Olympic National Park - Hurricane Ridge p1
Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, August 2005
I left Port Angeles, Washington early in the morning under cloudy and rainy skies. I had hoped to drive the winding road up to Hurricane Ridge, but after looking at the conditions, I decided to cut my losses and head for Mount Rainier National Park, where the weather radar showed my amiable conditions. I'd driven about 30 miles east of Port Angeles when I heard a weather report on the radio that said that conditions at Hurricane Ridge were mostly sunny and cool, with no rain. I found this hard to believe since I was still driving in a pretty constant mist. Having driven all this way to see the Hurricane Ridge, which most people considered a highlight of Olympic National Park, I decided to turn around and give it a shot. Upon entering the park, I stopped at a Heart o' the Hills Ranger Station, which confirmed what the radio had reported, the weather at the top of the mountain was much better than it was down at sea level.
I wasn't disappointed, either. I drove through mist and a soft rain, but the higher up I went, the clearer it got. By the time I'd driven the seventeen miles to the top, the skies has turned a brilliant blue, as you can see in the picture below. Hurricane Ridge is a 5240 feet above sea level and provides brilliant views of the mountains to the south and Vancouver Island to the north. I never got a real good look at Vancouver Island and Victoria, British Columbia's capital because the fog and mist I had driven through still partially hung over the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the body of water which separates Washington State and Canada.
Next: ONP- Hurricane Ridge page 2 (8/31)