[bobbi]

after being in penticton, bc, over the weekend as support crew for my friend who did the IRONMAN canada, all i could think of was to get on the trail. i made 3 phone calls and they said, yes, to join me on a loop trail beginning at heart of the hills. drive on the hurricane ridge road and just before you get to the toll entry booth, go right for a little ways to a big parking lot. there are 2 trailhead signs. be sure you get on the one you want! we headed on the heather park trail, 1840 ft. this lower portion of the trail is basically in scrubby trees. lots of pinesaps, pinedrops, and my secret location for the hemitomes congestum about 3 miles there's a lookout (not halfway rock) that on a clear day, the view of port angeles and vancouver island can be seen. today, fog hovered the strait of juan de fuca. once out of the woods, i was totally surprised to see lots of wildflowers: indian paintbrushes, lupine, indian thistle, and many more...

heather park trail

heather park trail

overlook - port angeles

indian thistle

we make it to heather park, 5300 ft. this is about 4 miles from the trailhead. we stop at our favorite rest stop. i believe it's remnants of an old hunting lodge. there are campspots here with a creek nearby. i took several photos and then debbie headed back. she had a massage appointment to keep-whatever! after a snack we headed another half mile towards heather pass, 5650 ft. the darn fog played peek-a-boo and the views from the pass were obstructed. if one camps at heather park, first peak is a great place to hang out in the evening. on a better day, you should hike to first and second peak...from the pass the trail switchbacks down the other side on loose scree.

the old hunting lodge fireplace

heather park pass

trail down from heather park pass

south side of heather park pass

the trail follows beneath second peak. along the trail, you'll pass thumb rock, also called egg rock, one side of thumb rock, one can imagine a profile of what i call turban boy. there's a couple of sections on the trail that's sketchy if you sneeze

thumb or egg rock

turban boy (thumb rock)

trail between heather park and victor pass

hiking merrily without a care, enjoying life when i screamed louder than crabio when he came upon his headless bunny. there was mr. mountain goat on the trail. there's been many reports of this big guy being aggressive but today, nothing. all was fine. he stepped off the trail, pooped, and ate. we chose to be safe regardless and got off the trail on the opposite side. isn't he cute! we were just about to the notch between 2nd and 3rd peak where we met him. this is about 5.5 miles from the TH, 5760 ft. the trail then switchbacks down another scree slope, continues south towards victor pass, klahhane ridge, 6.3 miles from TH, 5880 ft. whew! the slight cool breeze kept the fog on the north side of the ridge giving us some views of the interior olympic mountains to the south. after having another snack, we followed the trail east that leads to lake angeles.

mr. mountain goat!

notch between second and third peaks

trail - sugar bowl

sunrise & hurricane ridge - olympic mountains

1 label

mt. angeles

upper lake angeles trail - klahhane ridge, off victor pass

victor pass

i love the upper lake angeles trail. it meanders through great rock formations and outstanding views of the interior olympic mountains. again, the wildflowers are still in bloom and totally amazing. this must be the year of the lupine as it was everywhere!

olympic mountains

olympic mountains

dead dead dead

snow patch-upper lake angeles trail

upper lake angeles trail

huge boulder - kate in throne

false hellebore

false hellebore

false hellebore flowers

dead tree art

upper lake angeles trail

upper lake angeles trail

upper lake angeles trail

lupine garden-upper lake angeles trail

funky rock boulder

lupine and magenta paintbrushe

lupine lined trail

mountain owl clover

mushroom in the nest

bracted lousewort

the fog prevented us from seeing lake angeles from the upper trail but as we got closer to it, the lake is visible and beautiful from above it. the lake is about 8.8 miles from the heather park TH, 4196 ft. and 3.7 miles from heart of the hills. we chose to skip the lake and continued down the trail.

lake angeles

again, this trail section is scrubby trees, dark and dreary. as we neared the end, we came upon devastation alley! although the blow down from our windstorms have been cleared, one can surely see the devastation. amazing how many trees were taken down along this section.

lower lake angeles trail-forest

devastation alley

devastation2

devastation

check out the devastation beyond the bridge

once again, i forgot to take my shoe shot so, ennis creek (i think) was to be the background for this photo.

shoe shot over ennis creek

yahoo, 12.5 miles later, we were back to heart of the hills and huckleberries galore!

huckleberries--yummmmmmm

lake angeles trail

the rain held off until we got back. thanks rain god!

