Mount Ellinor (7/1/13)

Brad's company shut down over the first week of July, and we decided it was the perfect time to get out of town for a climbing trip.

We drove up Sunday morning to Staircase in the southeast corner of the Olympic National Park and found a beautiful walk-in campsite next to the North Fork Skokomish River:

Knowing it would be hot, we got an early start for Monday's climb up Mount Ellinor. 

The view from the trailhead (Ellinor just left of center):

We planned to start at the lower trailhead, but the temp was already rising, so we decided the shorter route sounded more appealing.

The trail is short and steep through the forest. There was still a fair amount of snow on the ground, and we had to do a little bit of route finding.

We came out of the trees and into the snow fields and weren't sure which way to go. Not surprisingly, Brad just pointed his mountaineering boots up the hill and led us straight up the slope. We had trekking poles, ice axe and helmet for rockfall.

Lake Cushman below me:

We tried to climb last year but the area was closed due to dangerous encounters with goats. There were more than a dozen running around the slope next to us on the snowfields:

A staircase peeked from under the snow at the top of the snowfield: 

After gaining the ridge, it was just a bit farther on the rocky trail:

A momma and baby goat were near the summit but not too close:

360-degree view from the summit... looking east:

Unfortunately, some low clouds and haze kept Rainier, Adams and St. Helens nearly hidden. We could barely make them out.

Turning clockwise toward the south... Lake Cushman:

Hood Canal:

We hung out on top for a while, snacking, soaking up the view and chatting with a local man and his granddaughter who arrived shortly after us.

 

Ours was the first car in the parking lot when we arrived, but by the time we headed down, many groups were also on the trail. I wouldn't call it crowded, but it certainly wasn't a solitary adventure.

On the way down, we stopped to gather up an abandoned tent and sleeping bag, did some glissading, stepped through a snow patch and into a shallow stream, talked to three rangers about our goat experience (they were doing a study), and sweated, huffed and puffed more than we should have on such a short hike (it was HOT!).

It was a pleasant hike with a great payout. It would be a really nice one for fall when the temps are cooler.

:)