Olympic National Park Photos: Mt. Olympus From Mt. Carrie, Olympic National Park, Washington

Olympic National Park is one of the few National Parks that does not have a road through its center. Because of that, Mt. Olympus -- the crown jewel of the Park and the peninsula -- is not visible from any road. Part of that is due to the fact that it's also surrounded by a number of lesser but still very lofty mountain ranges, such as the Bailey Range, from which this photograph was taken.

We were on the second day of a 50-plus mile traverse of the Bailey Range, essentially backpacking and climbing our way across the roof of the Olympic Peninsula from north to southwest. We followed the Bailey Range around Mt. Olympus, from right to left in this photo.

Moving to the Pacific Northwest from Colorado was quite a change for me in many ways, not the least of which was my attitude toward high country travel. In Colorado, it was nice to wait until late in the summer, when most of the snow was gone above timberline.

Not so in the Cascades and the Olympics. "If you wait for the snow to be gone in these mountains, you'll never go. There's always snow up there." That was how one of my friends put it. Indeed, the high country of Colorado is much higher in elevation, but the Cascades and Olympics are so close to the sea, and have such a sudden rise from sea level, that they really get dumped on in the winter. They have glaciers, and lots of them. Colorado is lucky to keep some of its 'permanent' snowfields at the highest elevations in the Rockies.

Backpacking in the Pacific Northwest means learning about the unique dangers of glaciers and their crevasses. At a minimum, carrying and being ready to use an ice axe in the highest elevations is a necessity. Recognizing and negotiating your way around glaciers is best unless you're ready for full rope-up mountain climbing.

Colorado is a playground compared to this country.

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