Heart o' the Hills
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Heart o' the Hills

Our introduction to Olympic National Park. We had a bit of hubris coming in, due to our amazing adventures in the Rockies. And so we decided to loop three different hikes together this first day. Now we know why they were written up separately. And that we are no longer young, but maybe a bit stupider. But we survived to hike another day on Grand Ridge.

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View of Seattle's waterfront from the ferry dock

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Headed toward the Olympics via the Bainbridge ferry

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Bye Seattle!

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Mount Rainier keeping watch over all

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Our campsite at Heart of the Hills near Port Angeles. We were welcomed by MB (mountain bunny), perhaps a distant relative of CB (country bunny) our furry friend in North Carolina.

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MB spent a lot of time foraging in our site. Not sure if we had a particularly tasty site, or if she was just being very hopeful that we'd drop lots of Cheez-Its!

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Port Angeles and the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the trail leading up to Heather Park

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Moss, wildflowers, and lushness abound

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So happy to be back out on the trail...and with no idea of what's yet to come! (Although you can kind of tell we are in the midst of a 4,000 foot climb.)

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Mount Baker in the distance popping up above the clouds

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Hurricane Ridge from the Mount Angeles approach

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First glimpse of the hooded goblins

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Headed over toward Klahhane Ridge from Heather Park

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Looking out toward Mount Baker and the Dungeness Spit

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Mountain goats also enjoy Klahhane Ridge!

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Looking back at the trail to Heather Park from Klahhane Ridge

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View of Mount Olympus

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The trail to Heather Park looks much steeper from here. (And if you zoom in, you can spot a hiker standing in the saddle!)

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Bill and Olympus

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Lake Angeles far below. Yeah, no problem, said my knees.

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View from the log upon which I soaked my aching knees in Lake Angeles before hobbling the last four miles back to camp.

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Some other hikers had brought inner tubes to spend the day soaking in the crystalline lake. Much smarter.

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The next day, we decided to take it easy. A simple five-mile hike along Grand Ridge.

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Looking down into Beaver Valley. Yes, there was a trail. No, we were not doing any more downhill.

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Looking out toward Mount Olympus from Grand Ridge

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A playful marmot!

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Uphill is fine. Downhill can only be done backwards now.

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