posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
August 30, 2009
Tonight is our second to last night in a tent. We are really tired tonight. We hiked almost 8 miles today broken up over a few hikes.
We were very impressed last night with how quiet our campground was and I'm very impressed again tonight. Maybe it's because the kids are in school now, or maybe WA campers are just quieter.
Today we hiked to several waterfalls inside the main part of Olympic National Park. We drove back in land from the coast and stopped at several places to hike. Near Lake Crescent, a huge lake in the northern end of the park, was Marymere falls. This was a shady, forest hike that ended at a rather tall waterfall. There were plenty of other people on this easy hike. Next we headed into the park on the Elwa Road. Just inside, we stopped at Madison Falls, another tall waterfall.
We took a windy 5 mile road up to the start of a hike for Olympic Hot Pools. The hike was actually along an old asphalt road from years ago when explorers planned on bringing people directly to the Hot Pools. The road was now mostly grown over and collapsed in several points. Hiking the trail was pleasant and we finally found all the little squirrels and birds of the park that were missing in the backcountry. There were chipmunks running around as well. In fact one squirrel that was running around scared a bunny out of it's hiding place and it came running past us.
When we reached the hot springs we found the most odd thing ever found on a hiking trail....a shopping cart was here 2.5 miles in. It had been brought here rather recently since the food in the cart was pretty new looking. The hot pools themselves did not appeal to us as we were now hot from the hike, but many people were enjoying them. We decided to hang out on a bridge over a river for a bit before hiking back.
Our next trip was up a windy, one-way, gravel road that traveled 5 miles up a mountain. The drive was pretty bumpy, but we did get to stop at a neat hike to a waterfall along Lake Mills. We had to hike down a very steep trail to the bottom of the falls. The falls themselves were rather hidden from view which made it almost adventurous finding the base of the falls. The hike back out nearly straight up was not as fun, but the trail was relatively short.
There was no good viewpoint to stop and eat dinner at, so we headed down to our campsite along the Elwha river to eat. The campground here was pretty busy when we arrived and we were able to secure one of the last sites available. The tent pad was created out of almost cement-stabilized-sand material, so inserting stakes was out of the question. We ended up using rocks as stakes by tying cord from the rock to our tent poles. It worked out rather well, actually. We picked a site that was right on the river, so we are going to fall asleep to the sounds of the river.
pictures later
Friday, September 4, 2009
Taking it easy
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
August 29, 2009
It was glorious to wake up in a bed all warm and toasty this morning. We took it easy today. After our tasty hotel breakfast we spent the morning cleaning up our camping stuff as much as possible, then re-packing everything for our 3 nights of car camping. Car camping consists of driving up to a designated campsite and setting up the tent right next to the car.
It's nice that we can take our hotel with us (tent and sleeping bags). We changed our original plans last night and we don't need to worry about where we sleep.
On our way out of Sol Duc, we stopped at Salmon Cascades but the salmon were not jumping today.
We drove to Forks and saw that we had entered the Twilight Zone. Every store was advertising the Twilight books and movies and welcoming fans. It turns out that the books were set in this area. There were lots of tween fans buying souveniers.
In Forks, we picked up some groceries, dropped our bear cans off at the ranger station, and continued to Mora Campground at Rialto Beach. (on the west coast of WA)
Campsites in the national park are first come first serve, but we had no problem finding a spot. It helped that the weather was foggy, misty, cold, and rainy.
After setting up the tent (we can do this in record time now), we drove to Rialto Beach for lunch and a 3 mile round trip hike.
Our hike started at low tide as we strolled along the beach looking for tidepools and interesting driftwood. The edge of the beach is a forest, and huge logs of driftwood line the edge between beach and forest. The weather started foggy, misty, and cold. This made for some interesting photos different from the typical sunny beach. However, about halfway through our hike, the sun came off burning off the fog. The weather became hot and sunny. So, we were able to see the beach in different ways.
We didn't find many tidepools, but in those that we did find, we saw anemone, mussels, barnacles, sea gulls, and the like. We also spotted a perigrin falcon and an eagle today.
Most of the beach was made up of river rock instead of sand. The pieces ranged in size from pebbles to palm sized. This actually made the beach quite different from the normal beach and beautiful.
After the beach, we drove south to La Push for sunset, but though the view was pretty, the area was run-down and trashy. We decided instead to have dinner back at Rialto and take our sunset pictures there.
Sunset was indeed lovely. We sat on the beach for a couple hours just relaxing and listening to the surf.
