A trip over to the north side of the Olympics for called for a 3-day getaway. We got over to Sequim for lunch of Friday, then a hike along the Dungeness Spit for some sea level views. Saturday morning we drove up to Hurricane Ridge to check out the view of the Olympic Mountains on a clear day with the temp at 65 degrees. We could see Mt. Olympus where I had stood on top of back in 1999. The wind was really blowing and the snow conditions we not very good for snowshoeing, so we decided to head back down and do a hike in the Elwha River area.

We stopped for lunch at the picnic spot near the Elwha Ranger Station, then on to the trailhead for the West Lake Mills Trail at Lake Mills. Nice trail with ups and downs along the lake. Several creek crossings along the way, with wild flowers coming out and some large old growth Doug Firs to view. Saw a buck and doe near the trail having their afternoon snack. The trail ends abruptly high above Boulder Creek. There is one campsite at the lake just before getting to the creek. A party had come in by boat since their camp had ice chests and lawn chairs. They must have used canoes or kayaks, as the so called boat launch is full of logs and you could not launch a power boat from a trailer. Only saw a few other hikers out on this trail. We had not been up the Elwha River entrance of the park before, so got to see some new county.

This 2 mile trail begins at the boatramp at Lake Mills.This trail is a series of up and downs along Lake Mills, ending at Boulder Creek where it enters the lake