Florence Peak — Wednesday, Jun. 19, 2024

I was on the trail by 7:45, eagerly looking forward to the view I would find at the top that clear morning. It took me about an hour to cover the 1.5 miles to the waterfall. Approaching the stream crossing, I noted the bypass route that avoids the crossing had become quite worn with use. Today, the flow of water in the main channel of the stream was moderate. A thin layer of water flowed down the smooth, sloped rock of the creek bed. So, with trekking poles for stability, I carefully made the crossing, deliberately placing each foothold and pole tip securely. Once on the other side, I continued upwards and encountered one large tree blocking the trail that required a short detour. Just past that, I saw where the upper end of the bypass trail rejoins the main trail. Another ¾ mile further, I came to several small streams where it would be easy to fill a water bottle if needed. Four miles from the trailhead, I arrived at the Alki Crest where several logs lay about and provided good seating for a break. A climber’s path leading to Florence Peak begins here. The well-worn trail climbs the western ridge through an open forest for about a mile, then arrives at a large meadow filled with bear grass. Just above the meadow lies the false summit which gives hikers the first unobstructed views of Mount Rainier. While good, the views from the true summit, another 2/10 of a mile beyond, are better. It does require a short rock scramble to get up there, but it's worth the extra effort. Even though I stepped on thin snow a few times along the western ridge, for all practical purposes, this hike is snow-free. Since much of this hike is on the shady north side of Florence, wildflowers are slow to emerge. I did see glacier lilies, western corydalis, viola glabella, and salmonberry, all at the upper end of the slide alder forest. And a small but spectacular clump of Indian paintbrush was clinging to the side of a steep, rocky chute below the false summit. I heard and saw some flies and bumblebees and would say bugs are emerging but not an annoyance. I would call this a moderate hike, recording 8.33 miles and 3718 feet of elevation gain.