Volume VIE. 



RECREATION. 



FEBRUARY, 1898. 



G. 0. SHIELDS (COQUINA), Editor and Manager. 



Number 2. 



IN THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAINS. 



C. C. MARING. 



The Olympic peninsula, covering 

 the Northwestern division of the 

 State of Washington, embraces an 

 area of which less is positively 

 known than of any other section 

 of equal magnitude in the United 

 States. This vast territory is nearly 

 covered by the Olympic mountains, 



PHOTO BY C. C. MARING. 



EIGHT POUND TROUT, LAKE CUSHMAN, 

 WASH. 



It contains over 4,000 square miles, 

 and is so wild and rough that few 

 persons have ventured into its in- 

 terior. 



During the summer of 1895 I had 

 the pleasure of climbing Copper 

 mountain, one of the prominent 

 peaks of the Olympics, near Lake 

 Cushman, and as I stood near the 

 summit, over 7,000 feet above the 



lake, I was so impressed with the 

 view that I decided, should I have 

 the opportunity, to go farther into 

 this little-known territory. 



The following spring I received 

 an invitation, from my friend Rus- 

 sell Homan, to join a hunting and 

 exploring party that was going in- 

 to the Olympics. 



I accepted the invitation, and one 

 bright morning in July took pas- 

 sage from Seattle to Hoodsport, on 

 the little steamer Delta. We trav- 

 eled about 60 miles on Puget 

 sound, then about 40 miles on 

 Hood's canal, an arm of the sound, 

 having the general appearance of a 

 river. This canal borders the East- 

 ern side of the Olympic peninsula, 

 and the view of the mountains from 

 it is one of continuous grandeur. I 

 spent the night at Hoodsport, and 

 early the next morning started for 

 an 8-mile stage-ride to Lake Cush- 

 man. 



The road passed through such 

 impenetrable forests that we won- 

 dered how a trail, not to mention a 

 road, had ever been built through 

 them. Many of the trees were over 

 200 feet high, and they grew so near 

 together that the sunlight was ex- 

 cluded. It seemed more like twi- 

 light than a bright sunny morning. 

 The occasional fording of mountain 

 streams, the passing of picturesque 

 lakes, and the tales of adventures 

 along this road, told by our driver, 

 added to the pleasure of the ride. 



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