Car camping is rather like luxury camping as we keep everything we want at hand in the car. Also, there are bathrooms with running water to brush our teeth and everything!
Pictures will come later when I have time to go through them.
August 29, 2009
It was glorious to wake up in a bed all warm and toasty this morning. We took it easy today. After our tasty hotel breakfast we spent the morning cleaning up our camping stuff as much as possible, then re-packing everything for our 3 nights of car camping. Car camping consists of driving up to a designated campsite and setting up the tent right next to the car.
It's nice that we can take our hotel with us (tent and sleeping bags). We changed our original plans last night and we don't need to worry about where we sleep.
On our way out of Sol Duc, we stopped at Salmon Cascades but the salmon were not jumping today.
We drove to Forks and saw that we had entered the Twilight Zone. Every store was advertising the Twilight books and movies and welcoming fans. It turns out that the books were set in this area. There were lots of tween fans buying souveniers.
In Forks, we picked up some groceries, dropped our bear cans off at the ranger station, and continued to Mora Campground at Rialto Beach. (on the west coast of WA)
Campsites in the national park are first come first serve, but we had no problem finding a spot. It helped that the weather was foggy, misty, cold, and rainy.
After setting up the tent (we can do this in record time now), we drove to Rialto Beach for lunch and a 3 mile round trip hike.
Our hike started at low tide as we strolled along the beach looking for tidepools and interesting driftwood. The edge of the beach is a forest, and huge logs of driftwood line the edge between beach and forest. The weather started foggy, misty, and cold. This made for some interesting photos different from the typical sunny beach. However, about halfway through our hike, the sun came off burning off the fog. The weather became hot and sunny. So, we were able to see the beach in different ways.
We didn't find many tidepools, but in those that we did find, we saw anemone, mussels, barnacles, sea gulls, and the like. We also spotted a perigrin falcon and an eagle today.
Most of the beach was made up of river rock instead of sand. The pieces ranged in size from pebbles to palm sized. This actually made the beach quite different from the normal beach and beautiful.
After the beach, we drove south to La Push for sunset, but though the view was pretty, the area was run-down and trashy. We decided instead to have dinner back at Rialto and take our sunset pictures there.
Sunset was indeed lovely. We sat on the beach for a couple hours just relaxing and listening to the surf.
Car camping is rather like luxury camping as we keep everything we want at hand in the car. Also, there are bathrooms with running water to brush our teeth and everything!
Pictures will come later when I have time to go through them.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Last day in the backcountry
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
August 28, 2009
Day 5 of backpacking trip
Last day.
The morning was fairly warm at 55 degrees; the warmest morning yet and at the highest elevation. Warm mornings mean we are up earlier. We were out to see the sunrise in the mountains. Our camp was very mosquito-y, so we moved our stuff to our cook site. Soon after breakfast and while packing up, 3 mountain goats paid us a visit. They wanted to know what we were doing in their way. They came really too close, finally circled around us, and then nearly made a home where our tent was. Eventually they left and we packed up super quick in case they were coming back.
Our packs were very light coming down off the mountain. We stopped at the nearby Oyster Lake to pump water and then headed down, down, down. The bugs were out today and we knew we had a long hike ahead of us, so we moved pretty fast.
When we got back to the trail junction with Sol Duc, we found that no one had come by to steal our bear can. So, we had to make the packs heavy again to carry everything out. The packs are still much lighter than when we started as we've eaten the food at least.
Most of the trail was either flat or down hill and we moved quickly. The rocky steps nearly did me in, but we made it out to the parking lot in one piece.
It was so exciting to reach the car and so strange to drive it. It was also strange to see so many people again.
Back to civilization, we checked in to the Sol Duc Resort and took a wonderful shower in our cabin. There is just nothing better than getting rid of 5 days of grime! Once refreshed we had burgers at the restaurant and marveled at the non-freeze dried food. We even went for the chocolate yummy cake dessert.
Back in the cabin we planned out the rest of our trip and now are going to sleep in a cozy bed. No roots digging in my back tonight!
We hiked about 8 miles today.
other stories from today:
While eating breakfast, we were surrounded by many grouse hooting around us. They are almost chicken like and run around on the ground.
We did get a chance to stop at the Sol Duc Falls again on the way out of the back country. We saw some otters swimming around below the falls! No pictures as they were too fast, but we did get some more pictures of the falls that I'll have to post later.
