July 1999

Location

Olympic Peninsula/Olympic National Park - Situated in the Northwest corner of Washington state across the straits of Jaun De Fuca from Vancouver Island British Columbia. Glacier capped mountains, deep valleys, lush meadows, sparkling lakes, Pacific Ocean beaches, giant trees, lots of wildlife and the remarkable temperate Hoh rain forest were the main attractions of this area. Over 600 miles of wilderness trails allowing access to all that beauty. The Olympic Peninsula has a very strange weather pattern. Sequim on the north east side has an average 16 inches of rain a year compared to more than 150 inches at Hoh Rain Forest which is just forty miles away (as the crow flies) on the west side. Port Angeles is the main ferry point to British Columbia.

Activity

Our first stop was at the southeastern end of the National Park at the forested lake Cushman just a few miles from the Hood Canal. (My typing is being interrupted at the moment by a squirrel who will not get off our picnic table. We don't mind him being on the table only the tablecloth is still on it and we don't want squirrel whoopsies with our lunch). Lake Cushman is a lovely spot with good access to many hiking trails in both the national forest and the national park. Lake Cushman State Park was our first chosen site - not too suitable for the length of our RV. We chose a pitch which looked fine, got into it without too much difficulty, but discovered their was not enough width to allow us to put the slide outs. The saying goes "what goes in must must come out" but easier said than done, but we managed with some on-lookers and found a pitch a bit more suitable but still tight. Decided that this type of site was not for us.

Visited the Ranger Station to confirm the situation regarding walks in the National Park. The news was as expected but at least we now know what is accessible.

Visited a Ranger by Lake Cushman - not far from our RV site who showed us photographs taken the previous week of a black bear feeding close to her hut. She was very excited as she had never been so close before and they were taken from the safety of her truck at the time.
Lena Lake trail - we manage to reach the lower Lena Lake (4000 feet) just within the boundary of the Brother Wilderness. The interesting trails leading into the National Park and deeper into the wilderness were of course impassable due to snow. The bears could make it, but we couldn't. Quite frustrating in a way as we were raring to go on our first hike in the Park but the snow was to deep.
One one of the few bright, but not sunny days we drove around Hood Canal, to the Kitsap peninsula and crossed back to the Olympic peninsula on a floating bridge. I think we managed to glimpse the sun once.

Our move from Lake Cushman was done on the wettest day we had had so far, that was until we reached Sequim, then true to what we had read the sun shone which provided beautiful views of Vancouver Island which lasted for the rest of the day. We performed our first reversing into a pitch which was made easy by the amount of space we had, and the fact that nobody else was on the site to watch if we made any mistakes - it went very smoothly. We found a problem when we came to use the water supply - the smell and colour which was like rust, thank goodness we had bought one of those many accessories - a water filter, which proved to be invaluable, but the water did manage to stain the areas it came in contact with during our weeks stay. It didn't do much for the laundry either. We had been warned before we came to this area that some sites did have a water problem.

During our stay we covered quite a lot of miles and saw some more beautiful scenery, helped by the great improvement in the weather, here are some of the areas visited:

