2025 Northern USA & British Columbia Road Trip: Mount Elinor in Olympic National Forest and Park

 After arriving in Washington State I spent time exploring the Olympic peninsula.

My first hike in the area was up Mount Elinor. This hike was challenging and beautiful. The Bear Gulch Fire was just beginning at this point. One week later access to the trail was closed due to the fire.

The start of the trail started in the forest. The trees are unbelievably tall and there were some interesting wildflowers and fungi enjoying the shade.

I started to climb higher.

And higher...

There were some absolutely stunning wildflowers.

This one is called "Olympic Violet". It only grows exclusively in the Olympic Mountains of Washington state and nowhere else in the world. A rare sight!

Then the steep climb to the top gifted beautiful views. Everything was a little hazy from the fire and I could smell smoke on my trek up.

Smoke from the Bear Gulch Fire.

The summit.

July 7th, 2025