September 25, 2011

Road Trip - Obstruction Point Road

No car shows for me this past Saturday, just a relaxing drive along eight miles of the most spectacular scenery in the state of Washington. I visit Olympic National Park every year but it has been around 15 years since I have made my way to Obstruction Point. I think this is one of the most accessible high elevation dirt roads in the Pacific Northwest. Starting at Hurricane Ridge at around 5,200 feet and crossing a beautiful sub-alpine ridge, it reaches an elevation of 6,100 feet at the Obstruction Point trail head. Love this place. It still feels a bit wild.

I bet most people simply miss the entrance. That is the ridge in the distance.

Mapping our way... Source

The are some beautiful rock outcrops along the way.

Looking back to where we came from. Do you see the road along the ridge in the distance?

Great view of the surrounding Olympic mountains.

 There were some pretty interesting moments when my truck lost traction going down these steep grades.

The old Ranger takes a break while we enjoy the scenery.

Obstruction point. 6,100 feet above see level. Still plenty of snow. There will be more soon.

Mt. Olympus and surrounding peaks.

We love the marmots!

A bit late for the flowers but there is still plenty of color.

Up and down, left and right. Eight miles of gravel delight.

There are some pretty narrow areas to go through with some decent cliffs to fall into.