What's In a Name? - #Hiking Trails - #SaturdaySnapshots

Since I love words and names, the designations given to hiking trails fascinate me. Some are named after naturalists, historical figures, or landmarks. For others, the source of the names is obscure.  

Cougar Mountain Trails: 
Anti-Aircraft Peak Trailhead at King County's Cougar Mountain Wildland Park was renamed in honor of Harvey Manning, a longtime open space advocate and hiking guidebook author.
FYI: During the Cold War of the 1950s, this area housed anti-aircraft missiles and radar.

Red Town Trail: A mining town by the same name existed here in the late 1800s. It served as a railroad depot where coal was transported from the mines to Lake Washington. Most of the houses were painted red. 
By the way, we walked on the "Wildside" too.

Rattlesnake Mountain Trail: An article in The Seattle Times says:  "The lake and nearby ridge are said to have gotten their inapt name from Seattle pioneer Arthur Denny when the rattle of seed pods on a nearby meadow frightened a road surveyor into thinking he was being attacked by a rattler. The surveyor didn't know there were no poisonous snakes in Western Washington."  

My online research didn't uncover the history of the name Dewey Lake. However, the Naches Peak Loop (pronounced "NAT cheese") is named after a Native American tribe. Anyone who has read Wild by Cheryl Strayed has heard of the Pacific Crest Trail.

The idea behind the name of the High Ridge Trail is obvious.  The pathway snakes across a ridge in Olympic National Park.

Are you as curious about place names as I am?

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Post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on West Metro Mommy Read's website (link: HERE) Photos can be old or new and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.

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The #Elwha Undammed - Saturday Snapshots

The former site of the Elwha Dam was my hiking group's first stop on the way back home from our Lake Crescent getaway. The dam was built in 1911 to provide cheap electricity for Port Angeles, and it did its job for 100 years. Demolition began in 2012. The result: restoration of the area's ecosystem and critical spawning habitat for endangered salmon species. 

(Click on photos for a closer look.)

Before:

After the dam's removal:

Remnants of the dam were left as reminders of the area's history.

Now the river flows freely from its source in the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This project was the largest dam removal in U.S. history.

More info about the Elwha Dam:

PBS documentary (about 25 minutes): Undamming the Elwha

National Geographic (3 minutes - time lapse video): Freeing the Elwha

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you 

(or a friend or family member)  have taken, then leave a

direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world visit

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#Mountains - Hurricane Ridge - #Olympic National Park, WA - #SaturdaySnapshots

More photos from the July 17-19 hiking getaway with the #Auburn Senior Activity Center. We spent July 18th in the Hurricane Ridge section of Olympic National Park, not far from Port Angeles. Sunny skies, perfect weather with a cool breeze, and dramatic scenery that's hard to beat.
(Click on photos to enlarge)

Tame deer near the visitor center. What a view!

We walked to the top of High Ridge Trail and beyond

View from "You Are Here" on the map above.
See the hikers near the top of the rise?

View across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Canada.
My cell phone sent me a message saying "Welcome to Canada." 

Break for lunch. Food always tastes better outdoors, doesn't it?

To get to our lunch spot, we hiked along the side of the bare hill on
the left and up past those little patches of  snow in the middle
of the photo. The road into the park is on the right (middle).

Looking back the way we came.

I've posted photos from the rest of our trip here: Waterfalls 
More info about Hurricane Ridge HERE

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you 

(or a friend or family member)  have taken, then leave a

direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

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#Waterfalls - #Olympic Peninsula, WA - #SaturdaySnapshots

Today's focus is on waterfalls. Recently, I participated in a three-day getaway with the hiking group from the Auburn, WA, Senior Activity Center. We had a fantastic time in the northern part of Washington State's Olympic National Park. For the next few weeks I'll be posting photos from our adventure. (Click on pictures to enlarge.)

Our first destination was Sol Duc Falls (visited on July 17). Trail maps indicated a 5.5 mile round-trip hike via the Sol Duc Falls Trail and Lovers Lane Trail, but our FitBits and other GPS devices showed that we covered 7+ miles. (My FitBit showed a total of 9.3 miles for the day!) We were sure tired by the time we got back to the van! 

A portion of the trail to the top of Sol Duc Falls.

To get an idea of the size of the falls, find the person
on the viewing platform at the right of the photo.
The falls tumble 48 feet into a narrow canyon.

This notice gave us pause!

What a joy it is to walk alongside a gurgling mountain
stream. Wish I could have taken off my boots and soaked
my feet in the icy water.

Ninety-foot-tall Marymere Falls is about 1.8 miles
from our camp at Crescent Lake, WA

This portion of the trail to Marymere Falls
led up a steep narrow path.

Much of our hike took us through old growth forest.

My earlier post about the Nature Bridge facility at Lake Crescent is HERE

More info about Sol Duc Falls and Sol Duc Hot Springs: HERE

and HERE.

Overview of Marymere Falls and Marymere Falls Nature Trail: HERE.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you 

(or a friend or family member)  have taken, then leave a

direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world visit

 West Metro Mommy Reads.