Mt. Townsend, July 13th, 2010

Mt. Townsend

Stats: Roundtrip mi.: 8.2 

Elev. gain: 2900 ft 

High point: 6280 ft

 Party: Laura Bradford, Michelle, Deb, Beautiful views, and Shelby
Words to describe: "Oh Wow. Look at that!"

SUMMARY: So I have done this hike twice now, and I can confidently say that it is one of my favorites. It is totally worth the 2 1/2 hour drive out to the Olympics. This hike has so much to offer! -Wild Flowers, Mountain views (Olympics, Rainier, Baker), And an amazing bird's eye view of Puget Sound!

I could write about this hike all day, but really, the pictures are much more telling! Here we go! (P.S. I have done this hike twice, and I am using pictures from both times, so don't be concerned that I am switching outfits for the photos! haha)

One cool/funny thing is that the ranger station in the small town right before the hike (I forget the name...) gave away a bunch of free "Smokey the Bear" propaganda! (AND had a really nice, beautiful, glorious, clean restroom! Saying that a restroom was "beautiful and glorious" might seem silly to those non-hiking types, but after having to pee and poo outside in a variety of "mountain toilets" (ranging from a really stinky shack, a slightly barricaded camp toilet, a hole in the ground on top of an exposed peak, and of course.... leaning against a tree or rock and trying to go as fast as possible!) you will fully understand how one can describe a bathroom as "Glorious." Also, I would HIGHLY recommend using this glorious bathroom, as Mt. Townsend is a very popular hike, with not very many hidden spots (and by not very many, I mean ONE at the very top, across a ridge, and down a rock cove thingy)). Yes. I just had two parentheses inside of a parentheses. I do what I want. Here is a picture of my sweet Smokey the Bear temporary tat!

WILDLIFE? Well, the first time I did this hike, we saw two mountain goats, REALLY close up which was incredible! (They are a little stinky, however!) But this time- no dice. It is a really popular hike, so I wouldn't expect a lot of wildlife to make appearances, but there ARE mountain goat there!

CONCLUSIONS? This hike is an absolute MUST. Seriously. You must. I am obsessed with it. I couldn't stop looking around and going "WOW! Look at that!" as if my party wasn't looking. haha

If you don't believe me: WTA trip report