Tunnel Creek to Vahalla Peak

We drove out to the Tunnel Creek Trailhead to hike up the Tunnel Creek Trail to the pass and up Valhalla Peak, near Quilcene in the  Olympic National Forest. This hike was about 9.5 miles round trip with 3,000 ft of gain. There was patchy snow from the parking area at 2,400 ft. We only saw 4 other hikers until we were about 1.5 miles back to the trailhead. A very beautiful and serene hike.

The trail soon enters the Buckhorn Wilderness and we saw more snow as we gained elevation.

It was chilly this morning and we saw lots of icicles.

This large downed tree had a "monstrous" appearance.

The trail was next to Tunnel Creek in several places.

The trail crosses Tunnel Creek about 3.3 miles from the trailhead on this log bridge.

Icicles over Tunnel Creek

After crossing Tunnel Creek, the trail climbs up and up. There were icicles hanging off the rocky cliffs above us.

And icicles lined the edge of the trail.

Lots of snow by the pond.

Valhalla Peak behind Harrison Lake

Nice to have foot steps already in place in the snow up the steepest part of the trail.

The fresh snow from the last few days created a winter wonderland.

View of Mount Constance a short ways before the pass.

zoom view of Mount Constance as we were hiking up Valhalla Peak

The clouds had completely obscured the view by the time we reached the top of Valhalla Peak.

The clouds rose enough that we could see Harrison Lake far below as we hiked down Valhalla Peak.

It was very frosty on Valhalla Peak,

even the icicles had frost on them.

Near the beginning of the trail we had some fall color,

and saw a variety of fungi: