Wow, I guess it’s been a few months since my last post. Ugh, so many posts to catch up on. It would be so much easier to just crawl in bed….so sleepy… NO! I’ve got to get at least one post done tonight so here we go. =)
About 3 months ago I embarked on my first long (6 day) and distant (Olympic National Park in Washington state) backpacking trip. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go because I was kind of bummed that Marshall wouldn’t be with me. Then I realized that with our hike ending on a Thursday evening I could have Marshall fly up and meet me so we could enjoy sightseeing in Seattle together. Sweet! Let’s DO THIS! 😉
The first thing I had to do after booking our flights was to go to REI and pick up a number of items that would be necessary for this trip. Amazingly enough, Olympic National Park is home to a temperate rain forest, several glaciers and everything in between so the gear list was long. I needed to purchase crampons (metal spiky things that attach to a pair of hard soled boots to keep you from losing your footing on ice), hard soled boots, a nylon sling (for a lightweight climbing harness), and rain gear. I had most everything else so now it was just a matter of getting it all packed in and keeping the weight as light as possible.
My food (and drink) for 6 days. Peanut butter and jelly tortillas for lunch, oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, dried vegetables, M&Ms and bars for snacks, and mashed potatoes, top ramen and couscous for dinner. (BTW, I only took one bag of M&Ms)
All of my gear for 6 days of hiking (minus Sierra...she really wanted to go).
All packed. In total my gear weighed 51lbs with water. More than 1/3 my weight but I'm strong and was able to carry it. =)
After getting all my gear together and preparing for my flight I gave Sierra and Lotus a little attention before I left. Kisses!
Little Muppy wanted to make sure I knew she loved me before I left. Aw, Sierra. =)
Ah Lotus! Bleh!! =P
Ok, I guess I’m ready for my trip now. =)
Taking off from Oakland International Airport. What a beautiful day for flying.
Well it was a beautiful day. Rainy skies and the Space Needle welcome me to Seattle.
Once I arrived in Seattle it was time to meet up with the rest of the group, pick up the rental cars and head to the ferry to make our way to the park.
A view from the deck of the ferry. Although overcast it was still beautiful. It reminded me of "The Goonies" set.
The ferry was huge and super comfortable. I loved the view and as you can see there was plenty of room to spread out and relax. I could get used to this. =)
Another 2 hours of driving and we finally reached our destination. At this point we consolidated from 2 cars into one to shuttle to the starting point of our hike. Amazingly enough we were able to fit 12 people and all our packs into one E350 van. Crazy right?
Venkad, Me, Magda (2nd row), Dylan, Rachel, Jackie (3rd row), Rita, Ilya, Craig Katharina (4th row)
"V" drives and Suji navigates (so jealous of their space).
We had to squish 12 people and their packs into this van (quite uncomfortable but we made it).
By the time we got to the trailhead of the Hoh Rain forest we couldn’t wait to get hiking but we couldn’t start without a proper group photo so I balanced my camera on a park bench, “Click!” and we’re off! =)
Me, Dylan, Rachel, "V", Magda, Jackie, Suji, Katharina, Rita, Ilya, Craig, and Venkad
Beautiful scenery was all around. Love it! =)
After hiking in about 5 miles we stopped at our first campsite and good thing too because apparently Jackie’s 15 year old boots had finally given up the ghost. Fortunately “V” brought some large rubber bands and duct tape so he was able to fix them up so Jackie could still use them. Unfortunately this combined with a few other hikers not having the right gear forced us to have to modify our plans and put our trip to the glacier in jeopardy. Stay tuned for more on this.
Jackie's boots say "Hello!..." =)
"V" always come prepared. I was pretty impressed with the fix he came up with.
The next morning we woke up with the rising sun and started boiling water for breakfast. Craig eats only raw food so he had some kind of odd looking meal with blueberries that he soaked in cold water for a couple hours before it was ready to eat.
Craig you're awesome but your meals are scary. 😉
After breakfast it was time to get going. We had a long and uphill hike this day so we needed to pace ourselves. Fortunately the rainforest offers plenty of beautiful scenery which made the miles pass quickly and the heavy pack seem a bit lighter. =)
One of the many downed trees we had to balance on to cross rivers below.
An amazing mossy giant. Absolutely incredible.
A dandelion and a rock. I really liked this picture so I had to include it in the post.
These tiny flowers faced the ground but when shot from below revealed their beautiful design.