Hurricane Ridge - is one of the most popular places for tourists. In just seventeen miles you climb 5,200 feet to outstanding views of Mount Olympus at 7,965 feet plus numerous other glacier shrouded mountains. On our first visit on 2nd July it was 38 degrees and snowing so with the poor visibility, feeling bitter cold, no where to walk due to snow we cut our visit short. Our second visit one week later was completely different. At 8.30 in the morning we had beautiful blue skies, fantastic views of the complete mountain range, were able to walk a short distance before hitting the snow line once again, but with all this snow about it made our next sighting possible - a black bear grazing on the Lupines not far from the Lodge and just a fine distance to feel safe but not quite near enough to get a good photo. We managed to take one but if we didn't tell you what it was you would think it was a dirty spot on the photo. Oh! for a telephoto lens - we really must invest in one soon. We did manage to get a reasonable shot on the video. Lots of deer and birds alongside the road.
Mount Muller - this was one of the few hikes we could do due to the snow line. At 3,240 feet we read that it had some wonderful views of both the Olympic mountain range and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Vancouver Island. We started this walk in warm and sunny conditions making our way through the forest and out into beautiful meadows that were full of so many different types of very colourful flowers until finally reaching the summit where we stopped for a bit to eat before making our way along the ridge which would lead to the views of Vancouver Island - that we never managed to see. The cloud and rain came in so quick that we had to turn around and head straight back from where we came, which meant that we had obviously strayed from underneath the umbrella of sunny Sequim. It was a great pity because just before the rain came we did manage a glimpse of what might have been. Oh! well, it was a good six miles of exercise, beautiful wild flowers and we had our waterproofs with us so it was not too bad.
Forks - is Washington's wettest town with more than 100 inches of rain annually. With a population of 3,000 it is the largest on the west side of the peninsula, it also has a good reputation around these parts for it's 4th of July festivities, so with the sun shining at last we headed in that direction in the hope of seeing some of their parades. We arrived at noon and found a lot of people starting to line the main road ready for the parade which was due to start at 1 p.m. We parked the truck, found a good view spot and waited. It was really colourful with a lot of floats from the local businesses, b-i-g logging trucks which is still their main industry. Most of all it was designed to keep the children happy as all the floats threw sweets to wherever the children were - had we have known that we would have parked ourselves near to them so we got some. We stayed for an hour before making our way to the rain forest.
Hoh Rain Forest - This is a must for anyone visiting the peninsula. The visitor center is 19 miles off the main highway but caters for everyone. It offers narrated short and longer walking tours amongst this extraordinary rain forest, and if you are like us, and have never been in one before it is oh! so different - the trees are completely green, moss, ivy, grandpa's beard and bear grass hanging from the trees. Due to the long awaited sunshine and more to the point the sunshine here, the visitor center was very busy with people taking advantage of the narrated walks, backpackers hoping to get a good distance before the snow stopped them, and people just like us who wanted to do one of the many shorter walks from the lodge. This was another busy but very memorable day.

To make our 4th of July complete it would have been nice if the RV site was full of rigs and people on our return so that we could see some of the many fireworks that had been on sale at every Indian Reservation we had passed through over the past few days, but no - we were still the only ones - this site was our first bad choice and it seemed that the local folks knew about it before us.

Cape Flattery(Makah Indian Reservation) - is the most north westerly point on the continent of the United States. By the time we arrived at Neah Bay it was very wet and extremely misty, in fact when we saw the road to Cape Flattery we seriously wondered whether or not to go on as it was very muddy and full of potholes, and on top of that the visibility was very poor, but we had travelled about seventy miles already so we could manage another five. We finally made it to Cape Flattery car park and believe it or not, the sun came out. We had a pleasant walk to the view point that overlooked Tatoosh Island which is the last point between America and Asia, where we saw our first Bald Eagle. We saw our second one sitting on a dead tree alongside the road on the return journey. It is nice to think we have been to that point, but we are not sure if it is really worth going to far out of your way to see, especially if it has been raining. (Just our opinion).

Crescent Lake - Has its own special breed of trout which apparently are tough to catch? With its blue water and backdrop of mountains the lake is used a lot by the local population for swimming, fishing and in winter for sno-mobiles. It also has a Lodge and holiday homes but these cannot be seen from the main road. We set off to walk from the quiet side of the lake up Pyramid mountain but missed the trail and walked a former railway track around the lake. Wullie did not feel to good that day so it's as well we missed the mountain.

After our week was up we had still not done all we wanted to so decided to move to Sequim for the last four days, in the hope of getting continuous sunshine while visiting more places of interest, stocking up with food from Costco, and it was also nearer to Port Townsend where we would be getting an early morning ferry to our next destination. The site we chose was small, friendly and had a small pond in the middle with trout and ducks.
Linda's first major task was to find a hairdressers and ladies, you know what a trauma this can be because when you live at home you use the same one year in a year out with no worries that they may cut too much off, but now we're on the road I must take what is available at the time. I was recommended one just across the road and came out happy with the result.
During our stay in Sequim we made our second visit to Hurricane Ridge (see above), visited the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge (an area famous for crabs) but the only bad weather of our stay in Sequim cut our visit short. This is certainly a popular area as the campsite full signs were up. Visited the most disappointing State Park we have encountered so far! Suppose if you are a boat person you could launch a boat? We quickly recovered from this by visiting (you won't believe it) the John Wayne Marina! This was a really delightful spot with a Marina, a small park with a small beach and an RV park whose monthly rates were ridiculously cheap. The Marina had a few small shops and a restaurant/bar.

