Green Mountain, Kitsap County's "Glorified Hill"

I'll be honest, as a geology student, I'm probably one of the worst places in Washington State to be. With two mountain ranges, A basalt plateau, batholiths, and volcanoes, it's hard to escape significant geological forces in the Evergreen State. However, I seem to have done it, as my stomping grounds lie on the Kitsap Peninsula, a relatively flat strip of land covered in timber and Glacial Till sandwiched between two fjords. Near the beginning of the Holecene Epoch (10,000 years ago roughly) Kitsap Peninsula and the entire puget lowlands were covered with up to 3,000 feet of ice, a large lobe from the ice sheet that smothered what is now Canada. Looking at the peninsula from the air, the evidence from the ice sheet is still clear, with numerous Karns and glacial formations dotting it.

The Middle of Kitsap Peninsula with numerous Karns.
 Green Mountain is the lump directly to the West of Bremerton. 

However there is one prominent area where it seems the ice did not grind it completely down to dust. Smack dab in the middle of the Peninsula lies the highlands of Green and Gold Mountains. This is probably the most wild it's gonna get on the peninsula. Old Growth Forests with walls of Wild Rhododendrons, Large ponds backed up behind huge dams from wild Beavers. And the occasional Rocky outcrop where if one scrambles high enough, they can see the skyline of Seattle to the East, and the wall of the Olympics to the West.

Green and gold Mountains from a Hilltop overlooking Silverdale. 

For those in the Kitsap County not feeling up for the multiple hour drives to the Cascades or Olympics, the Green Mountain State Forest offers a charming alternative. A rare chance to experience wilderness less than an hour away from the hustle and bustle of the 75,000 person Bremerton area. Several trails of varying lengths and steepness wind up through the forests to the rocky Summit of Green Mountain, and the entire area is laced with old logging roads and boot paths that lead to mostly unexplored ravines, ponds, and hilltops. For a Geology student with a tight budget, it's a blessing to have right in my backyard.

A Summer Announcement

Hi all, it's been quite a while, I have been bogged down by schooling and preparations for this summer. Namely because I have just landed a job in Yellowstone National Park for the Summer as a Food Service Associate at the Upper General Store at Old Faithful Village! It's going to be an exciting opportunity, not only do I get to work at Yellowstone, but it means that this summer most of my free time will be used to watch and study the geysers I have come to become very fond of. And also, that means that this site will most definitely be updated as often as I can. Of course, I am unsure of how often that is, because I have heard rumors that the wi-fi is extremely slow and unreliable there, so I might have to find an outside gateway town to update in, but not to fear! I will do my best! So stay tuned! This site is really going to be churning out articles in a couple months!

Riverside Geyser, September 3, 2012