Gazing at the snow-crowned Olympics from by desk at work a few weeks ago, I knew that the time for heading into the high country was over. But things can change. When the clouds broke on Tuesday, it was not just snow-free mountains that appeared, it was a glint of hope. And when Steve Pool said the weather Wednesday would be, shall we say, unseasonable for Novemeber, the use of a vacation day was assured. Said I, "Mt. Townsend, here I come!!!!!"

Though I knew the summit was snow free, I didn't know, so I took along a small assortment of gear to make sure I could tackle and snowy/icy patches I encountered. It wasn't required though. The trail was in beautiful condition, as bare and dry as it might be in late August. After having resigned myself to the fact that my next time in the wilderness would require snowsnoes, it was a magnificient treat...Novemeber and still able to get "up there" with just a pair of boots.

The views were as astounding as always. The high clouds and light haze failed to obscure the views of the volcanos from St. Helens to Baker, The San Juans, Victoria B.C., and the skyscrapers of Seattle. The views westward towards the Dungeness valley and the inner Olympics beyond were equally stunning. Yet, these expansive views were also tinged with a note of sadness. What is a land filled with lush green meadows filled with wildflowers during summer is now brown, brown, brown. The mountains have tasted snow, and the flora have entered into their winter hibernation. It is a fascinating constrast to spring. In spring, things are equally brown, yet the world teems with life...buds are filled, things are growing, and even a few early bloomers, tired of waiting, have burst out. But now, as the wild prepares itself to spend the coming months cocooned in snow, those signs of life, those rays of hope, are absent. The colors are the same between Spring and Fall, but the interpretation is different.

The low sun angles made for some great lighting for photos, but thanks to the 1MB limit, I don't get the share the good ones. My apologies.

The delayed start to the 2009 school year made Friday 9/4 the perfect day for the "last hike of the summer". The Boy was promised a mountain this summer (hikes earn ice cream; climbs earn pizza), and Mt. Walker in May "didn't count", so when the weather for Quilcene looked "reasonable", we headed for Mt. Townsend. At 9:30 AM we were the fourth car in the upper trailhead parking lot, and we set off at 9:55 under beautiful blue skies and a light breeze. A few minutes up, we passed the site of the first WTA trail work I helped with, a trail repair and trunk removal done with Richard's crew in June 2008. It's a tribute to his skill that we hiked right past the sawed-off tree trunk that once blocked the trail without even seeing the cut ends; it was the hillside trail repair on the following switchback that finally caught my eye.

The Boy is supposed to be getting his middle-school legs in shape for flag football, but growing pains or just plain exertion was giving him achy knees. Most of my pictures of him on this hike show him sitting down, at least until we got into the huckleberries! Nothing like free food for a pre-teen. We lunched on the open slopes above Camp Windy around 12:30 and finally reached our summit vantage point at 1:25 PM. While there was light haze and building high clouds from the south, we had great visibility under sunny skies, punctuated by enough breeze to make bugs a non-issue. The only peak that vanished under the approaching clouds was St. Helen's.

Other hikers we met on the way up included a gentleman with a fanny pack essentially doing a swift walk up and back, a fellow planning to reach Silver Lake then return to the trailhead by another route (his description was unfamiliar to me), and the retired gentleman building a photo collection of Olympic wildflowers who was headed to a small meadow near Windy Pass to look for one of the five remaining species he needs.

We left the summit at 2 PM under rapidly building overcast, and reached the now-full parking lot just before 4 PM. The increasing overcast didn't seem to bother any of the 7 groups headed up that we passed on our way down (how can people start a hike so late in the day?). Our traditional stop at the Hoodsport Coffee Company for hand-dipped ice cream was replaced by a pizza feed once we returned home. Kudos to the people who keep this beautiful trail in such great shape. We'll be back during next year's rhodie season, though we'll be hard-pressed to beat the incredible weather we lucked into for this hike!