Location

Bellingham - Located 90 miles north of Seattle, Washington with easy access to the San Juan islands and Mount Baker recreation area of the North Cascades National Park. A city with a population of 52,000 allowed access to shopping to replenish the larder and buy other items we decided we required.

Activity

Crossed from the Olympic peninsula to Whidbey island on a ferry from Port Townsend. Small panic when we drove past the ferry port (due to poor maps & lack of signpost) to what appeared to be a dead end. Got out and investigated and reckoned we could drive around the block? A lady passing by (from England 35 years ago) confirmed this and off we went back to the ferry port which was signposted from that direction. The one hour ferry crossing cost a total of $43 for vehicles & us. No problems in driving on and off ferry but roadworks on Whidbey island caused a major diversion. Wullie decided to make the diversion longer by forgetting that although a road may be heading West at a particular point it is designated according to its overall direction i.e. 20 North or South. just one of those days we suppose! Such a clear day we could see Mount Baker (10,775 feet) from Whidbey island. Crossed from the island to the mainland via the bridge on Highway 20 which continues all the scenic way across the Cascade mountains. (We will follow it later). The site at Bellingham provide a telephone connection directly to the RV which would be good for regular Internet use. Decided to stay for a week.

Mount Baker Recreation area - Visited on a day when the sun shone brightly and there was not a cloud in the brilliant blue sky. The views were extraordinary but again the snow covered all the better walks.

San Juan Islands - Visited via a two hour boat trip across the Puget Sound, seeing Seals, Sea lions, Bald Eagles and some lovely scenery. Spent 4 hours in Friday Harbor sightseeing, eating lunch and drinking microbrew beer. Some people took a trip out to the beach but we preferred to see the small town and watch the activity at the harbour area. During the return trip, once again a very clear day, we could see the Olympic mountains to the south and Mount Baker and the Cascades to the east simultaneously.

There is a good series of paths around the city of Bellingham, through parks and alongside streams some of which we investigated. Visited Larrabee State park and walked up Chuckanut mountain to Fragrance Lake. Another really nice day, so nice some locals were swimming in the lake. It felt kind of cool to us so we sat by the shore and watched. Whilst in Bellingham we had a 5,000 mile service (that was quick) done on the truck. We also had a lockable tonneau cover fitted to allow some security for items carried in the bed of the truck. The rest of the time was taken up with shopping, Internet access and lazing around. We did take a trip to Birch Bay, slightly nearer the Canadian border (20 miles) for a meal which turned out to be a sit-doon fish supper with microbrew of course.

Location

North Cascades National Park - Mountain and recreation area which stretches from the Canadian border to the Stehekin Wilderness above Lake Chelan. Mountain glaciers, Alpine lakes, wildlife galore and miles of hiking trails.

Activity

We accessed the park from two points one on the west side of the Cascades (Rockport) and one on the east side (Twisp). We left Bellingham and travelled Highway 20 (really scenic) to Rockport State Park a beautiful site. Unfortunately the roads within the park had been created before people like us drove 35 foot RV's. The pitches were amply big enough to take the length of our RV but the roads were narrow and tree lined such that manouvering was rather difficult. After nearly getting in one or two and temporarily getting stuck in another we decided that realistically it wasn't for us and moved eight miles along Highway 20 to Miller Howard Steelhead Park. This a County run park on the Skagit river which is extremely popular with fisherman during the Salmon (Steelhead) season. Apparently in the Fall the river is "hooching" with Salmon and its almost impossible not to catch one. All it costs to fish is a few dollars for a state fishing license, no landlords own the rivers over here. The area has a sanctuary for Bald Eagles and is designated a wildlife viewing area. We were lucky enough to see the Bald Eagle a few evenings round about 5.30 (on the way home from fishing, the eagle not us).
Again last winters record snowfall is hampering our hiking plans but the snow level is now between 4,000 & 5,000 feet.

