By Bret Wirta-The Incidental Explorer

October 5, 2010.

Distance: 3.5 miles

Hiking Time One-Way: 2 Hours

Elevation gain: 2,500 feet

Rating: Class 1

I started hiking up the Pyramid Peak trail at 11:00AM. The trail was dry and well-maintained. There was Kinnikinnick spread all over the ground and second growth Douglas Firs stretching skyward. The first third of the trail was an easy incline. Further on there were bigger trees including a huge Cedar that had to be three feet in diameter.

After about an hour of hiking I broke out into the open where the forest had been scraped away by a massive slide. The gash in the mountain was as least a half a mile long and 400 yards wide. From the edge of the slide there were expansive views of Lake Crescent shimmering like a blue marble in the sun.

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Spruce Railroad Walk

By Bret Wirta-The Incidental Explorer

Distance: 4 miles Hiking Time One-Way: Couple of Hours Elevation: No gain Rating: Class 1

October 5, 2010.

I left the Quality Inn in Sequim while it was still dark, not because I wanted to begin hiking by dawn but because I wanted to eat breakfast at the historic Lake Crescent Lodge, nearby the Spruce Railroad trailhead. It was a chilly morning, so when I walked into the lobby of the old hotel I stood in front of the big stone fireplace and warmed myself by the crackling fire. Sufficiently toasted, I was seated in the dining room. I ate a sumptuous salmon omelet while the mists swirled on Lake Crescent and the first rays of the sun struck Pyramid Peak on the opposite shore. I drained my coffee cup and headed out for the trailhead just a few miles down the road.

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