During our forest hike along the Sol Duc river today we found the forest in many stages of decay. Some downed trees were demolished to mulch. Some had all kinds of various fungi growing from them. Also, we saw many trees that had fallen and cracked in interesting ways during past storms.
We managed to make it out of the back country before 5pm....pretty good for an 8 mile hike out.
August 28, 2009
Day 5 of backpacking trip
Last day.
The morning was fairly warm at 55 degrees; the warmest morning yet and at the highest elevation. Warm mornings mean we are up earlier. We were out to see the sunrise in the mountains. Our camp was very mosquito-y, so we moved our stuff to our cook site. Soon after breakfast and while packing up, 3 mountain goats paid us a visit. They wanted to know what we were doing in their way. They came really too close, finally circled around us, and then nearly made a home where our tent was. Eventually they left and we packed up super quick in case they were coming back.
Our packs were very light coming down off the mountain. We stopped at the nearby Oyster Lake to pump water and then headed down, down, down. The bugs were out today and we knew we had a long hike ahead of us, so we moved pretty fast.
When we got back to the trail junction with Sol Duc, we found that no one had come by to steal our bear can. So, we had to make the packs heavy again to carry everything out. The packs are still much lighter than when we started as we've eaten the food at least.
Most of the trail was either flat or down hill and we moved quickly. The rocky steps nearly did me in, but we made it out to the parking lot in one piece.
It was so exciting to reach the car and so strange to drive it. It was also strange to see so many people again.
Back to civilization, we checked in to the Sol Duc Resort and took a wonderful shower in our cabin. There is just nothing better than getting rid of 5 days of grime! Once refreshed we had burgers at the restaurant and marveled at the non-freeze dried food. We even went for the chocolate yummy cake dessert.
Back in the cabin we planned out the rest of our trip and now are going to sleep in a cozy bed. No roots digging in my back tonight!
We hiked about 8 miles today.
other stories from today:
While eating breakfast, we were surrounded by many grouse hooting around us. They are almost chicken like and run around on the ground.
We did get a chance to stop at the Sol Duc Falls again on the way out of the back country. We saw some otters swimming around below the falls! No pictures as they were too fast, but we did get some more pictures of the falls that I'll have to post later.
During our forest hike along the Sol Duc river today we found the forest in many stages of decay. Some downed trees were demolished to mulch. Some had all kinds of various fungi growing from them. Also, we saw many trees that had fallen and cracked in interesting ways during past storms.
We managed to make it out of the back country before 5pm....pretty good for an 8 mile hike out.
Fourth day of backpacking
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
August 27, 2009
Day 4 of backpacking trip
I'm writing this from the most beautiful campsite ever. We are at the top of a mountain with Mt. Olympus in front of us, a ton of stars above us, and surrounded by other mountains. We are also completely alone up here. I wish we could stay here longer than one night.
We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over purple Olympic mountains while eating dinner. Everything was too pretty to capture on the camera, though I did try my best! I hope my mental snapshot remains long in my head. Oh, we also have a half mood nearly lighting everything up around us. We have shadows cast by the moonlight.
I couldn't ask for a better night.
Tonight was worth the terrible climb up here. I should go back to the beginning of the day.
We awoke in Sol Duc Park to the bugs. Luckily they did manage to stay off of us for the most part. Wearing long sleeves in the cool mornings helps. It was chilly and we had breakfast and packed up pretty fast. Our hiking legs are getting better every day and it is not so hard to get the pack on. Each day we get a little faster and have to stop to rest less.
Sol Duc Park down to the Appleton Junction was a pretty forest hike and all down hill. We stopped to take several waterfall pictures along the way. Soon we came to the trail junction where we would climb up to Appleton Pass. We stopped here for lunch before heading up what we knew to be a 2500 foot climb.
We also had the great idea to pack up everything we didn't need and leave it at the bottom here in one of the bear cans. We'll get it on the way back down tomorrow. The climb was very uneventful. It was hard, steep, lots of switchbacks, and hot. Well, 75 does feel hot with a big pack on and long sleeves to keep the bugs off.
We were very lucky to find a couple headed back down from the pass. For when we got to the top, we found that there were several campsites. We might have just stopped and camped ine one of the 10ish boring sites that we passed. However, this couple told us of a magnificent hike if we just kept climbing. It took all our effort to keep moving and not just stop, but it was worth it. The view is superb. I've captured most of it in RAW format on my camera. Basically this means I can't upload it for you to see on my blog until I get home to convert it. You'll just have to wait.
