Mt Ellinor '15,  Olympic National Park,  April 10, 2015     page 1 / 11

Thursday was a beautiful blue-sky day, especially nice for early spring. Friday, the day of our hike, the forecast included slowly increasing clouds and late evening rain.

With the promise of decent weather, we chose to head to the hills for a short, early-season hike.

We made a leisurely departure after breakfast, arriving at the Mt Ellinor upper trailhead about 11:00am. The clouds appeared to be arriving sooner than we had expected. Nonetheless, we began the slow climb up the trail.

The 2014-2015 winter was particularly dry and mild. As we signed the trail register, just a few hundred feet up the trail, we noted a sign warning of poor snow conditions, suggesting that the summer route to the summit was a safer route. It had been posted in mid-February.

About 40 minutes later, as we emerged from the trees, it was apparent just how little snow there was. It was also apparent that we would see very little from the summit, as the overcast was slowly dropping.