06-19-24
Juneteenth
is a holiday in my
business. I use it as a day to hike. Since many do not have it as a
holiday the trails are not as crowded as on a weekend. This year, Gary
was available for a hike. We debated a few ideas and settled on a trip
to Mt. Townsend in the Olympic Mountains. The Cascades showed clouds
coming in and a chance of rain in the afternoon. Townsend looked to be
under blue sky all day. Since Gary is now in Edmonds, I just had to
drive north to his place which is near the ferry dock. We met at 6:45
am and were plenty early for the 7:10 am ferry to Kingston. It was cool
and sunny. Traffic was very light so early in the morning. Once on the
ferry we looked to see how full it would be. Not everyone has a holiday
but we did expect it to be busier than normal. That it was. The ferry
was just about full when we pulled out. We stayed outside at the back
of the boat and looked to the mountains as we headed west. It is only a
45.7 mile drive to the trailhead but it takes about 1:20. I was
expecting to arrive at about 9:00 am. Unlike most logging roads this
road is paved most of the way. I recalled that the parking lot is
pretty small and hoped we would be early enough to snag a spot. This
would be Gary's fifth visit to Townsend and my fifth visit as well.
Gar's first trip was in 1975 and his last was in 1988. That was 36
years ago. My first visit was in 1993 and my last was in 2015. I only
had a 9 year gap.
We arrived at the 3350' trailhead to find it full and a couple cars parked in pullouts on the spur road in. Two more cars arrived as we headed a short way back to a spot off the road. 8:55 am was not early enough. We packed up and were on the trail at 9:07 am. I forgot that the trail starts out quite steeply. The trail is mostly smooth with few roots or rocky sections in the forested first miles. We set out at a steady pace and soon found others were in more of a hurry. Wildflowers were seen on much of the route and that slowed us down too. The last few miles of the drive had big rhododendron trees in bloom. We had rhodies on the trail at first but only a few beginning blooms. They should be quite colorful soon. After some switchbacks the trail heads to the left and the grade eases for a while. The forest was nice on the way down as it was much warmer then. We soon were seeing yellow violets, Indian paintbrush, and phlox. The phlox was seen all the way up to the summit ridge. There were some trillium from full bloom to dark purple and about done. Some openings provided views out. For our last six (me) and five (Gary) we had visited a lake. That is the longest streak for each of us. This trip has a short detour to a lake/pone. The streak lived for another trip.
From the trailhead to Windy Camp was 2.5 miles. I had passed by it on all my previous visits. This time we took the very short trail to a view of the lake/pond. There was still some snow at the camp. We saw snow but there was none on the trail. We had 1.6 miles to go. We were still in forest but the open areas became longer. We could see snow above us and views to the east. The flower show continued with some lupine, stonecrop, wallflower, and much more phlox. At about 5300' the switchbacks began. Lots of mostly gently graded tread with some steep sections. As the trees thinned the view grew. We were getting passed by much younger hikers going up and down. The open hillsides provided some very colorful heather in bloom. For quite a few hours we were out in direct sunshine with little to no shade. I brought a chrome dome umbrella for portable shade. I never opened it. Later unexpected clouds provided some shade. To the south and east we could see saltwater and big peaks. Hood Canal was below and we could see over to Puget Sound too. The Cascade Mountains had some clouds but some peaks stood out clearly. At 11:11 am I took my first photo of Mt. Rainier since the ferry boat ride.
Nearing the ridge top the trail turned into two then four and up to six steep ruts with some grass in between. That was the only place where the trail was rocky and in poor shape. We reached the ridge top at 11:24 am. Now we had views of the Olympic Mountain peaks. While we had only a few patches of snow, the higher peaks had lots of snow left. That made for really nice views and photos. Mount Mystery was the first big snowy peak we saw. As we kept ascending more peaks came into view. In the foreground is a ridge with a high point to the left. This is Welch Peak. I was not familiar with it until the previous evening. There is a scramble trail along the ridge to the top. We debated giving it a try later. We passed the trail up to the ridge earlier. That trail also drops to Silver Lake. From the ridge on to the summit is all open terrain. We could see groups going up and down. We just had .40 miles and about 300' to go. The bare soil had more wildflowers in bloom. I am used to occasionally seeing Old Man's Whiskers east of the Cascade Mountains. I was not expecting to see in atop Mt. Townsend. There was a lot of it in bloom amongst all the phlox.
