Hurricane Ridge is a popular place to visit but go a bit further along and you come to the trailhead for the climb to Hurricane Hill.  We felt up for a bit of hiking.  The hike is not terribly long but it has two elements to consider.  One is a fair bit of climbing with some reasonably steep grades.  The other is that you are quite high so the air is noticeably thinner.  That is a great excuse for taking things at a steady pace.  It isn’t me, it is the altitude!

It certainly is a popular trail.  Plenty of people passed us as we were going up and coming back down.  The views as you climb get better and better.  Some wildlife shows up as well.  We saw a marmot at one point.  It only lives between certain elevations so this was the only place we were going to catch it.  Once you get to the top, you have a view down to the coast.  Port Angeles lay beneath us and you could see over to the islands in the distance although the view was a little obscured by the haze.  The trip back down was okay but walking downhill is something I don’t enjoy if it is steep.  Climbing may be tiring but I find it less hard on the knees.  This wasn’t too bad though.  You stop less on the way back down since you have seen all of the views on the way up when you were more than happy to pause (only for the photo – not tired at all).