Sunday, September 5, 2021
This morning we drove towards Hurricane Ridge and parked at the trailhead for the Switchback Trail, an appropriately named trail that switchbacks up the slope:
There were a lot of clouds today, but we could see some of the mountains from the trail as we climbed:
Along the way we passed a few deer grazing just below the trail. This one gave me a curious look:
We reached a junction where the trail to the left heads towards Hurricane Ridge. We continued up to the right:
The views continued opening up:
We reached the top of the ridge and the junction with the trail to Heather Park:
We were now in the clouds as we headed along Klahhane Ridge:
The trail climbs up to the unnamed 6,046′ high point in the photo below before descending down to Lake Angeles. That would be our turnaround point:
Views were hit-and-miss due to the clouds:
From our break spot looking west at Mt. Angeles and Second Top:
View across to Vancouver Island and Victoria, BC:
Looking back along the Klahhane Ridge Trail we had hiked to get here:
After our break we re-traced our steps back the way we came:
The clouds shifted and we got a view of the Heather Park Trail switchbacking up the slope:
Hiking back:
It was disappointing to have so many clouds and it made for super challenging photo conditions, but this was still a great hike. We’d love to do it during flower season next time.
Gaia stats: 5.5 miles, 1,900′ elevation gain