We set up camp easily and cooked far away. We are getting quite good at this now. After sunset, I took some photos of the stars and of our tent. I can't wait to see how they turned out.
So now, it is time to sleep and not think about bears out there. Being all alone is wonderful as we really do get the absolute silence up here. However, it is also unnerving. A few deer have already walked by in the dark scaring us. Adrenaline rushes are good, right?
Today we hiked 5.6 miles at an average speed of 2.0mph.
August 27, 2009
Day 4 of backpacking trip
I'm writing this from the most beautiful campsite ever. We are at the top of a mountain with Mt. Olympus in front of us, a ton of stars above us, and surrounded by other mountains. We are also completely alone up here. I wish we could stay here longer than one night.
We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over purple Olympic mountains while eating dinner. Everything was too pretty to capture on the camera, though I did try my best! I hope my mental snapshot remains long in my head. Oh, we also have a half mood nearly lighting everything up around us. We have shadows cast by the moonlight.
I couldn't ask for a better night.
Tonight was worth the terrible climb up here. I should go back to the beginning of the day.
We awoke in Sol Duc Park to the bugs. Luckily they did manage to stay off of us for the most part. Wearing long sleeves in the cool mornings helps. It was chilly and we had breakfast and packed up pretty fast. Our hiking legs are getting better every day and it is not so hard to get the pack on. Each day we get a little faster and have to stop to rest less.
Sol Duc Park down to the Appleton Junction was a pretty forest hike and all down hill. We stopped to take several waterfall pictures along the way. Soon we came to the trail junction where we would climb up to Appleton Pass. We stopped here for lunch before heading up what we knew to be a 2500 foot climb.
We also had the great idea to pack up everything we didn't need and leave it at the bottom here in one of the bear cans. We'll get it on the way back down tomorrow. The climb was very uneventful. It was hard, steep, lots of switchbacks, and hot. Well, 75 does feel hot with a big pack on and long sleeves to keep the bugs off.
We were very lucky to find a couple headed back down from the pass. For when we got to the top, we found that there were several campsites. We might have just stopped and camped ine one of the 10ish boring sites that we passed. However, this couple told us of a magnificent hike if we just kept climbing. It took all our effort to keep moving and not just stop, but it was worth it. The view is superb. I've captured most of it in RAW format on my camera. Basically this means I can't upload it for you to see on my blog until I get home to convert it. You'll just have to wait.
We set up camp easily and cooked far away. We are getting quite good at this now. After sunset, I took some photos of the stars and of our tent. I can't wait to see how they turned out.
So now, it is time to sleep and not think about bears out there. Being all alone is wonderful as we really do get the absolute silence up here. However, it is also unnerving. A few deer have already walked by in the dark scaring us. Adrenaline rushes are good, right?
Today we hiked 5.6 miles at an average speed of 2.0mph.
Third day of backpacking
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
August 26, 2009
Day 3 of backpacking trip
Today was a beautiful day with breathtaking views. We hiked mostly along the ridgeline of several mountains on the High Divide Trail. We saw 2 marmots, two dancing bears, and more bees than I could count.
The morning started off chilly. We both woke up sometime before dawn to wrap our heads up in our mummy hoods to our sleeping bags. When we got up it was up to 40 degrees out, so I can only imagine it was in the 30s at night.
We were pretty quick packing up, eating, and heading out of camp today. The same bear was still across the lake. Yay for not getting eaten overnight! I can say now that I was a little concerned and had to push some scary images from my head before falling asleep last night. =) In the morning, though, all is safe. You can't let the quiet nights of the backcountry get to your head.
The hike up from Hoh Lake was just as hard as we thought it would be. Once out of the Hoh Lake area, we were back on the High Divide hike and were hiking up and down over various peaks. We found a great view of Mount Olympus and throughout the day managed to get many more pictures from all sorts of points of view.
Mount Olympus is still covered in either snow or a glacier. We learned later that it blocks precipitation from other parts of the park and all the snow dumps on it instead of other mountains. Most of the rest of the Olympic mountains that we see are of the "purple mountains majesty" variety. It is really quite beautiful and we just can't get enough of looking at the mountains.
The day was (I can't believe I'm saying this) warm at 75 and only partly cloudy. It was a gorgeous day for views of the whole park. We spent the entire morning only seeing 2 people, but then after lunch, bumped into a traffic jam of 8 hikers in a row. Everyone out here is now a backpacker rather than a day hiker. I find myself comparing our gear with theirs and seeing how we all attach it.
