Talapus Lake and Olallie Lake

Trail Distance: 6.2 Miles round trip
Elevation Gain: 1200 ft

A trip to the lakes does not entail expectations of great views of distant landscapes. Yet the mountainsides rising from the lakes can be astoundingly beautiful. Such is the setting of the Talapus Lake and Olallie Lake that I set out for today.

The trail head itself is located at a relatively higher elevation of 2800 ft reached through driving 3.2 miles of US Forest Roads 9031/9030 after exit 45 of I-90. This trail is an easy family friendly character. One would normally expect a lot of young children accompanying their parents. While on my way to the lake, I passed a couple of father son duos returning from overnight camping. 

I arrived at the Talapus lake first but kept going forward to arrive at the Olallie lake about 30 minutes later. There was abundance of wild blueberries around the lake. I continued to the northern most end of the lake where mountains sides closed in. By this time, the rains started falling and gradually grew stronger. So in stead of stopping, I picked and ate some berries quickly turned around.

Back at the Talapus lake, there was a large group of pre-teens and teenagers frolicking on the lake shore. The meadows across the lake and the reflections in the water was very beautiful. I spent a few minutes snapping a some pictures before returning to the trail head.
 

Red Pass via Commonwealth Basin

Trail Distance: 6.2 miles out and back
Cummulative Elevation Gain: 2500 ft

Red Mountain and Red Pass to its left

After the very late onset of the summer season this year, the pacific northwest has experienced a consistently beautiful sunny  weather over last few weeks. In order to take full advantage of this blessing, I have abandoned my preference for  a couple weeks to recoup from an arduous hiking trip, and in stead, started hiking every week I can get away. The Red Mountain can be seen from the I-90 highway at Snoqualmie Pass and has always fascinates me when I see it. So I set out for the Red Pass, which is a saddle between Red Mountain and Lundin Peak, over which the trail proceeds farther North down to the Middle Fork of Snoqualmie River valley.

Guye Peak and Snoqualmie Mtn viewed from PCT

The trail starts at an elevation of 3000 ft at the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) trail head at the Snoqualmie Pass just off of I-90 exit number 52 for East Summitt. The PCT runs from Mexico in the South all the way to Canada in the North along the crest of Cascade Mountain Range. This trail is a very popular hiking destination and appears to be well maintained. I headed North on a gently ascending trail for 2.5 miles after which at 4000 ft elevation, the Commonwealth Basin Trail starts leading to the Red Pass. 

Red Lake

Beyond the junction, the trail gradually descends by about 200 ft and ascends back to 4000 ft over about one and a quarter miles. I noticed the old Commonwealth Basin trail that has been abandoned and marked so. After this segment with relatively mild gradient, the trail climbs up rapidly to 4900 ft over numerous switchbacks in about three quarter of a mile. At this point there is a short detour the Red Lake at the foot of Lundin Peak. I took a a short detour to have a look. It appears as a serene water body with steep mountain slopes almost on three of its four sides.

Wild flowers

Beyond the Red Lake, the trail embraces the huge rockfall area with lose rocks on the west face of Red Mountain. After another half mile, I finally arrived at Red Pass at an elevation 5300 ft. Immediately to the north is a precipice. A ridge line on either side runs to the Red Mountain and Lundin Peak while the trail first runs West and then continues North descending on the east face of Lundin Peak. The location provides spectacular view of the 6554 ft high Mount Thompson. I soaked up the views all around and took pictures while eating my lunch. 

Mount Thomson viewed from Red Pass

On my way back, I looked for a trail for getting to the Red Mountain summit. The large rock fall area with small sized rocks seemd to be a dangerous option, for it seems a pretty unstable route and you would not want anyone above you dislodging rocks that are precariously in place. The most obvious possible trail to the summit seemed to be a blocked trail near the detour to the Red Lake. To get to the summit, I would want with me someone who had made it before. That would be something for the future. 

Loose rocks on Red Mountain west wall

Cape Flattery

Trail Distance: 1.5 miles round trip
Elevation Difference: 200 ft.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end”. 

Seattle waterfront as viewed from the ferry

This proverb can not be truer in case of the short hike to Cape Flattery: in terms of the the travel to get to the trail head as the journey that includes a ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, followed by 174 miles of driving mostly on the Strait of Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway, though Cape Flattery itself being the home to the Makah People, and the most northwestern tip of the continental United States, has its own cultural, geographical,and associated historical significance worthy of a an attractive tourist destination.

Olympic Peninsula visible above Bainbridge Island across the Puget Sound

 
It was one of those infrequent events when Minakshi would accompany me for a hike. In the past together we undertook a couple of much more arduous hiking trips to Goat Peak (5 miles/1500 ft) and Poo Poo Point (7.4 miles 1650 ft). On this occasion, I suspect that the lure going on a long drive was stronger than the appeal of associated hike to the final destination. 

