Читать книгу Olympic Mountains Trail Guide - Robert Wood - Страница 41

Length: 2.8 mi/4.5 km

Access: Barnes Creek Trail

Custom Correct Map: Lake Crescent / Happy Lake Ridge, Washington

Green Trails Map: Lake Crescent, Wa. No. 101

Agency: Olympic National Park

One of the most popular paths in the northern Olympics, this trail overlooks Lake Crescent as it climbs about two-thirds of the way up the west ridge of Mount Storm King, a peak composed of basalt.

The trail begins at a junction (700 ft/213 m) with the Barnes Creek Trail, 0.4 mi/0.6 km from Storm King Ranger Station. The path doesn’t fiddle around with tentative uphill starts but climbs sharply through stands of tall Douglas-fir, where the ground is covered with ferns and moss. As it switchbacks up the mountainside, the trail ascends to successive vantage points that provide ever-changing vistas of Lake Crescent, Aurora Ridge, and the valley of Barnes Creek. Fog often lies over the lake in the morning, but when the afternoon sun slants low, softening the shadows, the water loses its vivid blue color, changing to slate gray. Log trucks roar along the lake’s southern shore, their grinding motors breaking the otherwise somber stillness.

Upon gaining the western spurs of Mount Storm King, the trail ascends a steep hogback, switchbacking to several overlooks. The noise made by the logging trucks becomes pronounced, seemingly magnified rather than lessened by the increased altitude.

At one viewpoint a sign indicates the end of the maintained trail. The trail does not end here, but inexperienced hikers should not proceed beyond this point. Beyond the viewpoint the ascent of Mount Storm King involves scrambling up rotten rock on a narrow ridge. Two ropes have been installed to assist in the climb, but the Park Service strongly advises against their use because the integrity of the ropes is very questionable. The path becomes progressively steeper, then vanishes at a jutting promontory (2.8 mi/4.5 km; ca. 4265 ft/1300 m). Bordered by steep, forest-clad mountains, Lake Crescent sweeps across the line of sight. Pyramid Mountain stands to the northwest, Aurora Ridge to the southwest, with the valley of Barnes Creek lying at the foot of the mountain. Across the valley the mountainside is a series of uniform spurs between creeks that flow parallel to one another and at right angles to Barnes Creek. This is an excellent example of a trellis drainage pattern.