Looking at Google Maps, I realized the southeastern corner of the Olympic Mountains was as close as Goat Rocks, without the 20 miles of extra rough forest road to traverse to get to Berry Patch. Known as Staircase, the area of the park has multiple short, steep leg burners.
My hiking buddy and I took off Sunday for Mt. Ellinor, a popular climb near the heavily touristed Lake Cushman. From the lower trailhead, we climbed 3,300 feet over 3 miles to the rocky summit. The trail started out snowless in the woods, with occasional views of Hood Canal; the distant, hazy monoliths of downtown Seattle; and all the major peaks of the Washington Cascades:
Above the woods is a large, slushy, melting snowfield:
... and slides coming down:
The numerous mountain goats of Mt. Ellinor start appearing near the top:
I've hiked many miles in supposed Cascade goat country and had only seen one wayward buck hiking across Johnston Ridge. Mt. Ellinor has a notably aggressive herd, one of which gored a hiker to death in 2010. The goats were pretty chill with us. We stopped and tried not to make eye contact as one came right at us, stopped, looked my hiking buddy then walked past, looking for a patch of grass to nibble.
On the way down, we had to skirt between various patches of trees and vegetation with hidden goats. We even got to see a mother and kid:
The top is one of the best views in the Olympics, with the aforementioned mainland, along with Mt. Olympus across the park:
... and Mt. Washington next door:
All in all, an awesome hike, with 3,300 feet of climbing and descent packed into 6.2 miles, and plenty of wildlife.
