{"id":3981,"date":"2021-08-17T03:12:31","date_gmt":"2021-08-17T03:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/?p=3981"},"modified":"2021-08-20T14:15:09","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T14:15:09","slug":"grand-ridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2021\/08\/17\/grand-ridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Ridge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Friday, July 30, 2021<\/p>\n<p>After our four days of <a href=\"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2021\/08\/11\/backpacking-in-the-buckhorn-wilderness\/\">backpacking<\/a> in the nearby Buckhorn Wilderness, we had several day hikes planned in Olympic National Park. Today we did <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wta.org\/go-hiking\/hikes\/grand-ridge\">Grand Ridge<\/a>. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>We checked out of our Sequim hotel yesterday morning and found a campsite at Heart O The Hills Campground so we&#8217;d be in a convenient location. This morning we drove up to Hurricane Ridge and stopped for an obligatory photo of the spectacular view:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51366081505_fcfbafac10_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hurricane Ridge\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The we headed out on the gravel road towards Obstruction Point. This was a really spectacular drive:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51366363737_401b453c81_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hurricane Ridge\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369838473_11dc617ce6_c.jpg\" alt=\"View from Obstruction Point Road\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The view from trailhead was also fantastic:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51366364217_840c93a437_c.jpg\" alt=\"Obstruction Point Trailhead\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This trail starts here and ends at Deer Park 7.5 miles away. We would just be doing the first part and turning around:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51367862654_958bc9746f_c.jpg\" alt=\"Obstruction Point Trailhead\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51367962359_4a0a47c6b0_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We could see our route ahead. This photo was taken in the afternoon on the way down:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369527331_ab698b47c4_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the first half mile or so were a few sketchy sections where the trail was eroding down the hill:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370523635_66d741b14a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In the first stretch we saw a few wildflowers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368235115_cb6476206d_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51367958269_38515b1069_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Piper&#8217;s bellflower:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51367224626_1a8d6f4f9c_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Western sweetbroom:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368234500_e7153965e6_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51366463487_0bed89783f_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51366462867_c0405f8a32_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Then the trail turned east as it climbed up to the ridge:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51367236056_de17072b4e_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We had a view down Badger Valley (photo taken in afternoon) up which we would hike from Grand Valley tomorrow:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51384402330_dc13c2c0d3_c.jpg\" alt=\"Badger Valley\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The scenery behind us was amazing and we kept turning around to look back there:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370483325_686f481daa_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369474736_cca48a0810_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369698428_e60017ba4a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368714407_aed3a3d34b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Gentian:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370210049_24306c14f0_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Wow, these mountains are so impressive!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369473006_be538da720_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368718432_852a0d927b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370482400_3717ce6ac5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369476781_2b7ccbb217_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370485345_188a580958_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368720232_1c623ff6d6_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This was the view in front of us as we hiked east:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370481630_a3cf5802fb_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369475866_16496dbeab_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At two miles we reached a trail that headed down into Badger Valley, but we stayed on the ridge:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369702993_1e6fc17419_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We started getting views into Grand Valley where we would hike tomorrow. That&#8217;s Grand Lake on the left and Moose Lake above it on the right:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370493575_d5d02b4fea_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369710653_a6ede32c84_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking down Grand Creek:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370492810_60888f4a7b_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Last stretch before we stopped:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368728952_1d0b63128e_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The trail started to descend steeply down to Roaring Winds Camp so we made that our turnaround point and sat down for a snack with a view of the mountains:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370494915_106c1b8948_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Looking up Grand Valley:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370226054_72d251d439_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Those two bumps in the distance are Iron Mountain and Buckhorn Mountain. We hiked partway up Buckhorn Mountain a few days previous on our <a href=\"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2021\/08\/11\/backpacking-in-the-buckhorn-wilderness\/\">backpacking trip<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369489396_e1f360a748_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370227099_de31fafbe3_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We had a view north over the San Juan Straight to Vancouver Island beyond:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369487511_b64e49f465_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369710858_d948a215c5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We could see the Hurricane Ridge Road over there:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369512426_01a87213e3_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t terribly windy, but we did have some strong and random wind gusts. One of them grabbed hold of my binoculars case and sent it down this crumbly slope. Greg tried to get it, even though this slope was a bit treacherous. But he knocked a little rock loose that sent the case tumbling down, down, down:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369486701_c873bbe945_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It was getting hot so we packed up and headed back.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370517310_ee4420f4b0_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369514021_98e9525ff5_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Saw this lovely butterfly<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369727453_9004a6ba15_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368743797_fbb0e38ea3_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We also saw a horned lark:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370515420_be18f95015_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And an Olympic marmot:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51370523265_e91de830eb_c.jpg\" alt=\"Grand Ridge Hike\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What a beautiful hike! We drove back to Hurricane Ridge where we took a few photos before fleeing from the crowds:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369526596_b2be2a6a90_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hurricane Ridge\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51369749348_021a7c7b3a_c.jpg\" alt=\"Hurricane Ridge\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We saw a deer grazing here:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51368827852_01dc1ae6c7_c.jpg\" alt=\"Deer at Hurricane Ridge\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This was the last good weather day of the trip, unfortunately. The following day we had clouds and rain, and the day after that smoke rolled in.<\/p>\n<p>Gaia stats: 5.2 miles, 720&#8242; elevation gain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Friday, July 30, 2021 After our four days of backpacking in the nearby Buckhorn Wilderness, we had several day hikes<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/2021\/08\/17\/grand-ridge\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Grand Ridge<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3991,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[216,161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-olympic-national-park","category-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3981"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4008,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3981\/revisions\/4008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/cherylhill.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}