Coby and Jacquie joined Bill and me for a hike up Mt. Townsend. This was the first hike we took Coby on when he was a teenager around 13 years ago. It was Jacquie's first time on this trail. THE WILDFLOWERS ARE GORGEOUS in the upper meadows both before and after Camp Windy right now! We had a few biting flies at the summit even though we used bug spray. They were not as bad as 2 weeks ago. The views from the summit were magnificent...Mt. Rainier to Baker on one side and other Olympic peaks and up to Victoria on the other. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at the top then headed back down. It was a great hike and really nice day together! Jane Habegger

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.

We were headed to Lena Lake, intending an easy hike since we just returned this week from nearly four months abroad, and although we had walked miles through cities, we hadn't done anything that had much elevation. But as we drove over the Hood Canal Bridge and saw the glorious panorama of the Olympics, we realized we had to get up high in the mountains, no matter the unused muscles. We decided on Mount Townsend, but compromised on the northern route, which has less elevation and is a bit shorter. The Little Quilcene Trail is actually quite steep, especially at the beginning, where it climbs without switchbacks. The junction with the Mount Townsend Trail is at 1.9 miles, and it doesn't take very long before the view out towards the Dungeness opens up. The day was absolutely perfect. It was warm, but there was always a breeze to keep it comfortable. The wildflowers were the best I've ever seen on this trail. We ate lunch at the north summit, where there were eight other people. The south summit, which we visited on our way back, had more than thirty. The views were spectacular in all directions: three volcanos, hundreds of islands, blue water, a perfect sky.

Was surprised to find (already) about 8 to 10 cars at the trailhead at 9:30 on a Tuesday morning. Rhodies in full bloom on the lower part of the trail. Nice & cool in the forest but warmed up quickly as the trail opened up. Saw a deer on one of the switchbacks, didn't see any young ones though. Trail completely free of snow. A handful of blowdowns, easy to get past. Lots of wildflowers in bloom along the open slopes. Views up top were splendid. Olympics right there. The sound and Cascades a little hazy in the distance but most mountains visible. My guess is much of the haze still from the fires in Cali. Still the best views I've had in 3 trips up. Breezy up top so it didn't feel so hot. Heading down, many more folks and the parking lot was overflowing up the street. I'll have to try the side trip to Silver Lakes on my next trip. I've heard there's not near as many people. Decided to check out the Logger's Landing in Quilcene as I had a craving for a burger. Good food and drink there!

The view at the summit was breath-taking. The mountain wild flowers are in full bloom this time of the year. A fantastic miniature water fall on the way up to the summit that helps encourage you to keep going. At the summit, the wind help cooled you down from the long hike and the view to west to the Olympic Mountains was remarkable.