A Journey into the Olympic Range

On a last-minute whim, Haley and I decided to make a send to the Olympic Range for a potential cloud inversion. Conditions were lining up and we weren’t sure what to expect. This would be a new peak for me, and I was stoked to see what the mountain had to offer!

August 25, 2026

Beta

• Peak: Undisclosed Olympic Range summit (protecting this one, locals only)
• Route: Gentle approach through lush alpine meadows to a low-class scramble
• Class: Class 2 scramble
• Distance: 8.50 miles round trip
• Elevation gain: 3,711 ft
• Time: 4:16 total (3:05 moving)
• Trailhead: Undisclosed. Olympic National Park, WA.
• Road: Mind the approach road. Devious potholes lurk. High-clearance recommended and your infotainment system’s life may depend on it.
• Permits: Olympic National Park entrance fee required. Backcountry permit required for overnight stays.
• Conditions (as of 8/25/2026): Trail fully accessible, lush alpine meadows, water available on the approach. Cloud inversion present at dusk and into the morning.
• Water: Available on approach. We filled up on the way in to avoid hiking back down mid-scramble.
• Camping: Cowboy camping with pads and sleeping bag. No tent needed in conditions like these.
• GPX: Not sharing the track on this one to keep it quiet.

The Approach

As per usual, I arrived a few minutes behind. As I was speeding through the forest road, I clipped a rather devious pothole with my front right tire. This sent my truck fishtailing and immediately blacked out my infotainment screen. An exciting moment for sure, and one the truck hasn’t fully recovered from. Mind your approach to the trailhead on this one!

Packed and ready to go, we set off. It was a very casual hike up to some lush alpine meadows. We filled up on water so we didn’t have to hike back down, and did a very gentle scramble up to the peak.

The Summit

Much to our surprise, the cloud inversion was already forming. We were delighted to see the sun beginning to set, and the inversion was starting to glow. The high clouds held fantastic color for the evening in all directions.

Haley taking in the views on arrival.

Incredible clouds rolling through the peaks.

The inversion flowing through the valley dips.

An endless sea of clouds engulfing the peaks.

We even had an incredible view of one of my favorite mountains in Washington, Mount Olympus. It looked glorious from this perspective. It’s typically quite hard to see its prominence and glaciers from afar, but this viewpoint allowed it to be seen in all its glory.

Blue layers of Olympus in the evening light.

The Sunset

Those burner cloud layers.

Interesting vertical light pillar in the sky during the burn.

More sky on fire.

Sunset over the horizon and the wispy clouds.

Sky on fire over Olympus.

Perfect sunset alpenglow.

@haleygoeshiking working her magic behind the lens.

Man’s best friend in man’s best place.

The Night

It was a breezy night, and I conked out pretty quick (to no one’s surprise).

Moon close-up as the light faded.

Moonrise over a peak.

I awoke to some incredible summer stars, and then again a bit later to first light. As the sun gained some altitude, the light beams carved through the beautiful peaks surrounding us and danced on the morning inversion. It was a really spectacular view, with some hard-earned work required to get here!

The Sunrise

The inversion, still holding strong.

Mountain shadows sketched across the inversion.

Hazy, moody Mount Adams in the fog.

Mount St. Helens hiding just behind the cloud layer.

Mount Rainier standing tall in the moody morning haze.

The sunrise on the Olympus layers was glorious.

Still glorious.

Hazy sunrise, the perfect PNW morning.

I love the way the light danced on the clouds at sunrise.

Hands down my best shot of Mount Olympus and the Olympic Range.

Another stunner of Olympus.

One last look at those hazy Olympus layers.

Rocking the usual shorts and gorpcore combo. Photo by @haleygoeshiking.

The Descent

After the colors and light beams began to fade, we packed up and started on our way back down to the trailhead. We were able to cruise full steam ahead back, so there was no need to stop and fill up water again. We arrived back at the cars to find my truck was still electronically impaired, but overall working fine. I had no idea a pothole could take out circuits. I am thinking maybe if I reverse at the same speed over the same pothole, the electronics might be restored.

My last look at the other side before heading down from the summit.

@haleygoeshiking and Izzy cruising down the trail into the clouds for our exit.

Onward

In a summer happily dominated by the North Cascades, this was a welcome trip over to the Olympics that I love. The peninsula is one of my favorite spots in the world, and this quick scramble did the range some serious justice.

Onward.

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