4 July: Gordon gave us a tip for a hike with great views from a lesser known trail in Olympic National Park to avoid the heavy holiday crowds. The trailhead for the Deer Park trail is beyond the crowded Hurricane Ridge visitor center at the end of the lightly used Obstruction Point gravel road. We only met a dozen hikers on our hike, which went along a ridge above treeline, with gentle grades and extensive views the whole way. There were about six or seven snowfields to cross in the early going, but beyond that the trail was completely snow free. Prominent to the south was Mt. Olympus, the highest mountain in the park, still covered with snow. We hiked a little beyond a trail junction to where the trail curved around a high point along the ridge for a distant view of Mt. Baker. There were several kinds of wildflowers in bloom. Marmots are commonly seen along this trail, but maybe most of them were hibernating, because we only saw one, which was standing still on the edge of a patch of snow beside the trail.
