Mount Townsend — Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2002

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

This is a must do trail if you love spectacular views of mountains, Puget Sound, the Straits of Juan de Fuca and Puget-City. The weather was great with temperatures in the mid 80’s and dry. There is no water on this trail so carry everything you will need (I had 3 quarts and used all of it during the ascent and decent). I drove to the upper parking (FS 27 to FS 190) lot saving about 5 miles of hiking and only requiring an extra 10 minutes of driving. FS 190 is about 1 mile beyond the official trail head and not signed beyond a warnings of a dead end and Forest Pass required. It is located to the south when traveling FS 27. The trail is in excellent condition, well graded and easy to follow. I did not encounter many bugs – likely due to lack of water sources and strong breeze on the summit. The round trip took about 5 hours including a 30 minute lunch and photo break on the summit. What impressed me most were the super views of Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan De Fuca! The entire Sound can be seen along with major volcanoes, Seattle and towns on the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. This is hike rates five stars in my book!