Photo Friday: Random Dayhikes near Seattle

I've been heading to the mountains to hike one day most weeks this spring and summer, and as the snow retreated from the mountains, they got more interesting and I started taking some photos (those winter hikes in the low foothills mostly don't have much of photographic interest to me). I have here a few shots from several hikes I've done in the last six weeks. Sometimes I carried a camera, sometimes just my phone.

Granite Lake
A fairly well-graded hike of just over 8 miles RT, with a 2300' gain. I did this May 30.

We started early, so the light was dim enough on the way in to use a slow shutter speed for some smooth water photos.

 

Lake Angeles & Hurricane Ridge
The next weekend, I headed to the Olympic Peninsula and did the very popular hike to Lake Angeles. Being free to do these hikes on weekdays makes them a lot more enjoyable. This one was just over 7 miles and 2400' of climbing.

I never saw such pale banana slugs before. 

After hiking to the lake, I felt the urge to use my brand new National Parks Geezer Pass, so drove on up the road to Hurricane Ridge. I hadn't been up there in over 30 years and had forgotten how long the road is. You really climb up there, and of course it starts from pretty much sea level.

Olympics panorama.

In the foreground is the site where the Hurricane Ridge lodge stood until it burned a couple of years ago.

 

Ollalie Lake
Very close to Seattle, the Pratt Lake Trailhead gives access to a number of lakes as well as Granite Peak, making an early start essential even on weekdays. We hiked around the lake and up to the Pratt Lake trail to loop back, for a 7 1/2 mile hike with 2130' of climbing.

I've recently learned to use the phone to take "long exposure" shots. I need to work on it a bit, but it's kind of fun, and can be done even when there's too much light for a conventional long exposure.

Peek-a-boo view of Rainier from Ollalie Lake

Bride's Bonnet (clintonia uniflora)

Lake Serene & Wallace Falls
This is an astonishingly popular hike, given that the trail is very steep and rough. It's better than it once was--a lot of work has been done, building stair steps on the steepest slopes. I counted something like 800 of them. It was a very busy trail even though I was there on a rainy weekday. I was also disturbed to see how many people were ill-prepared for the weather. Yes, it was a fairly warm day, but it's not Hawaii. If you twisted an ankle and had to wait for rescue, you'd get cold, especially being soaked to the skin. I changed to a dry shirt at the lake while I ate lunch, and for the hike down, as the rain had largely stopped by then.

Wallace Falls. A 1-mile RT detour from the main trail, adding in the falls made it a 7.7 mile hike with nearly 2400' of climbing--concentrated in the latter part of the climb, as the first mile + gains very little.

This is much like the last time I visited Lake Serene. I seem to be fated to be there on misty days.

The author, seeking a balance between sweating into the rain gear and getting soaked without it. It was a failed balance and I was glad to be carrying extra clothes. 

 

I hope you've enjoyed the photos!

Stay tuned for further news about the coming release of the new Seffi Wardwell mystery, Edited Out.

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025   
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