Well, I finally left the big city and headed back into the woods. Cas has bought me a flight to Pensacola starting the 21st, so I’ve got a long weekend to see the Olympic Peninsula before I head east. I decide to hit up Mt. St. Helens on my journey north, and I’m super glad I did. My initial research on the forestry website showed that the major roads to the volcano’s observatories were still closed. Fine. I’ll just see how far I can get and try to find any hikes that are available. Once I got to the first visitor center, I realize all the subsequent roads had been cleared, and the main observatory (Johnston Ridge) was accessible. Way to go Forestry website. You had one fucking job… I grab a map, ask about some good hikes, and head east towards the volcano.
So this thing is impressive. Some of y’all probably remember when St. Helens erupted in 1980. It was a huge deal. The photography of the day before the eruption vs. the day after is striking. Get this, the locals in the area noticed the mountain start to bulge a few weeks before the eruption. Can you imagine the hill billy convo that went on in some of those houses? “Betty-Sue, I swear to GAAAWWWDDD that thing is growing!!” Of course USGS had been monitoring it, and knew shit was about to go down. But still. Would have been scary as all get out to be around that thing. Huge chunks of the mountain were sloughed off into hummocks, spread more than 12 miles away.
Needing to get my steps in (I’m sure I gained 10 pounds in Portland), I decide to hike a trail near the volcano. Wait. Should I be calling this thing a mountain or a volcano? Are they interchangeable? Does it matter? Anyway, I find a hike and decide to do about 8 miles. It starts out facing the mountain/volcano hybrid, so I have great views. About 2 hours in, I decide to look behind me (I know, great situational awareness right?) and see a storm flying in towards my direction. Well shit. I’m high up on an exposed ridge with no cover for miles. I turn around, throw on my rain jacket, and book it back to the truck.
Ok. Don’t judge me, but it was just fog rolling in. I couldn’t tell. I swear it looked like a storm dropping sheets of rain, but apparently I just haven’t learned to decipher Pacific Northwest weather yet. So I feel dumb, but I’m too far back to the truck to continue on my hike. I decide to drive up to where the road ends at the last visitor center over looking the ex-mountain. This observatory was underwhelming due to the fog storm that had just rolled in. If there were clear views it would have been astonishing.
So, I head back to the truck, and set my sights for a camp spot within the Olympic National Forest. After a two hour drive, I’m on a gravel logging road ascending through dog hair thick spruce and fir, swimming in pea soup fog. It’s an awesome area, lush with a million shades of green. I find a pull out and get set up for the night.
It’s raining all night. Obviously I expected this being in the rainy NW. I did everything in my power to ensure my little camper was water tight before leaving Florida, but alas there is either a new opening, or the amount of continuous rain has forced water through cracks that Florida weather did not find. I wake up to a sopping wet pillow and drenched feet. How lovely!! All I can think about is my co-worker Mike telling me how those campers are just not designed to be water tight. I was trying to prove him wrong of course. But he was usually right about these types of things.
I try to dry things out, sprawling sheets and pillow cases and blankets inside the truck cab. I assess the situation, and come up with a plan of attack. I’ll make gorilla tape shingles to direct water away from what I can tell is the entry point. I think it’s the entry point. I really have no clue. I’ll just fill every crack I can find. That’s what she said….
After my redneck home repairs, I head out to the Quinault rain forest within Olympic National Park to get a hike in, and to see the world’s largest Sitka Spruce tree. While I’m prepping for my first rain forest hike, I look at Instagram and see that my RV compadres I met at Lassen NP are also at Olympic NP. Well shit! Where y’all at?? I send them a quick message, and we plan a rendezvous at a campground just 10 miles from where I had initially planned to stay the night. What are the odds…. Carole has promised chili and French martinis, so of course I am completely stoked. They even snag me a beautiful campsite near them. Talk about a morale booster after my soggy night.
The rain forest is beautiful. Now I know what you’re thinking, because I was thinking it too. Ok really? Rain forest? I know that term just means it gets over 100″ of rain annually, but its got to be too damn cold to be real rain forest-ish. Of course I was wrong. This is a temperate rain forest, but holy hell it is a damn jungle. So lush, moss covering everything, hundreds of herbaceous species competing for light, and massive old trees throwing elbows up at the canopy for sun access. It’s a god damn rain forest.
After a quick hike, I stop to see the massive spruce tree, and pick up some firewood for the night. I want to visit the Hoh rain forest next (I pronounce it hoe because it’s hilarious and I don’t know how else to say it), so I drive west and north. The main road, 101, skirts the beaches on the western side of the peninsula. I wasn’t planning on spending any time at the beach, but it’s so close and convenient that I decide to stop a couple times and see what the fuss is about. Well, it’s definitely where water meets the land. The only big difference I can tell is that there is evidence of massive water and wind forces everywhere. Huge logs are thrown everywhere, and massive boulders are strewn about. The amount of energy to move these large objects makes me wonder what this place would look like at a king high tide. Probably fucking insane.
After a few beach stops, I head deep into the Hoh. There’s a hike that parallels the Hoh river leading to the base of Mt. Olympus. This is the hike you would take if you wanted to summit the mountain. I like the idea of this, and decide to do 10-ish miles. The visitor center here is surprisingly lame. I guess the forest is enough of an attraction.
