Deer Ridge — Saturday, May. 31, 2025

Road: chunky, but navigable. 

Trail: in good shape with no snow. Relentlessly steep in some places, but lots of viewpoints. We also walked the road up to Blue Mountain - snow starts just above the upper parking lot and the snow route has some mild exposure . The view from the top was very much worth it, including a surreal view of a cruise ship in the Strait.

Bugs: none

Flora: the rhododendrons are still a couple of weeks away from peak bloom, but there are some. We also saw trillium, paintbrush, glacier lilies, phlox, and more. 

Fauna: the deer are unafraid. They were very interested in us when we were cooking and very interested in our sweaty bags and gear otherwise. Shouting at them from as close as 10 feet away did not phase them. We also saw lots of birds and rabbits. 

Water: we heard that there was a trickle of water along the trail and a trickle of water at camp. Along the trail we did not see much more than a messy seep of water, which I might use in an emergency but not otherwise. At camp, we were pleasantly surprised to find a small but quick moving stream by Loop B. Because I believe this source is seasonal there were a lot of bits of organic material so we used a handkerchief to prefilter.

Infrastructure: we camped near a shelter which was useful for unpacking while it was still a little misty. There are bear boxes. The toilet was, surprisingly, unlocked and stocked with tp and hand sani. It was a little eerie to have the whole campground to ourselves (well, us and the deer). We passed a solo hiker and a Mountaineers group on Saturday morning and otherwise did not see another person until Sunday afternoon.