Totally loving this! =)
Everything went smoothly until we crossed a creek and Craig decided that even though everyone had been asking/telling/begging him to walk softly and carefully when crossing difficult sections he was going to “mountain goat” it across the rocks and fell to the side cutting up his whole left arm. It felt good for me to be able to help him out but I wish he hadn’t gotten hurt at all. Craig you ridiculous guy. I guess I owe you for helping my buddy Mike by giving him a banana when he cramped up and giving me water when I ran out. 😉
You're one tough guy Craig. Glad it wasn't worse. =)
Bears weren't a big risk here but squirrels and other animals were so we made sure to keep everything packed away in bear cans. Guess which one is mine. Hint: It's the one with the M&Ms. 😉
After hours of debate at dinner the night before, we finally decided that we’d head up to the glacier and give it a shot. Hurray!
Gotta love a hike that includes both a temperate rainforest, snow and a glacier. =)
Our first glimpse of the snow covered mountains we were traveling to.
Resting on the way up to the glacier. So cool. Literally. Do you see the snow? 😉
A panorama view of the glacier. Too awesome...
Hurray! Although we weren't able to cross due to snow we did get to go down and walk on the glacier. =)
A crevasse. This is why we didn't cross. With freshly fallen snow we couldn't see the crevasses in order to avoid them so we carefully ventured to the edge of the glacier and then headed back. Totally worth it still. =)
I had balanced my camera and went to take the shot only to realize my battery had died so Ilya swooped in with his Nikon to save the day. 😉
At this point my camera died so I didn’t get any more pictures until the end of the trip when I was able to charge the battery in the hotel. Fortunately Ilya, Magda and others took lots of great pictures so the rest of the trip which played out on the beaches of Washington was captured on film.
On our final day before heading to the beaches for another two days of backpacking I took an opportunity to lay back, take in the skyline and fall asleep to the sound of the rushing river. Awesome...
Even on the coast it was 90+ degrees and with 40lbs of gear I joined the other girls in shedding a layer before continuing on to our next campsite. Ah, so much more comfortable. =)
Having fun on the beach doing handstands in the stand (Me, Magda, Venkad)
In several locations the tide blocks passage across the beach so you have to climb up and over like we did here. On our way out we made sure to leave early enough to catch that section at low tide.
I had an absolutely amazing time on the backpacking trip but I’ll be honest, I couldn’t wait to see Marshall. When I got to the hotel he gave me a big hug and I probably said something like “Oh Navin!..” which is a reference to The Jerk and the fact that I smelled like someone who hadn’t had a shower in 6 days. 😉
After an awesome shower/bath and getting into some clean clothes I was ready to hit the town for a walking tour of Seattle. Marshall was not as excited to go out and walk for hours. Seattle was experiencing an abnormal heat wave (in the mid-90s) and we were already sweating because our room didn’t have air conditioning. Oh well, here we go! =)
Marshall and me getting ready to head out for our walking tour of Seattle. I was so happy that he came up to meet me at the end of the hike. =)
Our walking tour lasted about 6 hours and took us to a bunch of neat, off the beaten trail places in Seattle including the Arctic Club and Seattle Library. I thought the tour was awesome. Marshall found it a little less impressive and was just eager to go see the Space Needle. Fortunately there was enough time left in the day for us to head on over for a drink and amazing view of the city.
This was so cool. Beer at the top of the Space Needle. What do you think Marshall?
Oh my gosh! Is Marshall actually drinking beer? What do you think?
Ha! You're so funny. =)
Hurray! More for me. Hehehe... 😉
The fountain outside of the Space Needle. What a great day. =)
Our second day of sightseeing was an homage to great food. Let me rephrase that. It was an homage to ALL food because I literally ate everything in sight. We stopped at the “Cow Chip” for huge chocolate chip cookies, had mini-doughnuts from Pike’s Place and clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl on the wharf. Oh wait, did I say we? I meant me. I’m a bit of a food piggy. Oink oink! =)
Let the food hedonism begin. One Cow Chip please! =)
Ugh, I'm so terrible. I ate all 6. ALL 6!! It's not my fault though. I'd eat one and then forget what it tasted like. 😉
Topping off the day with delicious clam chowder. So good... =)
All in all a totally awesome time although I did almost have to pay for an extra seat on the plane after all that food. 😉
Had a great time in Seattle with Marshall. Can't wait for our next vacation. =)
Thanks to “V” for organizing a great backpacking trip. I had a lot of fun and can’t wait for the next one. Maybe Marshall will even join me (foreshadowing?) for the next one. =)
Right on, Jenny. Nice trip report.
You can actually follow up with the Algonquin one – it will be true for the last sentence.