Pete's Creek - Colonel Bob Peak — Saturday, Sep. 24, 2011

Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast

We hiked up the Pete's Creek Trail in the morning in absolutely beautiful weather. We managed to get beyond the exposed face of the slide area before full sun, which is why I like to start this hike early. We putzed around Moonshine Flats for a while before making our final press to the summit. WARNING: There is a head-sized paper wasp's nest in a bush to the right as you approach the stream crossing at Moonshine Flats. It doesn't appear they got the message about us leaving them alone and they responding likewise; they rile up pretty easily. A dog in another party was stung so we crossed about 30 yards downstream. On the way back they seemed calmer so we tried to skirt quietly past but they were having none of that. I walked by and one of the dogs in our party jumped, stung, and by the time I turned around they were beginning to swarm. One of the other dogs and one of our party was stung. The summit was incredible as always and even more so with the approaching storm. We experienced gale force winds with some ferocious gusts on top, and a jacket was necessary as the wind chill made it feel quite cold. The storm was pushing some wild looking clouds along, and the pictures don't quite capture it. We ate our lunch and headed down.