4th July Pass - Started in Colonial creek campground on Highway 20 at 1,200 feet and climbed to 3,600 in 5 miles. Sporadic views of surrounding mountains during the ascent but the best views are at the top - Pinnacle Peak, Pyramid Peak, the Colonial Glacier, Ruby mountain and Diablo Lake.

Sauk Mountain - The drive up the seven miles of forest road to the trailhead is very scenic and worth the trip even if you don't wish to hike. Because of the snow we had to walk the last half mile to the trailhead disturbing deer in the surrounding woods. This walk is unusual in that it is in the open all the way and the views just keep improving as you ascend. The wild flowers are so colourful and pretty alongside the trail that you are torn between their beauty and the views. In the trail book at the trailhead someone who had completed the walk two days before had recorded an ice axe would be required above 5,000 feet and the top is at 5,600 feet. We decided to go anyway and turn back if the snow got too deep and dangerous. We reached a point where the snow was sufficiently deep to make us think - we can cross this going up but its going to be more difficult coming down! We decided to turn back when three locals (two of whom taught mountain climbing courses) persuaded us that we could do it with their help and that the view from the top was worth it. They were correct in everything, they accompanied us up and down and the views across the whole North Cascades National Park were outstanding. Its difficult to believe that such a short walk, less than 4.5 miles, could provide so much scenic reward. In normal summers you can extend the hike onto a small mountain lake which we could not do (still frozen & snowbound).

Gorge/Diablo Lake/Ross Lake Dams - These three dams provide hydroelectric power for Seattle and its suburbs. When we first arrived the river in the Gorge appeared dry (underground) and the river sections joining the two lakes were quite benign. However the thaw set in and the winters record snowfall was melting and pouring off the mountains. They had to open the dams periodically to relieve the pressure and the river and the Gorge became raging torrents. Even where we were 25 miles downriver from the dams the water level rose appreciably. We were wakened one night by an insistent siren whose purpose we didn't know but a quick check around the RV seemed OK and nobody else seemed worried. We later discovered that they sound the sirens all the way downriver to warn the local residents that the river level is liable to rise significantly. When we visited Ross Lake & Diablo Lake dams the sheer primeval force of the water was both thrilling and frightening. The weather by this time was really hot, in the 80's causing even more snow melt. When we got up close to the mountain tops we could see all the waterfalls cascading down in streams which should have been dry by this time of year.

Baker Lake Recreation Area - Another large recreation area where most of the walks are covered in snow. This area allows access to Mount Baker from the south side and actually seems a better hiking area. The lake is really lovely and large and quiet! Anyone who is into boats would be in their glory here as launching a boat costs about $5 and that buys peace and solitude. In a normal year this would have been an ideal spot to put our feet down. The river between Baker Lake and Lake Shannon is dammed by the hydroelectric company.

After a week at Rockport on the snow covered western side of the Cascade mountains we decide to cross over to the east side on the highly scenic highway 20 to Twisp. The day we crossed was clear and bright which really heightened the beauty of the scenery particularly around Rainy Pass (4,860 feet) and Washington Pass (5,477 feet). This road as you can imagine is closed in the winter, in fact they make no attempt to keep it open.
Twisp is rather different from the western side, its dry, dusty and HOT! Lunched in the local Microbrew pub in town (can't keep Linda out of these places). During lunch a local restaurant burned down! Everybody was out watching (in the shade as temperature was in the 90's) the firemen attempting to keep the fire damped down as there were gas bottles on the premises. They closed the road so we had a detour of 15 miles to get home.
Prior to lunch visited the local ranger station and are hopeful of getting some good hiking done, it seems our theory of hotter means snow melts quicker on this side was partly correct. We can get to the top of more mountains but we still can't cross to the others. There is however a downside, due to the daytime heat we need to get up those mountains as early as possible still early to bed early to rise ....

