Olympic backpacking - Hoh River

When we finished the Sol Duc loop and returned to our cars, we had a quick turnaround to get back into the wilderness.  After designing these back-to-back (to back) adventures, I wasn't actually sure how it was going to go.  Especially when I started to understand the drive times involved.  At least we didn't try to fit in something on the other side of the peninsula.

So we got up early, made good time, and focused on efficiency.  The middle of the day went like this: Drive, charge Tug-E in Forks while repacking food and clothes, drive, wait to get into the park at the Hoh rainforest (I was most concerned about this piece but it ended up being not too long of a wait), saddle up, and start walking again!

My little camera wasn't focusing well in the dimmer light of the rainforest, but this seems like a good introduction to our next environment of giant trees:

And funky moss-covered shapes:

And slugs - this one appears to be having a face-off with John's shoe (I think the shoe gave up and moved off first):

We found a nice campsite next to the Hoh River.  Looking at the map, we were a tad south (and way downhill) from the High Divide where we just were.  I had originally tried to connect these two itineraries but the car shuttle would have been a challenge.  I found out later that the connector trail might be covered in blow-downs, so perhaps we dodged something there.

Anyway, time to cook supper and get ready for bed!

Day 3:

12 hour journey

Ends 2.6 miles away

Last huckleberries??

We woke up to a drizzly morning.  We had brought a small tarp (it helped that we were carrying food for only a couple days) and John set it up so we could be somewhat covered during breakfast.  Thank you John!

The plan for our day hike was to head uphill along the river and see how far we could get.  Maybe all the way to the glacier below Mount Olympus?  We had plenty of daylight, so even with a slow start we thought we might still make it.

On our way out of camp, checking out the bear wire (an alternative to carrying bear cans):

The rain tapered off, thankfully, and we started up the trail.  Looks like the river occasionally creates a change to the scenery:

Taking a break, still in full rain gear so it must have been a nice cool morning:

This bridge goes over a very deep gorge...

It's hard to get a picture to show you the perspective (so many trees!) but maybe this kind of gives you an idea:

I'm pleased to report that we found more huckleberries along the way!  Not so many that it slowed us down (too much) but enough to make us smile a few times.  That alone made the hike worth it.

Slug-shoe showdown #2:

Hiking alongside a big cliff and tall trees (so much greenery!)

Shoe finally won one:

Toward the upper end of the trail there's a tall ladder with big rungs, installed to allow access to the drainage where the trail tends to get washed out.  The park ranger (who issued our permits) showed me a photo of it, but it was more intimidating in person.  We coordinated with hikers going the other way and managed to get down without any issues:

A bit more uphill hiking and we made it to the view overlooking the Blue Glacier!  Except this is what it looked like:

A few minutes later the fog started to clear:

It was quite an amazing reveal!

Ta da!  We were fairly high above it, so the scale is about impossible to describe.  I don't even think we knew how much area we were looking at.  We just stood and stared (and took pictures):

And a few minutes later it all closed in again, which was good timing because we needed to get moving back downhill.  Thank you awesome glacier and fog clouds!

Before starting back, John took a picture of our viewing spot beside a large dark rock:

The funny thing about this picture is that John snapped it and then hustled over to follow me up the ladder; I was almost to the top when I heard him right behind me - was that fast?  I thought that was fast.

Another brief stop to admire the high bridge on the way back:

Trees growing out of dead tree trunks on either side of the trail:

I couldn't figure out why I'd taken this picture - then I saw the living creature camouflaged amid the leaves and moss:

Home again, for one more night before we move on to one last ONP adventure:

Day 4:

Slugs and tiny frogs

Stunning Olympus glacier

Rain did not dissuade!

Photo credits include John, Robyn, and Cathy

Olympic backpacking - Sol Duc loop

The next phase of our Olympic National Park exploration was a series of outings with our favorite backpacking buddies - Cathy and Robyn!

We conjured up the idea of seeing several diverse areas of the park, using online suggestions of cool places.  The Sol Duc loop sounded most familiar, climbing up to high ridges for scenic views.  That was our permit quest priority, and we were able to secure a spot for a couple nights.

So we met up in Port Angeles for laundry and food supplies, then drove up to Sol Duc campground for an evening of gear sorting and food organizing.

Then we were ready to check out Sol Duc Falls (pretty!) and get our first foray underway:

We quickly discovered the main driver of our walking speed (or lack of speed) = huckleberries!  We all love huckleberries and they were everywhere along the path.  Not sure why we brought food with us when these are here for the picking:

The flowers were colorful and lovely, but inedible, so we hiked upward into the fog:

Tree sculptures, I'm assuming from the weight of winter snow:

In lieu of views through the ever-present fog, we spent extra time picking berries:

Close-up views were sometimes especially interesting, like these flowers:

And of course:

Some curious geology - I wonder what happened up here (where's Roper when you need him?)

New addition to the "Beard" family:

Dr. Seuss plants (flowers?)!  All they needed was a pair of eyes:

Grouse crossing:

I'm sure on a clear day this is a gorgeous view of the Seven Lakes Basin:

Instead we'll amuse ourselves looking at pretty flowers (and eating more huckleberries, I'm sure):

Robyn is growing wiser:

Close to finishing up our hike for the day:

We found our destination (Heart Lake) along with a bunch of tents scattered about the designated sites.  Apparently some trail work people had taken over, so we had to squeeze ourselves into a spot on the tundra (not ideal, so we moved to a more durable surface when a group left the next morning).

After setting up camp and eating supper, the fog actually started to clear!  John and I went uphill for a look at the last rays of sunshine and our lake home for the next 2 nights:

Day 1 haiku:

Fog, fog, and more fog

Oodles of huckleberries!

Heart Lake is crowded

The next day we were free to roam around and explore the area.  Happily the clouds were no longer at our level, but instead settled down in the valley way below.

It was awesome to see the mountains!  Mount Olympus had a cloudy top but its glaciers poked out below it.  Robyn is taking a picture, while John's trekking pole is pointing at her head for some reason?

Robyn's excellent photo:

And a selfie for good measure, because we finally have a view!

I like the colors and the shading of the hills across the way:

I also like huckleberries  :)

I bought this at the co-op because it reminded me of pika poop... I think it was chocolate-covered quinoa or something similar, and it was yummy:

What do you think, could this pass as pika droppings?

Continuing our wanderings in the afternoon, as the views are still good, while the clouds are getting a bit higher and closer:

Big bear poop (the genuine thing this time):

We went back to the ridge about the Seven Lakes Basin, but for some reason I don't have a photo of it.  I guess Mount Olympus was stunning enough.

Yay for day hiking!

There's plenty of moisture around (even when it hasn't been raining a lot) for moss to grow on trees:

Day 2:

Views of Olympus

Finally saw Seven Lakes

More huckleberries  :)

The next morning we packed up early and waved goodbye to Heart Lake:

Continuing the loop as it heads down into the next valley:

Returning to the forest:

This is a cool little bridge (thank you for getting a picture, John):

Even more work went into this one:

John makes his own bridges, except...

Nope, not finding a way down, gotta go back:

Very cartoonish mushroom!

Thank you, Sol Duc, that was a wonderful start to the week!

Day 3 will be continued in the next post

Photo credits include John, Robyn, and Cathy