Bailey Range

The Bailey Range is a mountain range located within Olympic National Park in Washington state.

Description The Bailey Range is a subrange of the Olympic Mountains. These remote mountains are situated within the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness, but can be seen from the park's Hurricane Ridge visitor center. Precipitation runoff from the range drains into the Elwha, Queets, and Hoh Rivers. The Bailey Range Traverse is an off-trail alpine trek which may require ice axe and crampons, except in late summer when snowpack has melted.Backpacker, June 2007, page 66. This 15-mile route made popular in the 1970s is considered the finest alpine route in the Olympics, and its spectacular scenery has been featured in television and motion pictures such as the 1952 Disney natural history movie, "The Olympic Elk."Robert Wood, Olympic Mountains Trail Guide, National Park and National Forest, 2000, Mountaineers Books, , page 334.Seabury Blair Jr., Kitsap Sun, October 8, 1995

History

This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1961 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. It is named for William Elder Bailey (born February 10, 1860), proprietor of the Seattle Press, the state's primary newspaper in 1889 when the paper printed a request from the governor of Washington, Elisha P. Ferry, for men to cross and explore the Olympic Mountains.Robert Wood, 1988, Across the Olympic Mountains: The Press Expedition, 1889–90, Mountaineers Books, . In response to Ferry's expressed interest in the interior of the Olympic Peninsula, the Seattle Press newspaper published a story in the fall of 1889 challenging any "hardy citizens to acquire fame by unveiling the mystery which wraps the land encircled by the snow-capped Olympic range." Gail E. H. Evans, T. Allan Comp, 1983, Olympic Historic Resource Study, nps.gov The newspaper then sponsored the 1889–90 Seattle Press Expedition to explore the unknown interior of the Olympic Range, and on April 27, 1890, the members of the expedition named the Bailey Range, which is considered the backbone of the Olympics.Judy Bentley, Craig Romano, Hiking Washington's History, 2021, University of Washington Press, , page 42. The expedition, led by James Halbold Christie and Charles Adams Barnes, also named Mount Christie, Mount Barnes, Mount Ferry, Mount Seattle, Mount Meany, Mount Noyes, Mount Dana, and Mount Scott.

The Bailey Range was first traversed by Billy Everett in 1885, who at the age of 16 reached Cream Lake, and some claim he was the first to climb Mount Carrie and Mount Fitzhenry.

Climate Based on the Köppen climate classification, the Bailey Range is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel east toward the Olympic Peninsula. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks, causing moisture to drop in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the range experiences high precipitation, especially during the winter months. Due to heavy winter snowfalls, the Bailey Range supports the Carrie Glacier, Fairchild Glacier, and several glacier remnants. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months July through September offer the most favorable weather for visiting the Bailey Range.Peggy Goldman, Washington Scrambles: Best Nontechnical Ascents, 2014, Mountaineers Books, .

Mountains Principal summits of the Bailey Range:Bailey Range, peakbagger.com Name Elevation Prominence ReferenceMount Carrie6,995 ft1,675 ftMount Fairchild6,900 ft450 ftRuth Peak6,850 ft250 ftStephen Peak6,418 ft638 ftMount Pulitzer6,283 ft923 ftMount Dana6,213 ft1,529 ftMount Ferry6,195 ft395 ftMount Childs6,193 ft513 ftMount Fitzhenry6,050 ft450 ftMount Barnes5,987 ft387 ftMount Wilder5,939 ft939 ftMount Wilder, climbersguideolympics.comMount Scott5,913 ft1,153 ftCat Peak5,900 ft750 ftLudden Peak5,854 ft674 ftDodger Point5,760 ft780 ft

Geology

The Olympic Mountains are composed of obducted clastic wedge material and oceanic crust, primarily Eocene sandstone, turbidite, and basaltic oceanic crust. The mountains were sculpted during the Pleistocene era by erosion and glaciers advancing and retreating multiple times.

Bailey Range

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