We arrived at the summit at 11:43 am. We were not alone. There were at last half a dozen groups at all times. The summit is just a high point on the ridge and there is plenty of room for many groups. I can only imagine how busy this trail is on a sunny weekend. There are four trails that reach the summit. I have done two of them. I could look down to the trailhead of the Little Quillcene Trail and count about 20 cars on the side of the road. It as long past time for us to have lunch. I had breakfast at 5:30 am. It as much hazier than I expected. We could see quite a distance but the Cascades were hazy with clouds over some peaks. Mt. Baker was mostly in the clouds all day. we could clearly see the snowy base. Glacier Peak went into and out of clouds. Mt. Rainier was mostly in the clear. We could see them and Mt. Baker and Mt. St. Helens. This is one of a few summits we have reached with a view of all five Washington state volcanoes. St. Helens was not in view until near the summit.
Peering through the haze we could make out Seattle in the distance. Port Townsend was also visible. Later we spotted Dungeness Spit. Big puffy clouds began to move overhead. All the Olympic Peaks were still visible. With the help of Peak Finder app on my phone, I was able to verify the identities of many peaks. To the south we saw Mt. Jupiter, The Brothers, Mt. Constance, Warrior Peak, Buckhorn Mountain, Mt. Mystery, Dungeness Peak, Mt. Baldy, and more. Townsend really is a great spot to see in all directions. We finished our lunch break at 12:15 pm. Down the ridge is North Mt. Townsend at 6211'. Mt. Townsend is at 6280'. The bootpath follows the ridge as it descends. There was still snow on the right side of the ridge. We dropped to a low point and climbed up to the north summit. On the way, Gary spotted a long familiar flower. It as a western anemone. As we continued we saw another then another. It was the first we had seen this year. They were only seen in that one spot. From the north summit, we had a great view north towards Vancouver Island. It was hazy that way too. I did spot Port Angeles. We took another break there. This one lasted from 12:42 pm until 12:58 pm. We slowly hiked on back up to the summit of Townsend.
We arrived at 1:25 pm. The clouds were now growing thicker. We had some shade. There was as cool breeze on the summit. I had on a wind shirt from the time we arrived until we dropped off the summit ridge on the way out. On the one hand, we wanted to get home at a reasonable hour. On the other hand, the views were terrific and the breeze kept us cool even without any trees for shad. At 1:47 pm we finally headed down. As we descended we passed groups still coming up. The Olympic peaks were laid out in front of us at first. When we dropped off the ridge we still had views south and east but the Olympics were mostly gone. We took a few breaks going down. We took far fewer photos. We were not in a hurry to get down but maintained a steady pace. The smoothness of the trail was really nice on the descent. The last three miles were great even on the steeper sections. The thick forest was much cooler and that was fine with me. We had a long time out in the sun this day.
When the rhododendrons started showing up we knew we were getting close to the bottom. It seems that many had begun to bloom during the day. Most were still to come but we did see some good color in a few places. We reached the trailhead at 3:48 pm. The lot was largely full but there were open spots now. We just had a few more minutes to hike back to the car. The drive back to Kingston went well. We arrived in time for the 5:30 ferry but it was already full and running late. We took the 6:30 boat home. Sitting on a ferry and looking at the mountains and water is not a bad way to end a hike.
This turned out to be a great hike. It was busier than expected but there is plenty of room atop Mt. Townsend. The haze was a bit of a disappointment but we still had some views of the Cascades and great clear view of the Olympic peaks. The clouds coming in was unexpected but it did provide some shade when it was appreciated. This really is a great hike. It was hard to believe that It had been 9 years for me and 36 for Gary since our last visits It was surprising that we had never done it together. It was a really great way for me to break up a work week with a hike to a terrific summit.
