Mount Muller Loop Trail by Lake Crescent is a mixed-use trail in the Olympic National Forest. The 12-mile path runs the ridge crest just outside the Olympic National Park.
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Mount Muller at a Glance
Access: Mount Muller Trailhead
Round Trip: 12 miles
Elevation Range: 1100′-3748′
Gear: microspikes, snowshoes
Route Info: Mike Black, George Burgess
GPS Track: available
Dog-Friendly: yes
Olympic Peninsula
Nostalgia rushed in as I drove past Port Angeles. Then I realized how little I knew about the Olympic Mountains. I never paid attention to the landscape despite spending my high school years here.
To me, the foothills were merely a backdrop behind the city. No one had ever talked about going near them. Even those mountains around my childhood home remained a mystery to me.
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Mount Muller Loop Trail
Mount Muller Trail shares half a mile with Olympic Discovery Trail in the southeastern corner. In hindsight, hiking counterclockwise would’ve taken us through the three-mile flat part first. Then we’d go back to the car much quicker in the end.
Mount Muller has more recorded ascents than the nearby Mount Storm King. But somehow, I’ve only seen photos of the latter on social media. Though, interestingly, most ascents here take place in February and June.
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Snider Ridge
It had just snowed the night before. But the trail was free of snow for the first couple of hundred feet of elevation. It stayed cloudy for the climb up to Snider Ridge. Thanks to the party of two who started 10 minutes earlier for paving the way.
The trail rose 2200′ in three miles up to the ridge. But an ample amount of switchbacks in the old-growth had offset the elevation gain greatly. We found continuous snow at 2500′. But I waited to put on snowshoes until we reached the ridge.
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Mount Muller Ridge Traverse
I changed to snowshoes by Jim’s Junction at 3300′, and we continued east. The group had laid out decent tracks through the south of the ridge. But at times, I’d break trail on the crest instead. Sidestepping through the crusty slopes was a bit annoying.
Later it snowed when we made it to Thomas Gap. Then we caught up to the two people as they came down Point 3508. They weren’t sure if it was the actual summit since visibility was weak. But they were ready to call it a day.
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Final Stretch to Mount Muller
We went over the high point and continued in at most one foot of powder. Then we inadvertently went down Point 3508’s north ridge. But I caught the mistake early, so we were able to get right back on track. Before long, we were down on the 3400′ saddle.
A few viewpoints in the dense forest looked out to the south. But the misty weather didn’t give us anything to see. Soon, we were on the open hill below the summit. Then we went back into the trees and finished the last bit up to the top.
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Mount Muller Summit
The summit sign was pretty cool. I haven’t seen one of those on a mountain in a long time. It’s cloudy during our visit. But the wind had died down a while ago. So we hung out for half an hour before leaving the top.
Too bad we couldn’t see out to the expansive Sol Duc Valley to the south. Or even the north to Juan da Fuca for that matter. But I did catch glimpses of the water a few times as we made our way down the east ridge.
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East Ridge Traverse
We tried staying on the crest. But at times, the thickets would force us off the ridgeline. In several places, we had no choice but to sidestep through the steep north side. This part of the ridge ended up rockier than I expected.
We carefully weaved our way through the outcrops. Then suddenly, the clouds dissipated and showed the magnificent Lake Crescent to the east. I’d driven past it many times in high school. But until now, I haven’t taken the time to enjoy the sight of the water.
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Outro
Later we went back on moderate terrain before mile marker 7. Soon, we were back on the trail. Slowly, the amount of snow decreased as we made our way down the mountain through many switchbacks.
At the bottom was the Olympic Discovery Trail. It was a surprise since I’ve missed it while researching the mountain. We went back on Mount Muller Loop Trail in half a mile. Then it was another 2.5 miles of flat walking back to the car.
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You probably know it’s a P2K. The reason for so many ascents.
A++!
Wow, stunning views. Thanks for the post.
Thanks, and you’re welcome!