The Evergreen State

Seattle is known as a windy, rainy city. Yet, for the twenty hours we spent there, the skies were blue and open. My flight landed at a quarter past ten, and Danielle and I explored Pike Place, the Waterfront, and Belltown during the afternoon and evening. Later, we had drinks (& skeeball) on 2nd Ave with friends Doch made from Scotland and Australia.

Morning after, had breakfast at the hostel before catching a ferry across the Sound to the Olympic Peninsula. Very chilly and windy on the boat, but still sunny and with great views of the coast. From there, we had a two hour drive towards Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge. The road crossed a few more rivers and had plenty of forest and lakes for scenery. After the Olympic Visitor Center in Port Angeles, we had about an 18 mile climb up to the ridge. Believe it or not, I was a little jealous of the cyclists riding up. We did some summitting of our own at the top, garnering some amazing views of the snowy peaks of the Ridge to our south, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca (which separates Canada and the US) to our North. Pictures or words can't really do it justice.

We camped at the base of the Ridge on Tuesday Night (Heart o' the Hills), and then made our way to the western end of Olympic on Wednesday. Our first stop was the Hoh Rain Forest, deep in the heart of the park. Moss covered the low lying trees, while the taller ones are stripped of their lower branches. The Hoh River and corresponding creeks were freezing from the glacier run off. We did a few hiking loops here before heading to Ruby Beach and our campground at Kalaloch. Ruby Beach was a prototypical West Coast beach, with mostly stones instead of sand. Lots of driftwood. People were stacking stones similar to the way the sand stones were stacked in Bryce Canyon, which cracked me up.

We camped within a minute's walk of the shore, a few miles south of Ruby. While it was more of a traditional sandy beach, it was still pretty chilly. It was clear in the afternoon, but got foggy quick in the evening, to the point where you couldn't even see the waves break. We awoke to a bit of condensation around the tent from the fog, which hadn't let up one bit.

From Kalaloch on the Pacific, we left Thursday morning for Mount Rainier. Without a reservation, we lucked out and were able to scope out a camping site on the southwestern corner of the park at Cougar Rock. From there, we drove up to the visitors center at around 5,400ft. After talking to a ranger, we decided on the Skyline trail up to Panorama Point at 6,800ft. Parts of the trail were snow covered, which I loved. Beautiful views at the top of the huge mountain above, and the valley around us. Again, words and photos can't really describe it.

We took the Golden Gate Path down from Upper Skyline, which led us thru a rocky canyon, a flower filled valley, and then past some big waterfalls. A beautiful day for an awesome hike. Also, probably the friendliest crew of people on the trails.

And just like that, four days in, we don't camp again until Yosemite in a week and a half. Cruised down I-5 today to get into Portland for a few days, before Newport, Crater Lake, and Klamath Falls next week. It's been great sights, here's hoping they keep on coming.

EDIT: Actually turned on Strava during our hike at Mt. Rainier. Check that elevation chart! https://www.strava.com/activities/73434303