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Trips - 2024
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We arrived at the 3350' trailhead to find it full and a couple cars parked in pullouts on the spur road in. Two more cars arrived as we headed a short way back to a spot off the road. 8:55 am was not early enough. We packed up and were on the trail at 9:07 am. I forgot that the trail starts out quite steeply. The trail is mostly smooth with few roots or rocky sections in the forested first miles. We set out at a steady pace and soon found others were in more of a hurry. Wildflowers were seen on much of the route and that slowed us down too. The last few miles of the drive had big rhododendron trees in bloom. We had rhodies on the trail at first but only a few beginning blooms. They should be quite colorful soon. After some switchbacks the trail heads to the left and the grade eases for a while. The forest was nice on the way down as it was much warmer then. We soon were seeing yellow violets, Indian paintbrush, and phlox. The phlox was seen all the way up to the summit ridge. There were some trillium from full bloom to dark purple and about done. Some openings provided views out. For our last six (me) and five (Gary) we had visited a lake. That is the longest streak for each of us. This trip has a short detour to a lake/pone. The streak lived for another trip.
From the trailhead to Windy Camp was 2.5 miles. I had passed by it on all my previous visits. This time we took the very short trail to a view of the lake/pond. There was still some snow at the camp. We saw snow but there was none on the trail. We had 1.6 miles to go. We were still in forest but the open areas became longer. We could see snow above us and views to the east. The flower show continued with some lupine, stonecrop, wallflower, and much more phlox. At about 5300' the switchbacks began. Lots of mostly gently graded tread with some steep sections. As the trees thinned the view grew. We were getting passed by much younger hikers going up and down. The open hillsides provided some very colorful heather in bloom. For quite a few hours we were out in direct sunshine with little to no shade. I brought a chrome dome umbrella for portable shade. I never opened it. Later unexpected clouds provided some shade. To the south and east we could see saltwater and big peaks. Hood Canal was below and we could see over to Puget Sound too. The Cascade Mountains had some clouds but some peaks stood out clearly. At 11:11 am I took my first photo of Mt. Rainier since the ferry boat ride.
Nearing the ridge top the trail turned into two then four and up to six steep ruts with some grass in between. That was the only place where the trail was rocky and in poor shape. We reached the ridge top at 11:24 am. Now we had views of the Olympic Mountain peaks. While we had only a few patches of snow, the higher peaks had lots of snow left. That made for really nice views and photos. Mount Mystery was the first big snowy peak we saw. As we kept ascending more peaks came into view. In the foreground is a ridge with a high point to the left. This is Welch Peak. I was not familiar with it until the previous evening. There is a scramble trail along the ridge to the top. We debated giving it a try later. We passed the trail up to the ridge earlier. That trail also drops to Silver Lake. From the ridge on to the summit is all open terrain. We could see groups going up and down. We just had .40 miles and about 300' to go. The bare soil had more wildflowers in bloom. I am used to occasionally seeing Old Man's Whiskers east of the Cascade Mountains. I was not expecting to see in atop Mt. Townsend. There was a lot of it in bloom amongst all the phlox.
We arrived at the summit at 11:43 am. We were not alone. There were at last half a dozen groups at all times. The summit is just a high point on the ridge and there is plenty of room for many groups. I can only imagine how busy this trail is on a sunny weekend. There are four trails that reach the summit. I have done two of them. I could look down to the trailhead of the Little Quillcene Trail and count about 20 cars on the side of the road. It as long past time for us to have lunch. I had breakfast at 5:30 am. It as much hazier than I expected. We could see quite a distance but the Cascades were hazy with clouds over some peaks. Mt. Baker was mostly in the clouds all day. we could clearly see the snowy base. Glacier Peak went into and out of clouds. Mt. Rainier was mostly in the clear. We could see them and Mt. Baker and Mt. St. Helens. This is one of a few summits we have reached with a view of all five Washington state volcanoes. St. Helens was not in view until near the summit.
