… was proclaimed on this date in 1909. It became Olympic National Park in 1938.
Glacier capped mountains, wild Pacific coast and magnificent stands of old-growth forests, including temperate rain forests — at Olympic National Park, you can find all three. About 95% of the park is designated wilderness, which further protects these diverse and spectacular ecosystems.
Olympic is also known for its biological diversity. Isolated for eons by glacial ice, and later the waters of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Olympic Peninsula has developed its own distinct array of plants and animals. Eight kinds of plants and 15 kinds of animals are found on the peninsula but no where else on Earth.
This park was also the location of the first backpacking trip ever taken by NewMexiKen, back in 1996, along with yours truly as a guide, .
It was gorgeous September day and we stood on the very ridge from which the above photo was taken, The High Divide. Across the deep Hoh River valley we could see the Summit of Mt. Olympus towering 3000 feet above us. In a canyon just below us was a herd of at least a dozen Roosevelt Elk, and in the small canyon beyond was a black bear grazing in the huckleberries. Off to the right we could clearly see the Pacific Ocean a mile below and about 35 miles as the crow flies.
It’s still one of my very favorite places to backpack. One can experience true wilderness here.
That day we saw two herds of elk and I counted 6 black bears. I also saw a 6-point blacktail buck and at least one bald eagle.