Climb a prominent peak on the western edge of the Olympic Mountains. From this 4000-plus-foot aerie above the saturated Quinault Valley, stare down upon sprawling rain forest. Enjoy an unobstructed view of shimmering Lake Quinault too, and from Mount Olympus to the Pacific take in an ocean of peaks and peek at the ocean. It's a tough climb to this rugged outpost on the periphery of the Olympics, but the panorama it provides is a worthy pursuit.

The hike to this peak is just like the man it was named for: straightforward and to the point. Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll was a Civil War veteran, politician, orator, and free thinker who never stepped foot on this peak, but some admiring climbers who did thought the peak should be named for him. The good colonel eventually got a wilderness area named after him too, the only wilderness on the west side of the Olympic National Forest.

It's just over 4 miles to the summit, but it'll feel a lot longer. Most of the way is steep, with several rocky sections. Is it worth it? Absolutely! Colonel Bob offers views into country rarely seen from high above. It's one of the very few hiker-accessible summits in the western reaches of the Olympics.

Start your journey on the Petes Creek Trail, immediately entering ancient forest and the Colonel Bob Wilderness. In just under a mile cross the creek. You may get your feet wet, you may not; some years the creek runs underground. The climb stiffens as the trail works its way up the west slope of neighboring Gibson Peak.

At 1.5 miles traverse a brushy avalanche slope. Another larger slope is encountered soon afterward and views open up of the Humptulips Valley. Steeply zigzag through rugged terrain and at 2.4 miles come to a junction with the Colonel Bob Trail (elev. 3000 ft). Head right, climbing yet more steep brush-choked slopes and finally receiving a reprieve at a gap (elev. 3700 ft) above Fletcher Canyon.

The trail now heads northwest, dropping a bit to a tarn-boulder- and creek-graced Moonshine Flats. One mile and 1000 feet of elevation gain still need to be covered. Through subalpine forest and skirting basalt cliffs, the rough trail steeply switchbacks to the summit cone, the final 100 feet on steps blasted into the rock.

One look from this former fire lookout site quickly validates all your pain and suffering. Lake Quinault twinkles below. Mount Olympus glistens to the north, while Mount Rainier hovers in the east over rows of scrappy hills and ridges. And fanning out below from your aerie hub is an emerald network of luxuriant rainforest valleys-a burgeoning kingdom of biomass.