Mount Townsend — Sunday, Jun. 26, 2016

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Arrived at upper trail head around 10:30 am. Lots of cars/people but able to find parking spot no problem. The first mile or so is pretty darn steep - had to take several rest breaks to give my calves a breather. There are lots of rhododendrons in bloom right now (late June) that provide a beautiful distraction. And fortunately the grade becomes more forgiving after that initial climb. About ~2mi from upper trailhead, we followed the clearly marked sign to the left to add on the Silver Lakes option; trail goes up the ridge, down into the valley (lots of sun exposure and wildflowers here), and up to the lakes again, so it adds on elevation as well as a couple miles, but is very doable! After the lakes we made our way back to the Mount Townsend trail and headed up toward the peak, arriving around 3:30 pm. What an amazing view! We could see Port Angeles and Vancouver Island to the NW, Mt. Baker and the northern Cascades looking NE, straight across to Seattle, and all the way south to Mt. St Helens (with gorgeous peaks of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams in between). And in the other direction - spectacular silhouettes of the valley and the highest Olympic Peaks including a clear view to Marmot Pass. Awesome hike, and potentially a good one for out-of-towners in reasonably good shape.