Mount Townsend — Saturday, Jul. 12, 2008

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

Perfect weather, perfect day for this trail. The flowers are at or near peak along the meadows up top; down in the forest the rhodies are still blooming in spots. This was one of the best wildflower hikes I've done - I didn't see the density I've seen elsewhere, but the variety of flowers was unbelievable. Views spread across the Olympic mountains to the Cascades from Mt. Baker to Glacier Peak down to Rainier, with a clear view of Seattle and Puget Sound. One note - why does everyone leave these hikes before the good light of evening? We began our hike at 3PM, with a 2 year old and a 5 year old, making it the top around 6:45PM, and we had the summit entirely to ourselves. We passed at least 40 people who were heading back to their cars - what's the hurry? We played on the summit for an hour and made it back to the car with plenty of daylight to spare. I don't understand why everyone hikes in the heat of the day? You'll never see animals, the views aren't as nice, it's too hot, it's too crowded, and the photographs will be washed out.