Today we did a lot of driving and hiking. We hiked four different trails and drove about three hours to cover 85 miles of winding mountain roads.
We entered Olympic National Park on our way to Sunrise viewpoint. We left early because they limit the number of cars each day.
When we saw the line of cars waiting to get in and we could not see the entry gate yet, we thought we might be in trouble. After a long wait, we did finally get in. It was a challenge to find a parking space.
Once we got to the Sunrise Viewpoint, we forgot about the challenges getting there. The mountains, the ocean views, and the flowers were breathtaking.
When we completed the hike on Sunrise Viewpoint, we had a decision to make. Do we hike to the next trailhead because we know we have a parking spot or do we save an extra two mile hike and drive to Hurricane Ridge. We took a chance and drove. It worked out. We got a terrific parking place at Hurricane Ridge.
The hike at Hurricane Ridge was more challenging than the Sunrise Viewpoint hike. At the same time, the panoramas and the flora and fauna were even more beautiful. The hike was about twice as long. We took three times as many photos.
We decided to turn around when we could see the top of the ridge. Because we had more time, we began to experiment with our photos.
If you take some extra time, you can see things differently. It was hard to decide which was more picturesque. For this one, we chose the flowers.
We tried adjusting the focus by subtly moving our cameras to move the focus of the lens. With a little time and practice, you can get the image to be foreground, background, or overall focused.
Inside Photography
Sometimes, you also have to get to the correct spot to get the photo you want.
Here was the photo that laying down on the job delivered.
We did see numerous flowers on our hikes in the Hurricane Ridge area.
Marymere Falls was an interesting hike. It is a two mile hike through a rainforest. It is interesting to see the trees with roots above ground. As the trail nears the falls, it gets very steep. The park has built wooden stairs to assist with the climb. In theory, the stairs are one way. In reality, people choose which way they want to go. It makes for some interesting passing on the stairs. Marymere Falls was a very nice tall waterfall.
Because the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center was closed due to a fire, we stopped at the Lake Crescent Visitor Center. Lake Crescent is a very clear lake. If you look closely, you can see the color variation in the water.
Madison Falls was a very short hike over a poorly marked trail. We used the sound of other hikers as our primary way to decide where to go. It was worth the hunt. There were so many people at this site, we had to wait quite a while to get an open shot of the falls.
At the beginning of the trail, we saw the stump of a huge tree. We also saw the Ehwah River which is the river that Madison Creek joins just below the Falls.
It was a long and tiring day. Every hike was great. We were glad that we had made it through the line at Hurricane Ridge.