds grasslands.

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Review: Cape Alava and Ozette Triangle

April 22, 2015April 22, 2015 / nicholasgosling / 1 Comment

Some Washington hiking areas give you a chance to meander through magnificent old-growth forests and under massive evergreens draped with moss and lichens. Others offer you the opportunity to explore Washington’s coasts, letting you pick your way along gravelly shores littered with beach wood and see precarious sea stacks standing tall just off shore. Cape Alava’s 9.4-mile Ozette Triangle loop in Olympic National Park lets you experience the best of both worlds.

I visited Cape Alava for the first time a few weeks ago. I was use to hiking along Washington’s Pacific coastline, having hiked at Ruby and Shi Shi beaches and from the Hoh River outlet up to Rialto Beach. However, Cape Alava maintains a reputation as one of the best coastal hiking areas in Washington and the Pacific Northwest. To say the least, I was excited about this trip, and it did not disappoint.

The Ozette Triangle (also known as the Ozette Loop) begins at the northern end of Lake Ozette near the Ozette Ranger Station and Ozette Campground. Park at the trailhead just past the ranger station on the right side of the road. Hikers have the option of taking either the Cape Alava or Sand Point trails to the coast. The coastal section follows the last three miles of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. This section isn’t so much a trail as it as a hike along the shore. However, at high tide, hikers will need to take two overland trails, identified by black-and-red (often faded red to the point of being white) impassable headlands signs. Both the Cape Alava and Sand Point trails are well maintained, and either one will work for the hike out and hike back. I personally recommend the Cape Alava Trail because it will allow you to rest at and enjoy Sand Point, a scenic rocky outcrop, before heading inland at the end. When I hiked the Triangle with my family, we saw deer grazing on the Sand Point headland.