Soon after lunch we came to a spot where we could see two bears way down below either fighting or playing with each other. We were glad to be far away, though it made it hard to get good pictures of them. Mostly we watched them for a bit.
We hiked through many high meadows full of bees and mosquitoes. I thought I was hiking a bee across the divide as all I could hear all day was buzz buzz as the bees circled my head thinking I was a flower. The mosquitoes here are nothing like Texas mosquitoes and the sting from the bites goes away in just 2 days or so. Also, though there are bugs, they are nothing like the bugs in Texas. The bugs here seem to leave us alone for the most part. The ground is not full of ants, and we can pretty much sit down wherever we want without worrying.
When we neared an area called Heart Lake (lake was actually shaped like a heart), we put down our big packs and took a small day hike along a trail towards Cat's Basin. I read that it was a good hike, but really the views were not that different from the High Divide and we turned around after a mile. We didn't need extra miles.
The Heart Lake campsite area was full when I tried to reserve, and we could see that they were trying to keep the amount of visitors down. The area was more barren than any other part of our hike with many many paths crisscrossing the area. The rangers blocked off several former paths to allow the plants to regrow.
We were very tired and took a long break at Heart Lake while pumping water for our bags as we weren't sure how much water would be at our campsite. Finally, though, we had to move on. Our campsite was only about half a mile down the trail, but that half mile was all rock stairs down, down, down into the Sol Duc River valley. This was hard going on my feet with a heavy pack and short legs. We made it though. The campsite wasn't all that great as we ended up took close to others I think. It was rather buggy, but we did get to camp near a small waterfall.
Sol Duc Park (our campsite) had a ranger staying in the area for the night. This was the first night with a ranger close by. He came around to check our wilderness permits. We are only permitted to camp at the campsites we reserved. Any time we pass a ranger on the trail, they ask to see our permit and make sure that we have the required bear cans.
Dinner was quick and sleep came easily. We are getting into the groove of hiking and sleeping in the tent. We can pretty much sleep through the night on the ground now.
Today we hiked 7.1 miles total including 1.8 miles without the heavy packs along Cat's Basin. We averaged 1.7 mph (not including stopping time).
August 26, 2009
Day 3 of backpacking trip
Today was a beautiful day with breathtaking views. We hiked mostly along the ridgeline of several mountains on the High Divide Trail. We saw 2 marmots, two dancing bears, and more bees than I could count.
The morning started off chilly. We both woke up sometime before dawn to wrap our heads up in our mummy hoods to our sleeping bags. When we got up it was up to 40 degrees out, so I can only imagine it was in the 30s at night.
We were pretty quick packing up, eating, and heading out of camp today. The same bear was still across the lake. Yay for not getting eaten overnight! I can say now that I was a little concerned and had to push some scary images from my head before falling asleep last night. =) In the morning, though, all is safe. You can't let the quiet nights of the backcountry get to your head.
The hike up from Hoh Lake was just as hard as we thought it would be. Once out of the Hoh Lake area, we were back on the High Divide hike and were hiking up and down over various peaks. We found a great view of Mount Olympus and throughout the day managed to get many more pictures from all sorts of points of view.
Mount Olympus is still covered in either snow or a glacier. We learned later that it blocks precipitation from other parts of the park and all the snow dumps on it instead of other mountains. Most of the rest of the Olympic mountains that we see are of the "purple mountains majesty" variety. It is really quite beautiful and we just can't get enough of looking at the mountains.
The day was (I can't believe I'm saying this) warm at 75 and only partly cloudy. It was a gorgeous day for views of the whole park. We spent the entire morning only seeing 2 people, but then after lunch, bumped into a traffic jam of 8 hikers in a row. Everyone out here is now a backpacker rather than a day hiker. I find myself comparing our gear with theirs and seeing how we all attach it.
Soon after lunch we came to a spot where we could see two bears way down below either fighting or playing with each other. We were glad to be far away, though it made it hard to get good pictures of them. Mostly we watched them for a bit.
We hiked through many high meadows full of bees and mosquitoes. I thought I was hiking a bee across the divide as all I could hear all day was buzz buzz as the bees circled my head thinking I was a flower. The mosquitoes here are nothing like Texas mosquitoes and the sting from the bites goes away in just 2 days or so. Also, though there are bugs, they are nothing like the bugs in Texas. The bugs here seem to leave us alone for the most part. The ground is not full of ants, and we can pretty much sit down wherever we want without worrying.
