We arrived around 11am on Thursday, with only a 5-10min wait at the park entrance. After putting the bustling visitor center a few miles behind us, we were immersed in the forest. The trail wound gently through foliage so lush it was almost decadent.
Note: Between Happy 4 and Olympus Ranger Station Camp, at a spot marked by orange ribbons, the trail crisscrosses a newly carved channel of the river, which is yet to be added to the map. We spent a good half hour battling through an increasingly questionable path before realizing this.
Apart from this, the going was very easy. We camped ~10 miles in at the lovely Lewis Meadows, a popular local salad bar for the deer.
The next day, we did a ~15-mile out-and-back to Blue Glacier. It was a very long, challenging day and very well worth it. The trail completely made up for its lack of elevation gain the previous day, as the greenery gave way to stunning peaks. We went left to Lateral Moraine and did not regret it once we crested the ridge. The weather was ricocheting between sun and rain, even a little snow at the top, but with a break in the clouds, the mountain irrefutably awed us. If the gods were to dwell upon Mount Olympus, they might mistake our wondering stares as having anything to do them.
We made it back to Lewis Meadows in just under 12 hours. The next day was an exercise in mud navigation, as we got to experience the true nature of the rainforest via downpour. We arrived back to the car sore, soaked, and satisfied.
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