Faster, Higher, Stronger
Today we woke up around 6:00 AM in the Duckabush Recreation Area of the Olympic National Forest. I slept in a tent, while Dad and Kendall were asleep in the van. Upon waking, I heard rain drops deflecting off the tree branches down to rest on the rain fly. After quickly breaking down the tent with help from Dad, we hit the road around 6:30, driving on the east side of the Route 101 lasso around Olympic National Park.
We knew we were in for a long day with an aggressive itinerary. Our goal was to visit Hurricane Ridge and the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic, get to Seattle to visit Aunt Sally, and make sure Tar is in position to make her flight back to St. Louis tomorrow – 393 miles in total.
After several phone consultations with my Aunt Sally who lives in the Seattle area, we drove into the park via Port Angeles to see Hurricane Ridge first. The drive up to the Ridge was beautiful. We ascended through a thick layer of clouds, where we emerged to be greeted by a cloudless skyline, ideal for viewing the Olympic Range. Because we could not get enough of the views, we did a short hike on the High Ridge Trail to Sunrise Point to get a 360° view. Crunched for time, we got back into the van to make our two-hour drive to Hoh Rain Forest.
We arrived at the Hoh Visitor’s Center around 2 PM and ate a quick lunch of PB & J (again, but featuring a new jelly flavor: raspberry!). The transition from a sub-Alpine to rain forest ecosystem was dramatic, making the drive feel shorter than it was. Invigorated by lunch and the new scenery, we walked on the Spruce Nature (~1.25 miles) and the Hall of Mosses (~0.8 mile) trails. After our brief visit, we hit the road again; we completed the loop around Olympic on the 101 on the journey from Hoh Rain Forest to Medina.
We arrived at my Aunt Sally’s house just before 9:00 PM, yet she and Tom welcomed us wholeheartedly. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and conversation together. Our meal was an interactive experience: we made our own bread bowls for our clam chowder! The luxurious dinner was quite a treat, and seeing Aunt Sally and Tom was a great way to end the long day. We then drove across town to check in at the nearby Residence Inn.