When we neared an area called Heart Lake (lake was actually shaped like a heart), we put down our big packs and took a small day hike along a trail towards Cat's Basin. I read that it was a good hike, but really the views were not that different from the High Divide and we turned around after a mile. We didn't need extra miles.
The Heart Lake campsite area was full when I tried to reserve, and we could see that they were trying to keep the amount of visitors down. The area was more barren than any other part of our hike with many many paths crisscrossing the area. The rangers blocked off several former paths to allow the plants to regrow.
We were very tired and took a long break at Heart Lake while pumping water for our bags as we weren't sure how much water would be at our campsite. Finally, though, we had to move on. Our campsite was only about half a mile down the trail, but that half mile was all rock stairs down, down, down into the Sol Duc River valley. This was hard going on my feet with a heavy pack and short legs. We made it though. The campsite wasn't all that great as we ended up took close to others I think. It was rather buggy, but we did get to camp near a small waterfall.
Sol Duc Park (our campsite) had a ranger staying in the area for the night. This was the first night with a ranger close by. He came around to check our wilderness permits. We are only permitted to camp at the campsites we reserved. Any time we pass a ranger on the trail, they ask to see our permit and make sure that we have the required bear cans.
Dinner was quick and sleep came easily. We are getting into the groove of hiking and sleeping in the tent. We can pretty much sleep through the night on the ground now.
Today we hiked 7.1 miles total including 1.8 miles without the heavy packs along Cat's Basin. We averaged 1.7 mph (not including stopping time).
Second day backpacking
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
August 25, 2009
Day 2 of backpacking trip
Owww. As I lay here tonight I can feel my sore muscles from hauling the heavy pack.
We are camped near a stream and can hear the trickle of water that sounds like rain. Tonight we are at the Hoh Lake Campsite which is more secluded that last night's spot. Here there are only 4 total sites and only one other group is here with us. We saw bears across the lake from us and were very careful to put everything in the bear cans.
Back to today though... This morning was rainy. I woke up at 1am to the rain and we had to dash out of the tent to put the rain-fly on. This is never fun to do in the rainy darkness. The reason we don't like to put the rain-fly on the tent unless it rains (and is necessary to keep the rain out) is that it makes the tent air hot and unmoving with no ventilation.
In any case, we were happy with our sleeping bags as it was cold out there! Once back in the tent we fell asleep rather quickly. The bag kept me toasty warm even though I'm sure it dropped below 50 at night.
It was still raining at 7 am, so we stayed inside the tent a little longer until it stopped. I forgot to check the morning temp, but when we felt warm again, it was 52 out.
We went down to Deer Lake again to make breakfast and by the time we were all packed up, it was close to 10am. So, we had a late start to today. The packs nestled back on our bruised hip bones and we were off to climb, climb, climb. We climbed for about 4 miles.
We saw tons of blueberry bushes and hiked out of the tree line to some gorgeous views of the valleys below. I believe we got up too about 5000 feet at the top. We were overlooking the Seven Lakes Basin and we stopped for a break. There are several lakes scattered below all completely still and reflecting the trees back at us. The lakes are incredibly blue much like the glacial fed ones we say in Glacier National Park.
We were at the top of a peak, so behind us was a view of a different valley with Olympic mountains in the distance. Soon, our view was obscured as the clouds rolled in, up and over the mountain. The temps dropped to 45 and windy as we watched the clouds roll down into the Seven Lakes Basin.
It was time to go. From here it was mostly flat going and we went quite a bit faster. On our way to Hoh Lake we started hearing what sounded like someone's warning whistle. There was way too much open area (as we were on the ridge line of the mountains over several valleys) to tell where it was coming from, so we proceeded with caution. Soon we found a black bear down the hill from us. The wind was blowing in our faces and the bear was meandering away, so we continued and found ourselves soon overlooking Hoh Lake. It was beautiful! The lake was a deep blue with people fishing on it. The only problem was the lake was way below us. This means we had to hike down to the lake for the night and then up the same way we came in for tomorrow's hike. More climbing....but that's tomorrow.
On the way down we watched a bear forage on the opposite side of the lake from the campsites. The people fishing told us that the bear had just been on the campsite side. In fact, they had been screaming at the bear to make it go away. There was a ~12 year old girl who had been screaming at the bear, so we figured that was the warning sounds we heard from up top.
