[Mt. Frank]

[polarbear]

Exactly. The latest thing is desert hiking. No vine maple or devil's club. You don't have to worry about stepping aside for oncoming traffic-just step off in a different direction. In fact you can totally ignore the offending oncomer by walking away at a 90 degree angle. No roots or rocks to trip over unless grains of sand give you trouble. The only trekking poles you are likely to see are from Europe. You can look to see if others are camped nearby before practicing Oh Susana! on your harmonica. North, south, east, and west are never hidden by towering peaks. It's the way to go. Desert hiking. Desert: one "s" as in sand Dessert: two "s" as in strawberry shortcake

dessert

[reststep]

I agree with Damian. The Olympics should definitely be avoided.

[Allison]

The Cascades are amazing. What was that other place called, I heard that name somewhere before, but just can't place it....

[Quark]

Damian is right. For a change. The Olympics are ugly. They're just Cascade wanna-be's. They're full of tormented floating faces and hants, and evil molecules converging into mad maelstroms around every bend, just WAITING to attack. And don't even get me started on the ocean. All those pesky seastacks of twisted basalt blocking the sunset views IF there aren't rainstorms at the time. All those old growth logs littering the beach. Someone should clean that up. And those old growth trees falling off the eroding cliffs all the time - it's dangerous, I tell you! Sheesh, I want to barf all over the place when I see it. Maybe I should - it could only be an improvement on the place.

[One Day Wonder]

[Allison]

[Hiker Boy]

My vote is for the Cascades. The Oly's just don't have the amount of hikeable terrain as the Cascades. Aside from the ocean, The Oly's don't have the variety that you can have in the Cascades either. It's easier to get up in the alpine in the Cascades without the long river valley approaches. Lastly, unless you live on the west side of Puget Sound, it takes too darn long to get to the Oly's.

[MCaver]

No variety? Surely you jest! Alpine lakes, mountain peaks, moss-covered forests, raging rivers, and one thing the Cascades don't have -- wilderness beaches. And for some of us, those "long river valley approaches" are the reason we go. Sol Duc is one of my favorite places on earth.

[Karen]

the Olympics just take too long to get to. I've gone on several long backpacks in the Olympics and the terrain (at least where we were) was just as rugged as that in the Cascades. In general there seems to be more solitude in the Olympics but at the risk of repeating myself, it just takes too long to get there. Not to mention the ferry hassles. Generally if I do go to the Olympics I go on Saturdays having learned that there isn't as much of a wait for the ferry on Saturday nights as there is on Sunday nights. For a day hike in the Olympics I usually drive around and hike in the Staircase/Lake Cushman area. That being said these mountain ranges do have a different feel to them. The Cascades feel more adolescent somehow than the Olympics ... the Olympics "feel" ancient, old, mellow, and restful whereas the Cascades feel spunky, wild, and even cruel at times. However, I am being extremely subjective. Long story short, I wish the Olympics were easier to get to. If they were I would probably divide my hiking time evenly between them because they both have much to offer. Karen

[MCaver]

I never take the ferry when I go to the Peninsula. It takes just as long from my experience to drive down to Tacoma and back up through Bremerton as it does to wait on the ferry. Plus, that leaves me the option of heading around the south side of the park instead of the north.

[catwoman]

I don't have to take a ferry to go to the Olympics. I live down towards Tacoma so I don't have to! Yay!

[Lead Dog]

Aside from the elevation issue, my next biggest problem with the Olympics is the fees they charge. First there's the entrance fee, then there is the permit fee, then there is the per day per head fee, then in many spots in the backcountry they won't let you in without a bear canister and if you don't have one you can rent one for a bear canister fee The Olympics are very beautiful I agree, but all the rules like no camping between mile point 5 and the Elk Horn shelter on the Elwah at mile point 11 because of bear problems! Come on! There are bears all over the Olympics! : : make hiking there not worth it. It's not THAT beautiful or special. When you hike in a National Park- Also Mt. Rainer- you have to put up with more rules and regulations. Thats why I hike elsewere. I already pay $30.00 for a park trail pass! That's it!

[reststep]

What is considered the North Cascades? Is that everything from Stevens Pass north?

[Damian]

I hear ya Lead dog. And the Elwah is one the strictest as far as restrictions, fees and those pesky rangers. You get around most of this if you hike remote places in the winter, when toll booths are closed and rangers are scarce. The long river hikes are great when the Cascades are inaccessible. The ocean, likewise. I made my own bear canister out of a piece of PVC sewer pipe with end caps. Cost a couple bucks and weighs a couple pounds. I almost never take it unless I risk a ranger encounter, which is rare in the winter. If the only fee is the brown envelope honor system they offer, I can live with it. However, I recommend that the Olympics be avoided. People that hike there are very strange. People like Quark, for instance. If she really hated the Olympics she would have returned my copy of The Peninsula by now. Quark is a very strange person.