Us on the ferry

To begin with, we drove about 25 miles from home to the Seattle ferry terminal and boarded a ride across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island. This 45 minute long ride provides unmatched views of both downtown Seattle to East as well as of the Olympic Peninsula to the West. Bainbridge Island is connected to the Olympic Peninsula on the West by the famous Hood Canal floating bridge. Our first stop on the peninsula was at Sequim to fill up the gas tank and to eat lunch. We drove by the Port Angeles town to get onto state highway 112 which is designated as the Strait of Juan De Fuca Scenic Byway. Part of this road runs by the shore line of the strait which connects Pacific ocean with the Puget Sound and also serves as a geographical and political boundary between the Unites States and Canada. To the north of the strait lies the Vancouver Island of the British Columbia Province of Canada. 

Strait of Juan De Fuca

The drive was slow and tortuous at times but scenic never the less. Yet I must warn that unless you enjoy driving as much as I do, you may want to take the alternate route by highway 101.  We passed Clallam Bay, Seiku, and then Neah Bay, the home of the Makah Tribe on the way, to finally reach trail head for Cape Flattery, about is 7 miles beyond Neah Bay.  

Tatoosh Island

The trail runs under old growh forest gradually descending and finally ending at a wooden platform perched 250 ft above the sea level. There are other such platforms nearby. All the platform provides excellent views out to Pacific Ocean, the nearby coast line and the Tatoosh Island, which is actually the real northwest tip of the Unites State.

Pacific coast line at Cape Flattery

On our return trip, we detoured by highway 113/101 that provides about 8 mile long scenic segment along Lake Crescent. Then we stopped by Port Angeles to have a snack while soaking up the ambiance of the waterside afternoon with a light breeze on that otherwise warm day. Besides being a port of entry by ferry from Victoria, BC in Canada, Port Angeles also provides access to Hurricane Ridge, a very popular recreational destination in the Olympic Peninsula National Forest. 

On the Ediz Hook

By the time we got to the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal to catch the Seattle ferry, darkness had settled in all around, and provided an excellent nighttime view of the lit up Seattle skyline. Unfortunately, the combination of vibration of the ferry and a strong and extremely cold breeze out on the dock prevented me from capturing any worthwhile picture to share.

Guye Peak and Cave Ridge Trail

Rock climbers on the farthest peak

Trail Distance: 8 miles

Cummulative Elevation Gain: 3500 ft

Wild flowers

After the aborted attempt to hike Guye Peak last week, today was another opportunity to complete the intended hike with an excellent clear sunny sky. I am aware of an alternate trail that starts off from the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) trail head about a mile away. This alternate trail however is not shown on the map. So with a mind to do a bonus of Cave Ridge trail today, I trusted the mapped trail I already treaded, so as to avoid any possibility of getting lost and losing time. So I started off the same Alpental trail head and followed the same trail onto the point whereupon we quit in the previous hike, and then continued to the Guye Peak. The new section that I have covered today is not much different in gradient, but more open and mostly on rocky surface. I also noticed another trail coming up from the eastern face. This is perhaps the trail that starts at the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) trail head.

Bee on flower

 There are in fact three peaks at Guye Peak. I settled on the first and started taking pictures of the 360 degrees of views. The cars at the parking lot at the trail head appeared tiny from that height of about 2000 ft.

Looking down at the parking lot

All peaks and ridges in the surroundings were clearly visible on the clear sunny day. While munching onf my lunch pack, I was joined at the narrow top by a group of three young guys. Together, we could see two other guys atop the third peak. They reached there by rock-climbing and then proceeding towards the peak we were perched on.

Me at Guye Peak

On my return from Guye Peak, I picked up the the Cave Ridge trail as planned earlier. This is a moderately steep trail. I saw several small. yet deep pockets of packed snows. But the trail was free of snow except for a very short stretch of about 6 ft. This seems to be a less frequented trail with abundance of wild flowers around. It also provides a very close up view of the Snoqualmie Mountain to the North.

Guye Peak and Mount Rainier from Cave Ridge trail

Soon I reached the the cave,  which is located at a small and relatively flat area. The cave is in fact like a hole into the ground. From the conversation with the other three guys on Guy Peak, I learned that the cave is very narrow and at the end you would crawl forward to get to the edge of a precipice.

Information Board at cave entrance

There is an information board positioned by the cave entrance. As per the information, being alone and lacking in appropriate gadgets, I decided not to venture into the cave. In stead, I proceeded onward to the nearby hilltop for some more views and returned after spending about 15 minutes up there.

Mount Thomson

I noticed even more trails coming up from the eastern face of the mountain. So I can see a few alternative options for a future hike with more company - to use the trails from the PCT trail head, explore the cave and scale the other two peaks of Guye Peak - hopefully on one single arduous trip?

Kendall Katwalk on PCT