Shepherd joined me and Daphne for a lazy mid-week hike to Silver Lake via Mt. Townsend Trail No. 839. We arrived at the upper Mt. Townsend trailhead at 11:30 am, with only 4 other cars in the parking lot. The sign-in log at the trailhead indicated we were the only ones headed to the lake; everyone else was headed up Mt. Townsend, but even so, we only saw a handful of hikers all day long.

The trail is in excellent shape. Although it climbs 1000 ft in the first mile, it then eases up for the remainder of the hike and feels like a very modest grade. The first part of the hike is in forest, with rhodies up to 4200 ft, then ripe, sweet, and plentiful thimbleberries and huckleberries from 4400 to 4900 ft. A few paintbrush, fireweed, and hare bells are still clinging to their summer splendor, but the wildflowers are mostly gone.

As for water, there is a tiny stream about a mile into the hike, but otherwise, no water until you reach Windy Lake (pond) and Windy Camp at 2 miles. About 1/4 mile beyond that, turn left at the signed junction to Silver Lakes Trail No. 842, which you'll follow for 3 miles. When you reach a saddle with a view of the Silver Creek Basin, the trail turns to the right and begins a gentle descent of 600 ft via numerous switchbacks into the lake basin. It doesn't look like a lake could possibly be hiding there in the trees, but it's there, and you'll reach it after a very easy 400 ft ascent.

The lake is pretty, green, and cold, but not what I'd call spectacular. It's certainly peaceful though and the fish were jumping, which is really why I wanted to hike there. A bit windy, but still fun to cast a fly or two; missed two strikes but ultimately landed a lone 7-8" rainbow trout, taken on an emerging caddis fly. Would've fished longer, but it was getting late and Daphne was beside herself, absolutely convinced in her little Lab mind that I required rescuing from the rock on which I was casting. A solo backpacker arrived shortly before we departed. He said he loved overnighting at Silver Lake because of the solitude and if you scramble up the slope just beyond the lake, you can see the lights of Seattle illuminating the night.

The return hike was very quick, as the grade is easy on the knees and mostly in the shade. No bugs to speak of, which made it a really good day. Even better? Cold mocha frappucinos waiting for us in the cooler at the car. But the best? An exceptional Mexican dinner at El Puerto de Angeles IV restaurant in Hoodsport. Highly recommended dinner stop if you're ever hiking this way.

TIME IN: 2 hr, 40 min
TIME OUT: 2 hr
DISTANCE: 11 miles round-trip
ELEVATION GAIN: 2630 ft in; 600 ft out (ascend 2230 ft, then drop 600 ft into the lake basin, and climb additional 400 ft up to the lake)
TRAIL CONDITIONS: moderate grade, mostly packed dirt; one large tree across the path near the lake, but easy to step over.
MAP: Green Trails Tyler Peak #136

GETTING THERE:
U.S. Hwy 101 North from Hoodsport. Turn left onto Penny Creek Road. Drive 1.5 miles to a Y; stay to the left. At the junction with the Smokey the Bear sign, go right onto Big Quilcene Road, which turns into F.R. 27. Drive several miles (about 13-14 miles from the turn-off from Hwy 101), follow signs to Mt. Townsend. Go past F.R. 2760 on your left (which is the turn-off for the lower Mt. Townsend TH), and drive another mile up F.R. 27 to the upper Mt. Townsend TH, which is on Road 190.

As earlier posters have noted, the trail is in great shape. We missed the native rhodies in bloom, but the upper trail was a riot of wild flowers. If you are the checklist type, you ccan tick off more than half the flowers in an Olympics flower field guide on this trail alone. Even rare ones like the pipers bell flower that I found on the rocky northern end of the summit.

We hiked in from the Quilcene end and saw few hikers on the trail. We were surprised by the number at the summit--turns out they hike in from the easier north end. But take the Quilcene side trail. It is beautiful. At the summit, a glider coasted by, whispering in the wind. Lovely views of the strait and the sound.