The first thing I notice is the amount of people on this trail. It reminds me of other large national parks, with tour buses dropping off lots of under prepared hikers in cut-off t-shirts and thin, flat tennis shoes. Once you pass all those assholes, you are totally consumed by the rain forest. Even though it’s relatively cool out, the vegetation holds in heat and moisture, giving you the full jungle effect. Waterfalls dot the hike, along with spectacular views of the river.
At one point, near my 5 mile turn around spot, I see a couple in front of me, maybe 100 yards away. They are stopped, and keep looking back towards me. I wonder what these assholes are doing… Why do they keep looking back at me? Finally I realize the guy is gesturing wildly, pointing to my right. Once I notice what he’s doing, I freeze. He’s telling me something is on my right, but wtf is it? Once stopped, I see a huge brown object just 20 feet off the path in the thick brush. It’s a god damn bear and I’m about to die… My heart is about to jump out of my throat. I stay still, not wanting to startle a creature so close me me. Then, as I scan around trying to figure out what to do, I see another huge brown object, but this one has a dopey elk face.
Shit, it’s just a herd of elk! What a relief. I still don’t want to be attacked by elk (not on the approved way to die list), but it’s better than a bear. I creep away a bit, and snap some pictures. I could slap these jerk elks for scaring me so badly.
I eventually catch up to the couple that informed me of the elk, and start chatting with them. They are from New Zealand, and are on extended holiday, living out of Vancouver, BC. Adorable accents, and about my age, they ask what animal was back there on the trail. They have decided it was a white-rumped deer with a horse face. This of course makes me laugh way too hard. I inform them it was a Roosevelt Elk, which is not really a deer/horse hybrid, but in fact a distinct species. I’m sure if I was in New Zealand I wouldn’t know all the native wildlife… We all laugh about how freaked out we all were about the animal, and how they came up with their name for it. We end up talking for longer than expected. I want to know everything about New Zealand and how they could take a 2 year holiday. They want to know what to do if they see a bear. There are no animals that can maul you to death in New Zealand, so this America bear/mountain lion/hill billy bullshit is new and scary to them. Rightfully so!
I decide to turn around after chatting with my new friends. It’s getting late, and I don’t want to miss happy hour at camp tonight. Driving away from the Hoh and to the campsite was beautiful. It was sunny and 65 out, making for great driving conditions around Crescent Lake. Once at camp, Dave and Carole usher me into my site like I’m bringing in a jet to the airport terminal. I was just with friends in Portland, but having another night with company is very exciting. They already have a chair set up for me at the fire, so I grab a beer and join their circle. Carole made the best guacamole (rumor has it it’s Martha Stewart’s favorite), and serves amazing hot chili for everyone. Over the fire, we swap embarrassing stories and drink beer and French martinis. I had way too much fun. My two favorite stories deal with losing a front tooth at a business dinner meeting, and falling into the water in an attempt to catch a dead sea turtle. Both Dave and Carole have had exciting and amazing lives, so I’m eager to learn how these people have made the most of their days, and continue to live every 24hrs to the fullest. This whole experience makes me excited for the future, especially knowing that Cas and I can have a life just as exciting and full. Carole and Dave, thank you giving me such a positive outlook on the future.
After leaving camp, I head to Hurricane Ridge within the National Park. The drive ascends up to 5,000 feet and offers some amazing views of the Olympic Mountains. The visitor center is nothing to write home about, but it’s location is phenomenal. The vista almost makes me overlook the hundreds of people up at this parking lot. Being a derivable destination, it’s inundated with fat people. Ugh. I find a volunteer and inquire about a hike. I’m told that the dirt road to obstruction point is closed to vehicles but open to hikers. I decide to do this, as it promises more cool views and solitude from the hustle and bustle of the parking lot. I set out, and decide to go about 8 miles.
I’m glad this road wasn’t open to vehicles, because it was scary as shit. We all know I would have wanted to drive on it, but I would have shat my pants. narrow, winding, with huge cliff drop offs and no turn around spots. I’m glad I’m on foot. But, two hours in it begins to pour. I throw on my rain gear and slog back to the car. I’m cold, wet, and tired. Still glad I’m on foot, as this drive would be even more terrifying in the rain. Back at the car, I grab some snow for the cooler and then head down the mountain to find my camp spot. Once I get below 2,000 feet, the sky opens up and it’s crystal clear again. I stop at a view point and stare at Canada for awhile over the water.
I’ve got service up here, so I plug in my campsite and head out. Another boondock site in the forest. Once I pull off pavement, I’m greeted with an intense 4×4 trail. Well shit, didn’t know this was here, but glad I’m in this truck! I crawl up the rocky path, and run into a dead end turn around camp spot 2 miles in. It’s quiet and perfect. Just 20 minutes in, a shitty truck flies up towards my dead end cul-de-sac. Is this the 3rd or 4th time I’ve pulled out the shotgun? I can’t remember. Let’s say the 3rd to make my dad feel better. They see me, throw the truck in reverse and scream back in the direction they came. So fucking weird. I had locked and unloaded the gun to prep for the Canadian border, but had to undo all of that prep work. Oh well.
Now, I’m chilling in the truck waiting for the rain to let up. One more hike today, then a night at a rest stop, then off to the airport. Wish me luck!