Forum Index > Trip Reports > Pyramid Peak, ONP, Jan 18 2016
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meck
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meck
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PostMon Jan 18, 2016 9:48 pm 
Pyramid Peak, 18 Jan 2016 Weather looked promising, had some extra time-off, so I decided to go visit Pyramid Peak on the north shore of Lake Crescent, in the Olympic National Park. The WTA has done some recent trail work, and the trail looks great (almost no blowdown, the big ones can be passed underneath). The washout is obviously going to require continual maintenance since I'd anticipate that every big rain storms will simply push/facilitate sliding the dirt down the exposed rock face, but it was in very passable condition today (some gullies are beginning to form in about three spots). There was some minimal snow on shorts part of the trail near the summit, but today was warm enough that I did not need any additional traction devices beyond boots.
Pyramid Peak from Hwy101
Pyramid Peak from Hwy101
The new trail cut across the washout
The new trail cut across the washout
Almost to the ridge!
Almost to the ridge!
Lush green, a bit brushy...
Lush green, a bit brushy...
Victoria to the north through the trees
Victoria to the north through the trees
Snow on the trail near the top
Snow on the trail near the top
View south from the ridge
View south from the ridge
And there is the old lookout hut
And there is the old lookout hut
Looking east from the summit
Looking east from the summit
Hmm.... something to ponder
Hmm.... something to ponder
The Lookout hut
The Lookout hut
The Lake Crescent lodge/institute building (I guess...)
The Lake Crescent lodge/institute building (I guess...)
Booth shot south
Booth shot south
Mt Storm King and Barnes Creek drainage
2 labels
Mt Storm King and Barnes Creek drainage
Aurora Ridge
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Aurora Ridge
Bright neon green/yellow lichen
Bright neon green/yellow lichen
Filtered sun through the filtered trees on the way down
Filtered sun through the filtered trees on the way down
A nice spot for dinner
A nice spot for dinner
Mt Storm King to the east
Mt Storm King to the east

*Just say NO to Rent-Seeking, don't give up the concept of "ownership"*
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IanB
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IanB
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PostMon Jan 18, 2016 10:57 pm 
Looks like it was a really nice quiet/grey sort of day for Pyramid.
Wolf lichen
Wolf lichen
http://www.lichen.com/bigpix/Lvulpina.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letharia_vulpina

"Forget gaining a little knowledge about a lot and strive to learn a lot about a little." - Harvey Manning
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 8:24 am 
Fabulous up.gif Our friend, duck, did the restoration of the lookout several years back. The quote by Alex Supertramp may be just that, a quote. Doubt if he actually wrote it, but who knows! He was in the area at one time on his way north to Alaska! I think. Anyway, next time hubby talks to duck, he'll ask. Unless someone knows the story! That slide area sucks, but hey, if I can cross it, someone can cross it, too! Thanks for sharing your adventure!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Abert
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Abert
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 9:18 am 
I was just about looking over your shoulder from the next ridge north (Peak 2731).

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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 10:40 am 
ha ha biggrin.gif yesterday, i was hiking the Adventure Route between mile post 12 - 16 of the Olympic Discovery Trail. i waved to you, meck and Abert wave.gif

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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mike
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 11:22 am 
meck wrote:
Victoria to the north through the trees
Victoria to the north through the trees
Sooke I think...

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Abert
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Abert
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 12:46 pm 
Bobbi, we were even closer. I also drove up the Joyce Access Road yesterday to get to the high point of Joyce Ridge which looks like it's right above that section of the Discovery Trail.

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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 2:28 pm 
Abert did you see a white mazda ... 5 miles +- up from Joyce Piedmont, parked at the TH on the Joyce Access Road? anyway ... at this TH we hiked east to Graul-Ramapo, about 1+ mile, turned back, entered the west TH, hiked just past the milepost 16 and popped out at what i think is still the Joyce Access Road. there's a gate somewhere. will probably do the joyce piedmont TH, mp 20 back to mp 16 soon. hiking across the adventure route a section at a time. sorry for the thread drift, meck smile.gif

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Abert
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Abert
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 3:49 pm 
This thread has only drifted a few miles. The turn-off to the high point is just over a couple miles from Joyce. It sounds like you parked beyond that and then walked back past it. There's a gated side road about a half-mile down from the road I turned up.

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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 5:05 pm 
so is there a trail to the high point or did you bushwhack ... i labeled where i parked and turned around on the map!

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Abert
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PostTue Jan 19, 2016 5:24 pm 
Our paths did indeed cross. There's a road up to the high point which is just a graded area with a tower. You can see it if you go to any of the various sites that show aerial views. I promise I walked through brush and did about 10 miles to get to the two earlier high points of the day farther west.

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meck
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meck
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 7:09 pm 
@ IanB: Thanks for the lichen ID! Hmm if the links are accurate, that's pretty interesting that it was used as a poison (but supposedly was not bad for plant eaters...) and also stomach treatment. In any case, I find that my pictures never do the colors any justice (I love that bright neon green against the silver gray gnarled wood). @ bobbi: The lookout was in pretty good shape (all considering), definitely a nice place to pause in the rain or wind. Here's hoping the slide does not get any worse! (can you imagine having to zigzag up that ridge finger, where the new trail cut is, all the way from the Spruce Railroad trail below if the slide were to get any rockier!) @ mike: Thanks for the correction! Looking at the map now I realize how much further east Victoria is (yikes) @ Abert: I was looking north to that ridge wondering what kind of trails (if any) were over there, thanks for posting your route! The NatGeo map I have of ONP indicated some trails along the ridge top directly north of the Pyramid Peak ridge (appeared to be accessible from the east Spruce RR TH or the Sadie Creek (?) TH). I'm gonna have to go pay that ridgeline and the one you were on a visit sometime! Was it just USFS land, or private land? (Do I need any special permits?)

*Just say NO to Rent-Seeking, don't give up the concept of "ownership"*
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bobbi
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bobbi
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PostWed Jan 20, 2016 8:31 pm 
meck ... the map Abert posted is the Adventure Route of the Olympic Discovery Trail. several access points but the main one is about .3 mile west from the highway 112 bridge over the Elwha. this route ends near the east end of the Spruce RR trailhead. the whole route is about 24 miles. http://www.olympicdiscoverytrail.com/oar/oar_overview.html you can see pyramid peak on the overall trail map of the OAR, Olympic Adventure Route.

bobbi ૐ "Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Abert
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Abert
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PostThu Jan 21, 2016 8:01 am 
Meck, the long ridge north of the Pyramid ridge is mostly state land (Olympic DNR map). The trails you're seeing may be the ones on this Sadie Creek map. I accessed it following the Peakbagger route for Peak 2731 and needed a Discovery Pass. Logging roads and big ORV trails. You might be able to park along Highway 112 without a pass at one of the north entrances or maybe from national forest land west of Piedmont. More jumbled ridges and high points around where Bobbi was. Again it's mostly state land with logging roads and the Discovery Trail Adventure Route as the only developed trail that I noticed.

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