THE MOUNTAINEER. 



21 



within two weeks can do so by spe- 

 cial arrangement with the Outing 

 Committee. 



Mount Olympus is situated in the 

 northwestern part of the Olympic 

 range, and is the highest point in 

 the range, being 8,200 feet high. It 

 is a great bulk of rock and ice, un- 

 timbered in its upper regions, and the 

 heavy snows which prevail over this 

 range form here a group of beauti- 

 ful glaciers, remarkable for so low 

 a peak. These glaciers appear to be 

 moving rapidly and fall over great 

 crags into the head of the Hoh river 

 on the east and northeast, and into 

 the Queets river on the southeast and 

 south. 



This mountain and the adjacent 

 country is the least known of the 

 Olympic range and probably of all 

 mountain regions in the United 

 States. Very few of the peaks have 

 been climbed, even by the Forest 

 Reserve parties. Many of these 

 peaks are unnamed and their alti- 

 tudes are unknown. The club ex- 

 pects to climb a number which are 

 near the main camp. Mount Ander- 

 son, pronounced by many more beau- 

 tiful than Olympus, can be reached 

 easily in a day's trip. 



There is no record of anyone hav- 

 ing made the ascent of Mount 

 Olympus. Mr. W. R. Delebarre, of 

 Port Angeles, states regarding it : 



"I have traced down every report 

 I have heard of an ascent, and have 

 assured myself that the peak is un- 

 climbed. " 



Mr. Grant Hume, whose home is 

 in Geyser valley on the Ehvlia river, 

 attempted the ascent in 1906 Avitli 

 two companions, but was driven off 

 the mountain by a storm. They 

 reached a point on the ridge drained 

 by the Elwha, Queets and Hoh rivers, 

 and saw no impassable barriers be- 

 tween them and the summit, which 

 appeared to be not much over a mile 

 away. The summit was a well de- 

 fined pinnacle, higher than the sur- 

 rounding crags. 



The Trail. 



[^ The party will be taken by stages 

 ttrom Port AngeJes to the Elwha at 

 McDonald, a distance of ten uules. 

 At McDonald they will leave the 

 road and "hit the trail" where the 

 walking will begin. The trail for 

 the most part follows the Elwha, 

 starting at a point about 200 feet 

 above sea level and gradually climb- 

 ing until snow-liue is reached at 

 about 5,000 feet. The trail itself is 

 in good condition and will cause no 

 trouble to the average walker. Sev- 

 eral days will be required to reach 

 permanent camp, each day's walk 

 not much exceeding ten miles. The 

 way lies through a dense forest of 

 fir, cedar, hemlock, alder and vine 

 maple and should prove one of the 

 attractions of the trip. At the high- 

 er altitudes the lowland trees give 

 way to the Alaska cedar, mountain 

 larch and the beautiful silver fir. 

 Above these are the grasses and flow- 

 ers of the upland meadows, in one 

 of which our permanent camp will 

 be located. 



Fishing. 

 No other region in the United 

 States can furnish better fishing than 

 the Olympic peninsula. Dolly Var- 

 den and Rainbow trout are abun- 

 ant. The Elwha river and its trib- 

 utaries are swarming with trout, 

 and most of the pools have never 

 had a fly cast in them. A side 

 trip can be made to Lake Cres- 

 ent, eight miles from McDonald, 

 where the famous Beardsley trout 

 test the skill of the fisherman. 

 Hunting. 

 Hunting will not be allowed, as 

 the game laws prohibit it during the 

 time the party will be in the moun- 

 tains. However, large bands of elk 

 have been seen here by several per- 

 sons, and pictures have been taken, 

 •showing 75 animals feeding in one 

 park. It is probable that an oppor- 

 tunity will be had to see and photo- 

 graph many of them during the out- 

 ing. In addition to the elk there are 



