Marmot Pass

 Hiked up the Big Quilcene Trail towards Marmot Pass  in the Olympic National Forest today. We made it out over 5 miles and 3,000+ ft of elevation gain, before deciding to turn back.
We found a few downed trees,









and quite a bit of water on the trail.

 The first part of the trail follows along the Big Quilcene River, lots of water flowing!

 I love watching the water rush by.

The forest is beautiful, with lots of interesting trees.

 As the trail gained elevation, we began to see the surrounding peaks.

 We passed a waterfall,

and some lovely cascades.

 We went through a change in the forest as we continued to climb.

 The first avalanche slope was free from snow, and here we could see snow covered Marmot Pass in the distance.

 The low clouds made beautiful scenery.

 The second avalanche slope had some snow over the trail, but there was not much snow above us.

Before we reached Camp  Mystery, there was quite a bit of snow on the ground, and new snow from last night covered all the previous tracks.

 We hiked up to the base of the last rocky slope and could not find a clear way up, too many tree wells. We decided to come back in the summer, and hiked back down as it began to snow.

 Clouds began to obscure our views. We had a great hike, love this trail!

The wildflowers at the lower elevations are beginning to bloom.