Bailey Range Traverse '14,  Olympic National Park,  Aug 14, 2014 - Aug 21, 2014     page 16 / 117

I hit the trail about 8:30am. The brush was soaking wet, so I wore my rain pants and gaiters. The trail was familiar and easy. I soon passed the junction to Cat Basin, the end of the maintained trail. It was just another couple of miles where the old Civilian Conservation Corp trail would end altogether.

As I emerged from the forest, near a grassy knoll, I rounded a corner and found two bull elk grazing. Their heads were down, so they didn't initially see me. I slowly backed up, out of sight, where I could retrieve my camera. I rounded the corner again and snapped two photos.

The two big animals wasted little time after seeing me to run quickly down the hillside. It was an awesome sight seeing these large mountain denizens just 100 feet away!