- Drive up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park
- Hike up Hurricane Hill to see black-tailed deer and marmots
- See Elwha River Valley with Madison Falls
For once, a cloudy morning awaits us. After shower and breakfast we drive to the information center of the Olympic National Park. We get an overview of all the sights and the different park sectors, which is not so easy here in this vast area. For today the journey up into the mountains is imminent, the so-called Hurricane Ridge. We drive uphill through thick fog and start our two-hour hike up to Hurricane Hill. In between, a hole in the cloud cover allows a view of the surrounding mountains of the Olympic Mountains.
In the middle of the way we encounter an endemic Olympic marmot, which even runs towards us. Suddenly there is a not at all shy black-tailed deer a few meters away from us. We watch the two animals for a while and march on towards the summit. Depending on the altitude, the color of autumn is here. On the way back we also meet a group of ptarmigan.
Then we drive to the recently renatured Elwha River Valley. The dam was laboriously dismantled and the river was allowed to run its natural course again. As a result, salmon can now spawn in the river again, which is an important factor for the entire ecosystem. There we march the short distance to the Madison Falls. A few kilometers later we find an RV park and set up our overnight camp.
