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| Hurricane Ridge & the Olympic Mountains |
After
leaving Vancouver we headed south to spend a few nights in Olympic
National Park – home of Mount Olympus and, for me, one of the best
non-swimming beaches I have set foot on.
On
the way through we stopped off in Port Angeles where we were hosted
by Lonnie through Couch Surfing – yet another win for Couch
Surfing! To say Lonnie is a champ wouldn't be doing him justice! He's
a 70 year who lives just outside P.A. and has a large property in
which he is continually adding Couch Surfing abodes to. At the moment
he has 4 private chalet style buildings dedicated solely to Couch
Surfers and 'Warm Showers' (a very similar concept to CS but focused
more on cyclists). He's also just finished a stage which we were
lucky enough to witness the breaking in of with a jam session on the
Saturday night. And he is in the midst of converting a trailer home
into 4-5 bedrooms for guests to use – he does all this off his own
back and simply because he wanted to make use of the space he has. Oh
yeah, and he has a collection of exotic birds! Champ just doesn't do
him justice! He's the kind of guy you feel privileged to have met on
your travels – there are a few of these guys out there and he is
definitely one of them.
Lonnie's Crib
We
had also ordered some new camping gear to be collected from Walmart
in P.A. and after a trial run and some wise words from Lonnie we
sorted out a few kinks in our array and headed back to Walmart to
exchange a few items. Tip One: you don't need a lantern when you can
pick up a solar powered torch for $5. Tip Two: Make sure you can
light your stove. Tip Three: Make sure your blow-up mattress fits in
your 'waterproof' tent! Haha. We didn't really need this tip, but let
me tell you it's a tight squeeze! Apparently Walmart aren't too
precise on their dimensions, but they have no dramas with exchanges!
So
after a night with Lonnie we set off for Mora Campground, right on
the coast of Washington. Along the drive we stopped off at Lake
Crescent – a turquoise blue lake just waiting to be churned up by a
wake boat – but alas it wasn’t to be. We also stopped off at
Madison and Marymere Falls – both short hikes off the main road,
and both worth the stretch of the legs.
Madison and Marymere Falls
Close
to Mora Campground was Rialto Beach – as mentioned previously
possibly the best non-swimming beach I have been to. The high shore
line is littered with drift wood and debris that make a natural
playground I could, and did, spends hours on. Wrists ended up a
little sore afterwards, so did the shin after a humourous stack.
Rialto Beach
After
a rather cold night in our quality camping gear we checked out Rialto
beach further and made the trek out to Hole in the Wall – which
actually isn't as impressive as the driftwood if you ask me. Still it
was good to get some sunshine and see what else the beach had to
offer.
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| Hand-standing around at Hole in the Wall (this isn't the Hole in the Wall but its probably more impressive) |
For
the rest of the day we headed over to the other side of the river to
the Indian reserve of La Push, and its beaches. Both beaches, Third
and Second, would be a great spot to have a dip had the weather, and
water been a little warmer.
2nd and 3rd Beaches at La Push
The
following day we did what most people who come to Olympic N.P. do and
checked out Forks – the town Twilight is set in. A quick tour of
the place, mainly because despite the Hollywood hype it's a tiny,
unassuming town, we got off a couple of snaps of the Twilight zones
and made our way out to Hoh Rainforest.
The Twilight Zone
After
careful selection of the best available camp site – pretty much all
sites were available – we made camp and relaxed in the sun for a
while. After a few strenuous hours we headed into the heart of the
rainforest and took in a few trails. Nothing too spectacular but
definitely worth a look – some of the trees still standing are
older than you Bazil!
Hall of Mosses within the Hoh Rainforest
Back
at camp we got out the trusty 5 piece sports set of Walmart quality
and proceeded to break a few more of the items (don't worry we'll
exchange the ones that require exchanging – Walmart has a great
exchange policy – they don't care! And we'll fix the ones that we
can fix – duct tape fixes everything!).
After
a night around our little camp fire we packed up and made tracks
early'ish the next morning and it was here we met Jim. Like Lonnie,
Jim was a guy you feel fortunate to have met. He is a 72 year old who
has roped his mate into driving him up to the northern part of Alaska
where he is setting out to walk all the way down to the southern tip
of Chile. He did this 25 years ago on a motorbike, after completing
the USA Four Corners Tour (San Ysidro, CA; Blaine, WA; Madawaska, ME;
Key West, FL). When he finally got down to Chile he looked into
shipping his bike back to San Fran but the cost was too high, so he
jumped back on his trusty old steed and rode back home. He doesn't
plan on returning from this trip though – he told me he'll either
cark it on the way down, or be pretty much done if he makes it the
entire way. He reckons he's old enough to go out with a bang! You can
follow him online @rollingsouth.com
Pick of the litter (in regards to campsites)
Lonnie
was the kind of guy you feel privileged to have met because of the
experiences you have with him – there are more of these kind of
people out there than those like Jim. Jim is the kind of guy you feel
fortunate to have met because of his experiences – you sort of live
through his stories. Calvin was a guy we met in Israel who fits this
bill, but he is probably the only other one.
After
leaving Jim to his merry old ways we made our way back to Lonnie's
for the Saturday night jam session. Along the way we stopped in at
Sol Duc Falls – probably the most impressive falls within the park,
but again had nothing on Iguazu, but then again few do!
Sol Duc Falls
That night we
sampled a few of the finer brews on offer at Walmart ($7.50 for a six
pack of any IPA had me frothing at the mouth), sat around the bonfire
and listened to the oldies rock out.
Just your casual Saturday night at Lonnie's
The
next day was planning day, so with the weather permitting we headed
up to Hurricane Ridge. We had eagerly and rookily tried this on our
first day with no success – you couldn't see more than 10m in front
of you so we really don't know why we made the trip up there in the
first place. But second time round was a success and the view you get
is amazing. The weather granted us a perfect views of the Olympic
Mountains and the valley below, but we couldn’t have it all our way
with the view on the opposite side back down to Port Angeles and the
coast obscured by cloud.
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| The Olympic Mountains |
Olympic
N.P. doesn't really rate on too many people's hit lists of American
N.P. but we definitely enjoyed our time there. It's not a must-see by
any stretch, but if you have some time, drop Lonnie a line and get
amongst it.
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