[crabio]

That's another area that I have never hiked yet and I hear lots of good things about it. Getting out on a weekday is awesome ! So this hike makes an entire loop all the way back to where you started ? Any idea what the elevation gain is overall at the high point ? I noticed in one picture that you mention the notch between 2nd and 3rd peak ? Is it possible to scale those without equipment ? -c

[Backpacker Joe]

Would you look at that fireplace. We need more pics of beautiful women here at NWH! Bring em on.

[Tag Man]

That looks like a nice hike bc. I'll have to try that one sometime. Am I reading your post correctly that it is a little over 4000' gain? Thats a real calf burner.

[bobbi]

crabio: my weekday hikes are history as i returned back to work today. the school year officially starts next tuesday. yep the hike makes a loop. one can add more by heading down on the south side of victor pass towards hurricane ridge lodge via klahhane ridge trail. (this gets confusing as far as names are concerned because the klahhane ridge trail is also known as the mt. angeles trail.) at the junction, about a mile from victor pass, stay right towards sunrise ridge. (if you go left, you'll be on the switchback trail that ends on the hurricane ridge road.) so go right and where you come to a way trail on your right is one approach to the summit of mt. angeles, if you choose. but veer left onto sunrise ridge and arrive at the great meadow across from the hurricane ridge lodge. that's about 10 miles from heather park trail TH or less than 3 miles from victor pass to the hurricane ridge meadow. return back to victor pass and stay right towards lake angeles. by adding the trail towards hurricane ridge, your total milage will be around 18+ miles. as far as the particular notch or pass between 2nd top and 3rd peak is concerned, it's the crossover from the heather park trail to north east side of mt. angeles. after you cross over the pass, you go down the scree switchback and head south towards victor pass. in the basin where the snow seems to linger for a long time, i've seen folks leave the trail and head onto mt. angeles. sorry but i cannot remember where exactly. i've been to the summit mt. angeles, 6454 ft. several times but from different approaches. as far as equipment is concerned, it is mostly a mad scramble. i recommend a helmet if others are with you as rocks can be kicked loose. i've not used a helmet! bad girl! mt. angeles is basically a walk up scramble. in the winter, a different story! no altimeter to give you total elevation gain. i just know that i started at 1840 ft. to heather pass at 5650 ft, to the notch at 5750ft, to victor pass at 5850 ft. on the trail towards lake angeles, i believe the high point is at 6046 ft. before it heads down, down, down back to 1840 ft. don't quote me anyway, elevation gain? lots, as is elevation loss! thanks BPJ: not too bad for ' 50+ years young women'! Tag Man: i think the elevation gain is more like 5000 ft. maybe someone can help me out here. i prefer the counter clockwise approach, heather park to lake angeles. others like the reverse. either way, it's down down down and into scrubby woods/trees. yuk!

[summithound]

Well done bcfc53. My dad and I were out there only a couple of weeks ago and did that exact same loop. We may have even seen the same mountain goat for that matter.

[goats gone wild]

Good workout, bc. And good job with the stats & trail description. All you girlz look like you could be in a NARE commercial. One of these days I've got to get up there to meet Mr. Goat. His reputation is growing all the time. How many goats have you seen this summer?? I've not seen any. The shot of you on the Upper Lake Angeles Trail is really good. I like your backdrop.

[bobbi]

thanks skimpyphud and goats! mr. mountain goat is getting to be on the A-list! here's another photo after he got off the trail. he has the best coat!

mr. mountain goat strikes a pose

as far as the NARE (nair?) commercial, i'm the only one that's 'hairless' the others 'shaved' i've been 'teaching' cindy to use my camera. lessons are mainly composition. for the photo you mentioned, she had it horizontal and i quickly hinted to make it vertical. cindy did great! the photo turned out beautiful!

[goats gone wild]

He does have a most excellent coat, full and shiny. That is the first thing that went through my mind when I saw his picture. The second thing was: Has someone been grooming him.

[bobbi]

i've seen several mountain goats along sunrise and klahhane ridges. there's always a good chance of seeing at least one during the summer months if you happen to be in the area. just be cautious. i have only seen mountain goats in the olympics with beautiful coats. these guys must love it in the olympic mountains......heck, i do!

[ScottM]

That is one massive goat. I think I would take a bear coming at me over that goat any day.

[Hiker Mama]

What a neat trip. Thanks!

[iHeartTheChallenge]

My wife and I love this area. Great scenery and such a remote feel, too. Check out the comparison of your "Labor Day" Lake Angeles versus our "Memorial Day" Lake Angeles. Amazing what a season will do...

Cheers, -->Justin

[bobbi]

thanks hiker mama! ScottM.....i rather have neither come at me iHeartTheChallenge: i've been to lake angeles during the memorial weekend and sometimes snow, sometimes not! this year's snow was quite remarkable. i trust you enjoyed your hike