Tonight we were much smarter at setting up camp. After setting up the tent, we took everything we might need to the lake for a relaxing dinner. We had all our toiletries with us as well to clean up, and then everything went in the bear can. We left the cans there and came back to the tent for the night.
While sitting at the lake we had several deer nearly walk right up to us to see what we were doing there.
We tried to make a pudding dessert tonight as it had to sit in a cold lake, but it didn't gel and we weren't hungry for it. Luckily this site had a bear wire, so we hung our pudding on the bear wire. The bear wire was an interesting and hard to describe set up, but we were able to make it work. Basically the point is to get the food 12' in the air or higher and between trees where a bear can't climb and reach it.
Now it is time for sleep so we can haul our packs further tomorrow. The packs are feeling quite heavy and we are wondering what all we didn't need to bring with us. We have to haul it all now, of course. =)
Weather during the day was in the 50s. We hiked 5.9 miles at an average speed of 1.8mph (not including stopping time)
August 25, 2009
Day 2 of backpacking trip
Owww. As I lay here tonight I can feel my sore muscles from hauling the heavy pack.
We are camped near a stream and can hear the trickle of water that sounds like rain. Tonight we are at the Hoh Lake Campsite which is more secluded that last night's spot. Here there are only 4 total sites and only one other group is here with us. We saw bears across the lake from us and were very careful to put everything in the bear cans.
Back to today though... This morning was rainy. I woke up at 1am to the rain and we had to dash out of the tent to put the rain-fly on. This is never fun to do in the rainy darkness. The reason we don't like to put the rain-fly on the tent unless it rains (and is necessary to keep the rain out) is that it makes the tent air hot and unmoving with no ventilation.
In any case, we were happy with our sleeping bags as it was cold out there! Once back in the tent we fell asleep rather quickly. The bag kept me toasty warm even though I'm sure it dropped below 50 at night.
It was still raining at 7 am, so we stayed inside the tent a little longer until it stopped. I forgot to check the morning temp, but when we felt warm again, it was 52 out.
We went down to Deer Lake again to make breakfast and by the time we were all packed up, it was close to 10am. So, we had a late start to today. The packs nestled back on our bruised hip bones and we were off to climb, climb, climb. We climbed for about 4 miles.
We saw tons of blueberry bushes and hiked out of the tree line to some gorgeous views of the valleys below. I believe we got up too about 5000 feet at the top. We were overlooking the Seven Lakes Basin and we stopped for a break. There are several lakes scattered below all completely still and reflecting the trees back at us. The lakes are incredibly blue much like the glacial fed ones we say in Glacier National Park.
We were at the top of a peak, so behind us was a view of a different valley with Olympic mountains in the distance. Soon, our view was obscured as the clouds rolled in, up and over the mountain. The temps dropped to 45 and windy as we watched the clouds roll down into the Seven Lakes Basin.
It was time to go. From here it was mostly flat going and we went quite a bit faster. On our way to Hoh Lake we started hearing what sounded like someone's warning whistle. There was way too much open area (as we were on the ridge line of the mountains over several valleys) to tell where it was coming from, so we proceeded with caution. Soon we found a black bear down the hill from us. The wind was blowing in our faces and the bear was meandering away, so we continued and found ourselves soon overlooking Hoh Lake. It was beautiful! The lake was a deep blue with people fishing on it. The only problem was the lake was way below us. This means we had to hike down to the lake for the night and then up the same way we came in for tomorrow's hike. More climbing....but that's tomorrow.
On the way down we watched a bear forage on the opposite side of the lake from the campsites. The people fishing told us that the bear had just been on the campsite side. In fact, they had been screaming at the bear to make it go away. There was a ~12 year old girl who had been screaming at the bear, so we figured that was the warning sounds we heard from up top.
Tonight we were much smarter at setting up camp. After setting up the tent, we took everything we might need to the lake for a relaxing dinner. We had all our toiletries with us as well to clean up, and then everything went in the bear can. We left the cans there and came back to the tent for the night.
While sitting at the lake we had several deer nearly walk right up to us to see what we were doing there.
We tried to make a pudding dessert tonight as it had to sit in a cold lake, but it didn't gel and we weren't hungry for it. Luckily this site had a bear wire, so we hung our pudding on the bear wire. The bear wire was an interesting and hard to describe set up, but we were able to make it work. Basically the point is to get the food 12' in the air or higher and between trees where a bear can't climb and reach it.
