Arrival: Olympic National Park, Washington, Sunday, Jan. 31st
Departure: Olympic National Park, Wednesday, Feb. 3rd
Arrival: Port Angeles, WA, Wednesday, Feb. 3rd
Departure: Port Angeles, Thursday, Feb 4th
Arrival: Seattle, Thursday, Feb 4th.
When we last wrote, we were on our way to our first official backpacking experience of the trip in Ecola State Park. When we hiked in, we were surprised to see three other people and two of the three lean-tos had been claimed. We were relieved there was at least one left, considering we didn't bring our tent. We unpacked, made dinner and relaxed. A few hours later another group of four people arrived, two of which had a tent. The other two we told they could stay in our lean-to. Later in the night, we started to make a fire and talk to a few people when suddenly a boyscout troop appeared! We were all pretty surprised being that it was dark out and nobody was expecting so many people to be camping. So, as the story goes, an hour or so later another group of about four people arrived and let's just say, no sleep was to be had. We were disappointed, but packed up the next morning and went on a five mile hike somewhere else in the park. All in all, it was an experience, the park was very beautiful, and the weather remained tolerable.
Hiking experience #2:
On our way to Olympic National Park we stopped in Astoria, Oregon for the night. We parked to get some shuteye when we suddenly heard a strange barking noise. I joked with Simon that it sounded like a seal. Two seconds later, we heard it again, looked at each other and said "I think it is a seal." Sure enough the parking lot we were sleeping in faced the harbor and there were about 20 seals barking all night, not to mention huge cargo ships blowing their horns. At one point I decided that one ship was never going to stop blowing its horn, so I lay there sleepless and counted for 48 seconds until it finally stopped. It was, an experience.
Olympic National Park however was an AMAZING experience. An REI employee suggested we hike the HOH river valley trail. It was perfect, besides the monumental fees. The trail is situated in the Hoh rainforest and it certainly lived up to its name. Although it didn't rain as much as I'm sure it was capable of, everything was consistently soggy. We had a really hard time keeping most things dry, but made sure we always had at least one dry outfit.
We also discovered that the trail was quite the obstacle course at times. Though it was fun, I will admit I was a little hesitant at times, especially when it came to the balancing on large logs over a river part.
The first day we hiked in 9 miles and set up camp at a place that had bear wire and water we could filter. On the trail we ran into a herd of Elk. We were told they may charge if you get too close, so we stayed back and watched for a while. We also saw plenty of cougar prints, which was a little unsettling for me, but we were told that though the cat is a very large one, he has never been seen.
The following morning we took a 12 mile hike with day packs to Elk Lake situated on the trail. It was a picture perfect day; mild and sunny and we had amazing views of what we believe was Mount Olympus. The next day we hiked the 9 miles back to our car and headed north. We were pretty sore and tired by the end of it, dragging our feet the last mile, but we are excited for more hiking to come!
After hiking, we started our car and the check engine light came on. We checked our fluids and added dry-gas and everything seems to be fine now. The light went off yesterday so fingers crossed, everything is OK. We also hear a bit of squeaking in one brake. I hope our house isn't falling apart!
And now we're in Seattle. We don't have a definite plan about how long we will stay, but probably a few days. Then to the Olympics!
Finally, we would like to add one note of disappointment, We heard from our Peace Corps recruiter today that it seems we are not going to be placed. It is really tough news to bear. For about a year now we have been waiting to hear about a placement opportunity, but nothing fit our profile. There are many things I could say about this right now, but I think we both just need some time to process it all.
Until then... we will continue loving this trip!
