Just a quick report of a couple nights in Olympic National Park. A coworker and I went early to a work function in Seattle to catch some hiking time at the park.
After the flight in and renting a car we drove to the nearest ferry crossing. The ferry ride was strangely smooth and very quick, I didnt even know we had starting moving.
From there we drove to Port Angeles to hit up the visitor's center, the grocery store, and some coffee. The ranger we got advice from wasnt quite as experienced with the park as we had hoped but they didnt steer us wrong. At this point it had already been a long day so we decided to camp at one of the campgrounds near the trailhead. We chose a nice riverside site and bought a cord of wood from the local host for a small fire since it had been raining on and off the past few days.
In the morning, we drove up to the trailhead and started our hike on the Elwha River trail. Our plan at the time was to hike in about 9 miles to one of the campsites. The weather was overcast but with hints of sunshine popping out here and there. The forest started out with what seemed like standard temperate fare until a few miles in and the moss became the theme of choice. I have to say that hiking in the rainforest among some really huge trees was awesome.
After stopping for lunch, the rain reintroduced itself and soon became the guest that just didnt know when to leave. About mid-afternoon we caught up with a guy visiting from Australia and hiked for the most of the rest of the way with him. After 5 miles in the rain we had come to our planned campsite, which was very pretty, secluded, next to the river, and was ripe with hanging spots. But, the Australian had told us of a shelter at the campsite. With hours of daylight left and with no end in sight of the rain, we decided to push a couple more miles to the shelter.
At the shelter, we caught up with our Australian friend who later decided to move one since we had a lot more miles to cover. The shelter was also populated by a nice lady from Germany and a local couple. The site was also manned with a ranger station who offered us some firewood and helped the German visitor dry their gear. By nightfall the rain had ceased and eventually the stars came out above us as we hung out around the fire.
The hike out the next day was much more pleasant and we enjoyed much of the scenery we missed while stomping through the rain with our hoods up the day before.
Overall it was an awesome trip and a great experience. You definitely get a sense of why people put up with the weather out here.
Pics can be found in this link
Thanks!
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Originally Posted by rip waverly
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