Peering through the haze we could make out Seattle in the distance. Port Townsend was also visible. Later we spotted Dungeness Spit. Big puffy clouds began to move overhead. All the Olympic Peaks were still visible. With the help of Peak Finder app on my phone, I was able to verify the identities of many peaks. To the south we saw Mt. Jupiter, The Brothers, Mt. Constance, Warrior Peak, Buckhorn Mountain, Mt. Mystery, Dungeness Peak, Mt. Baldy, and more. Townsend really is a great spot to see in all directions. We finished our lunch break at 12:15 pm. Down the ridge is North Mt. Townsend at 6211'. Mt. Townsend is at 6280'. The bootpath follows the ridge as it descends. There was still snow on the right side of the ridge. We dropped to a low point and climbed up to the north summit. On the way, Gary spotted a long familiar flower. It as a western anemone. As we continued we saw another then another. It was the first we had seen this year. They were only seen in that one spot. From the north summit, we had a great view north towards Vancouver Island. It was hazy that way too. I did spot Port Angeles. We took another break there. This one lasted from 12:42 pm until 12:58 pm. We slowly hiked on back up to the summit of Townsend.
We arrived at 1:25 pm. The clouds were now growing thicker. We had some shade. There was as cool breeze on the summit. I had on a wind shirt from the time we arrived until we dropped off the summit ridge on the way out. On the one hand, we wanted to get home at a reasonable hour. On the other hand, the views were terrific and the breeze kept us cool even without any trees for shad. At 1:47 pm we finally headed down. As we descended we passed groups still coming up. The Olympic peaks were laid out in front of us at first. When we dropped off the ridge we still had views south and east but the Olympics were mostly gone. We took a few breaks going down. We took far fewer photos. We were not in a hurry to get down but maintained a steady pace. The smoothness of the trail was really nice on the descent. The last three miles were great even on the steeper sections. The thick forest was much cooler and that was fine with me. We had a long time out in the sun this day.
When the rhododendrons started showing up we knew we were getting close to the bottom. It seems that many had begun to bloom during the day. Most were still to come but we did see some good color in a few places. We reached the trailhead at 3:48 pm. The lot was largely full but there were open spots now. We just had a few more minutes to hike back to the car. The drive back to Kingston went well. We arrived in time for the 5:30 ferry but it was already full and running late. We took the 6:30 boat home. Sitting on a ferry and looking at the mountains and water is not a bad way to end a hike.
This turned out to be a great hike. It was busier than expected but there is plenty of room atop Mt. Townsend. The haze was a bit of a disappointment but we still had some views of the Cascades and great clear view of the Olympic peaks. The clouds coming in was unexpected but it did provide some shade when it was appreciated. This really is a great hike. It was hard to believe that It had been 9 years for me and 36 for Gary since our last visits It was surprising that we had never done it together. It was a really great way for me to break up a work week with a hike to a terrific summit.
 Mt. Rainier From Ferry |
 Rhododendron In Bloom |
 Trailhead Signs |
 On The Trail |
 Buckhorn Wilderness |
 First Indian Paintbrush |
 View To Ridge |
 Violets |
 First Phlox |
 Stonecrop |
 Very Red Paintbrush |
 Lupine |
 Wallflower |
 Pink Phlox |
 Trillium |
 Snow On Ridge |
 View To Cascades |
 Half Of Mt. Rainier |
 Windy Lake |
 Three Fingers Mountain |
 Glacier Peak |
 Gary On The Trail |
 Above The Trees |
 Heather |
 Blue Sky |
 Mt. Rainier & Adams |
 Snowy Peaks |
 Gary On Summit Ridge |
 Mt. Constance |
 Summit In Sight |
 Mystery & Deception |
 Hood Canal Bridge |
 Zoom Of Mt. Rainier |
 Glacier Peak |
 Baker & Shuksan |
 The Brothers |
 Mystery & Fricaba |
 The Brothers To Constance |
 Sequim Bay |
 Old Man's Whiskers |
 Western Anemone |
 Gary On N. Townsend |
 Port Angeles |
 Port Townsend |
 Protection Island |
 Back To The Summit |
 Buckhorn & Mystery |
 Heading Down |
 Mt. Jupiter-The Brothers |
 Colorful Phlox |
 Mt. Mystery Again |
 Mt. Buckhorn |
 Olympic Peaks |
 Seattle |
 False Hellebore |
 Last Paintbrush |
 More Views |
 Back In The Forest |
 Rhodie Bloom |
 Big Rhodie |
 Parking Lot |
Trips - 2024
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