[alexsidles]

My brother and I hiked up Mount Ellinor last Sunday, taking advantage of the lovely weather. On Saturday, we'd had dinner at the Shilshole Marina in Seattle and had seen Mount Ellinor from the city. On Sunday, we were able to look down from the top of Mount Ellinor and see Seattle. From that great distance, Seattle looked like a tiny town clinging to the edge of a vast wilderness of trees and water, a pleasing optical effect. The trail was very steep, particularly the second half. We were huffing and puffing by the time we made it to the top, but it was worth it for the splendid views of Hood Canal, Puget Sound, and the central Olympics, including Mount Olympus. My brother and I agreed that the Olympics are our favorite mountain range. They always seem so jagged and wild. There were quite a few other hikers out, perhaps around a hundred or so. Despite the crowd, the trail still felt like a real wilderness, with its massive old hemlocks and Pacific Silver Firs. Outside the Mount Skokomish Wilderness, there were a lot of logging scars visible on the National Forest land to the east, and even more on the DNR land out to Lilliwaup, but the forest in the wilderness itself was old, healthy, and beautiful. These were ancient trees, centuries old when the first Europeans landed, and it was wonderful to walk among them. Less wild but still cool were the Gray Jays. They paid us a visit during one of the many breaks we took on the steep trail, and we just couldn't resist feeding them some of our bagels. Other bird life included a soaring Peregrine Falcon, flocks of Pine Siskins, a fly-catching Golden-crowned Sparrow, nuthatches, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

My brother and I spent an hour or so on the summit, taking in the views of our beautiful state all around us. It was great fun being out in the woods with him, enjoying the forest, the mountains, the birds, and the bright blue sky. Alex P.S. I dropped a pair of hiking poles somewhere near the lower trailhead. When I returned, they were gone. If anyone has taken them for safekeeping, please PM me.