Now it is time for sleep so we can haul our packs further tomorrow. The packs are feeling quite heavy and we are wondering what all we didn't need to bring with us. We have to haul it all now, of course. =)
Weather during the day was in the 50s. We hiked 5.9 miles at an average speed of 1.8mph (not including stopping time)
First night in the backcountry
posted at http://markandjoannatravel.blogspot.com
August 24, 2009
Day 1 of backpacking trip
We started our day with a hearty breakfast in Port Angeles. The breakfast was so good that we decided to skip lunch.
A trip to the Wilderness Informatioin Center for Olympic National Park was next on the agenda to pick up the backpacking permits. We also borrowed some bear canisters (bear cans) from them. Bear cans are special plastic bins made with locks that only a human can open rather than a bear. All food and all scented items must be inside. The cans were cylinders about 12" tall by 8" in diameter and when full were pretty heavy. We filled 2 and they nearly took up all the space in our packs.
The start of the trail was still a 30 minute drive away, so we were off. At the trailhead we soon learned that our packs were nearly too heavy, so we left a few items behind in the car.
It took a little courage to leave the car behind, but once on the trail we forgot all about our ideas of sleeping in the car. hehe =)
We only hiked 5ish miles today, but it was slow and hard going. It was certaily harder than either of us thought, but we did makde it to our first campsite before dark.
On the way we stopped at the Sol Duc Falls for pictures. This is the main point of the Sol Duc trailhead and a day hike for most. From here we will continue in a large loop around the Seven Lakes Basin. After the falls, the rest of the hike was mostly a forested hike with an incline. We plugged along taking breaks every few minutes to breath and rest.
Finally we made it to Deer Lake, our first campsite, and what a marvelous lake it is. We arrived around 6pm and set up the tent. Then we had to hike away to cook and eat dinner as not to attract bears to our camp.
Camping while trying to keep the bears out is hard work. Our bear cans must live at least 100 feet from camp with all food and toiletries. This made getting ready for bed almost frustrating as we were going back and forth a few times before we had everything in the right spot and finished. It seems like everytime we thought we were done, we'd find another piece of trash in our pockets that had to be hiked and placed in the bear cans. It is very important to keep all bits of scented items away from us otherwise, there's just no point in hiking the bear cans in. By night 4, we will have this down.
We spent our evening strolling around Deer Lake and taking pictures.
Weather during the day was around 65-60. At night it was 50-55 with clear skies both day and night.
August 24, 2009
Day 1 of backpacking trip
We started our day with a hearty breakfast in Port Angeles. The breakfast was so good that we decided to skip lunch.
A trip to the Wilderness Informatioin Center for Olympic National Park was next on the agenda to pick up the backpacking permits. We also borrowed some bear canisters (bear cans) from them. Bear cans are special plastic bins made with locks that only a human can open rather than a bear. All food and all scented items must be inside. The cans were cylinders about 12" tall by 8" in diameter and when full were pretty heavy. We filled 2 and they nearly took up all the space in our packs.
The start of the trail was still a 30 minute drive away, so we were off. At the trailhead we soon learned that our packs were nearly too heavy, so we left a few items behind in the car.
It took a little courage to leave the car behind, but once on the trail we forgot all about our ideas of sleeping in the car. hehe =)
We only hiked 5ish miles today, but it was slow and hard going. It was certaily harder than either of us thought, but we did makde it to our first campsite before dark.
On the way we stopped at the Sol Duc Falls for pictures. This is the main point of the Sol Duc trailhead and a day hike for most. From here we will continue in a large loop around the Seven Lakes Basin. After the falls, the rest of the hike was mostly a forested hike with an incline. We plugged along taking breaks every few minutes to breath and rest.
Finally we made it to Deer Lake, our first campsite, and what a marvelous lake it is. We arrived around 6pm and set up the tent. Then we had to hike away to cook and eat dinner as not to attract bears to our camp.
Camping while trying to keep the bears out is hard work. Our bear cans must live at least 100 feet from camp with all food and toiletries. This made getting ready for bed almost frustrating as we were going back and forth a few times before we had everything in the right spot and finished. It seems like everytime we thought we were done, we'd find another piece of trash in our pockets that had to be hiked and placed in the bear cans. It is very important to keep all bits of scented items away from us otherwise, there's just no point in hiking the bear cans in. By night 4, we will have this down.
We spent our evening strolling around Deer Lake and taking pictures.
Weather during the day was around 65-60. At night it was 50-55 with clear skies both day and night.
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