NOT Duck has many friends. Friends he's known all his life. Friends he's just met through friends. And friends he's never met before joining in some travels. One of these friends e-mailed NOT from South Carolina, inviting him along on some adventures around the area, and out in nature.
One of these adventures took the NOT and his new friend Thad to Washington, to hiking in Olympia National Park, and climbing Mt. Adams, the second highest peak in Washington State.
Olympic National Park in Washington state covers over 1,400 square miles and is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park itself is generally divided into three areas: the costal areas, the glaciated mountains and the temperate rainforest.
One place in the park near and dear to NOT's heard is the Duckabush River.
Much of the rivers in the park are fed by Glacial and snow melts, and the park is known for its rugged terrain. The Dosewallips River is one of these rivers fed by runoff, cascading down the rocks and through the forested mountains.
The area can be remote. This bridge over the Dosewallips was constructed from materials that had to be flown in by helicopter. NOT thought it somewhat ironic to be surrounded by trees and have the wood for the bridge flown in instead. Then again he didn't want to be creating planks himself, so he supposes he can let it pass.
Despite all this water around him (and snow on Mt. Adams later) the ground could get rather dry. While the pair were in the back country, wildfires flared up, forcing evacuation from the park. The easiest way to do this was by helicopter, so despite NOT's wings, he decided it was best to stay with the group and fly out together.
The highest peak in Washington is Mt. Ranier in the Cascade range. NOT's already been to the top of Mt. Ranier before, and seen the view from the top. Now he has a chance to view the mountain from almost as high, just down the range. Mt. Adams, at 12,281 feet above sea level is no slouch either. In the distance it almost looks less high. Almost.
Once upon a time, a mining operation existed on the summit of the mountain. Materials and supplies were brought in by pack mule to set up a sulfur mining operations, and while some sulfur sludge was found, no substantial supplies were discovered and the mining operation was not profitable. and the mining operation abandoned in 1959. A mining hut still exists on the summit, only now filled with snow some 50 years later.
Mt Adams remains the only major Cascade peak that was ever exploited for commercial miners.