Mount Angeles

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Distance: 2.7 miles
Trailhead: 4244 feet
Highpoint: 6460 feet
Elevation Gain: 2216 feet
Avg Trail Speed: 0.6 mph
Highest Speed: 13 mph during a glissade!m :-)
Hike Difficulty Calculator Score: 37 - Extreme
Trail Notes: Some deep snow that should have been handled with snowshoes, some rock scrambling near steep vertical drop-offs. Be cautious and safe.
Pass/Parking: Olympic National Park entrance fee ($15 for car & driver), Seasonal National Parks Pass.

Driving Directions at bottom of post.

As always, click on the pictures for easier viewing.

All photos of this hike are located at this link.


Due to some recent required travel, I had been two weeks without my fix of the outdoors. I was anxious to get back in the saddle and Ron was gracious enough to plan an excursion that would be a wild ride. The day's destination was the peak of Mount Angeles, listed at 6454 feet. Mount Angeles is located in the Olympic National Park, very close to the popular Hurricane Ridge visitor center.

Arriving at the selected park-n-ride, we renewed acquaintances, threw the gear in Ron's mighty Exterra, and headed to the hills. The weather forecast was not going to be sunny and 70F. We had heard morning precipitation with a drop in temperature around noon. Definitely weather that must be respected when in the mountains. A short drive later that involved windshield wipers along with some grumbling about the conditions, we met several other familiar hikers at the Hurricane Ridge visitor center. Some of our trail mates were heading over to Steeple Point to conduct some training. Meeting Dave and twisting his arm a little to join us, Ron, Jeff, Wade, and myself headed to the Mount Angeles trailhead.

There are at least three different ways to approach Mount Angeles that I am aware of. We were taking the most direct and difficult route today. Knowing from previous outings to this area and the high amount of snowfall it receives, we should have made use of our snowshoes. They would have been helpful during the first two-thirds of the ascent. But as it was, we mostly followed in the footsteps of Jeff as he plowed us a path that we could follow. A real big thanks to Jeff for breaking trail.

I did use a color camera MMRon, with Jeff breaking trail MMAlways upward


With overcast skies for 99% of the hike and mountains clouds constantly engulfing us, it was a big surprise and relief that we were not rained on. My REI thermometer was reading in the upper 40s as we struggled up in the general direction of the Hurricane Ridge - Klahhane Ridge trail. We went up 1500ft in less than a mile. Without the knee deep snow to add to the difficulty, our aggressive ascent would still not have been easy. But all of us were experienced and had plenty of gumption to continue upward. Including Wade, who is 71 years young. What an inspiration he is!!

Klahhane Ridge in backgroundMaand from a previous outing


Our blistering pace of 0.4 mph took us up to the saddle that introduces Klahhane ridge. Here we took off the packs for our first break. After some liquid nourishment and a snack, we contemplated how to approach the ridge in front of us (first picture below). There are several paths leading to the top of the ridge. Be careful of going too far to the right as there is a several hundred foot drop to be aware of. Today we took a middle route that lessened the exposure to the drop-off, but was still fun and challenging enough to scramble up as we made our way to the ridge.

Angeles Ridge waiting MMRon on the ridge back in OctMMOur turn to ascend the ridge


After making it up the ridge to over 6400 ft, we began an approximately 800 ft tricky traverse westward along the ridge heading towards Mount Angeles. It was a good thing that all of us had been here before, because we could not see our destination until we were within about 500 feet of it. Looking back on all the photos taken it seems as if I was shooting in black and white, but that was just the conditions handed to us by the mountain today . Traversing the ridge after the uphill struggle, we happily arrived at Mount Angeles around noon.

As always, reaching the peak is very satisfying. Wade pulled out his map so I could compare my GPS accuracy. The peak readings were within a few feet of each other, including Ron's watch altimeter, attesting to the accuracy of our equipment. A relaxing time with some food and good tales whiled away our time on top of Mount Angeles. Pretty soon we were looking downward to scope out the line of descent. We cautiously went down the northwest side and with in a few moments it was time to go down the fast and fun way, sliding down the snow on our butts! m:-)

Or as they say in Freedom of the Hills, "glissading is the fastest, easiest, and most exhilarating way down many snow slopes if you are on foot". In its basic form, one sits on their butt and slides downward. But if that is all the thought that you put into it, then the mountain will make sure you end up on the funny bloopers highlight reel. mLOLm Some basic instruction includes the following: remove any crampons in use, put on some rain pants to help stay dry, gloves can prevent abrasion from the snow, and use the ice-ax to arrest or stop your momentum.

Our first glissade went well with me making the acquaintance of a small tree. m:-) mWe hiked around the west side of the peak for about fifteen minutes or so and then the fun really began. We would line up a straight path that avoided as many trees as possible and then go for it! All five of us would glissade down anywhere from 25 to 200 yards, with each successive person packing down the snow and smoothing the route for the next. What a great time!! We must have had almost ten different descents on our butts. Go fast, hike left, go fast, hike left and go fast again. Sort of like a snowy NASCAR track. LOL mAnd to top it all off, our last glissade put us within six feet of the road!! It was just a short 150 yard walk to the vehicles. That was pretty amazing considering the conditions and lack of visibility to end up where we did. Everyone of us had the biggest smiles after coming off the mountain. What a blast!!

Dave & Jeff almost there MM Enjoying the peak MMMMWade, Mr. Glissade, in action


Notice the Glissade lines MMMM Full Route MMMMMMMHike Profile (Pretty demanding)



Video:


Directions:
In Port Angeles on US 101, turn south onto Race Street. Follow Race Street 1 mile to Heart O' the Hills Parkway. Follow Parkway 5 miles to entrance station and continue on Hurricane Ridge Road. Continue about 7-8 miles further and you will see a small parking area in a hairpin turn. Look hard and you will see the trail head sign. (GPS data: N 47°59.945’, W 123°27.357’, elev –4308 ft).