Twisp Pass - This is a 9 mile round trip climbing 2,400 feet to 6,064 feet, a very pleasant moderately strenuous trail well worth hiking. The early part follows the Twisp river and the wildflowers make it seem like a trip through a prize garden (my comment in trailbook was "A garden with altitude"). After crossing the river the trail starts to ascend through forest allowing occasional glimpses of the mountains. (This seems a shame on the way up but the shade provided by the forest on the way back is heavenly). The final third of the trail follows an open ridge (hot descent) with steadily improving views and more sparse and different but still beautiful wildflowers. Normally from the top you can carry on to Dagger Lake (Snowbound) and via the Pacific Crest trail to Stehekin. Next time we visit this area Wullie's plan is to hike into Stehekin, stay overnight in the lodge (keep Linda safe from the Bears? & give her some access to microbrew) and hike back to the Twisp area the next day. We finished this walk around 3.30 (much too late, must get up earlier) but Wullie had left his mapcase, maps & compass by the river where we had bathed our feet. it was much to hot to hike another 3 miles but we didn't really want to lose them! What to do? We had passed some people at the top of the Pass who we hoped were coming out that day so we left a note saying if they had found our maps etc. could they hand them into the Twisp ranger station and we would collect them. Later on that afternoon these lovely people turned up at the RV with our maps and said we were passing so we thought we would drop them in. Compared notes and agreed Twisp Pass was worthwhile hike and we would be doing it again.

Slate Creek - A round trip of 10.5 miles, climbing 3,500 feet in the first 3 miles makes this a very strenuous hike. Our description "Ascent - Hell, Descent Hell, the top Heaven! Is it worth doing? Try it and see". The panoramic views at the top (6,700 feet) were terrific as were the wildflowers. We had started this one earlier but needed to be earlier still to allow us more time at the top. The extremely HOT and DUSTY descent affected us for the next 36 hours.

Louis Lake - A 10.5 miles round trip to the lake at 5,350 feet (climbing 2,600 feet) mainly through forest. Very infrequent views, wildflowers, trees and birds (Cedar waxwing the bird highlight) took over as the stars. Nearer the lake limited views appeared. The lake is very pretty, but the path is very easy, and attracts a lot of people. Fortunately we started early enough and had visited before they arrived with fishing rods and transistor radios. This trail is shared with equestrians, some of whom we met on the descent. We were not sure who had right of way? but it seemed safer to step aside to let the horses pass although this wasn't always easy or safe. An easy walk but we will not return.

Winthrop - One of our favourite places since we visited last year is near to Twisp and themed as a cowboy town. The pavements are mainly wooden boardwalks in front of the "western stores" under which you can imagine little boys watching the gunfights in days gone by outside "Three Fingered Jack's Saloon". Linda thinks they should ban motor vehicles in the main street to add even more authenticity. The cowboy type attractions are many and varied but you can just enjoy the ambience of the town as you throw back a shot of rye or sip a sasperilla. (in Linda's case a microbrew brewed right here in town!)

Lake Chelan/Stehekin - We had a days outing to Chelan from Twisp to research a trip by boat to Stehekin in a few days time. The town of Chelan is very much a tourist area with most activities built around the lake. At Linda's insistence Wullie looked for a microbrew pub/restaurant for lunch, which he found in some tourist info. When we arrived it had newly opened for business and the brewery part was not yet operational. Who cares we had lunch there with draft microbrew from elsewhere.
The Stehekin wilderness is only accessible by boat, foot or seaplane. There is a hotel, a ranger station, a few houses, a few cars, a school and a tearoom. People stay here year round although when the children are old enough for senior school they may move back to civilization. To take the trip to Stehekin we moved closer to Chelan, to the city of Wenatchee. Talk about hot! it was still 98 degrees at 9.30 PM! Undaunted we sailed up to Stehekin on the early morning fast boat (1 hr 15 mins) and returned on the afternoon slow boat (4 hrs). The 4 hour return trip was rather wearing especially as we did it all in one day. To travel both ways on the fast boat is more expensive but gives more time at Stehekin. The other way to reduce the time on the boat is to embark/disembark at Fields Point (a 20 min road drive) and save 1 hr 15 mins on the slow boat. You miss the busy end of the lake but then maybe you would like to?
On arrival at Stehekin we took a bus trip to Bridge Creek a junction of the Pacific Crest trail. We were only supposed to go to Rainbow Falls but a family from Seattle (husband, wife, son & daughter) had been let down for transport to the Pacific Crest trail. They were off on an 8 day hike through the North Cascades National Park. They were carrying everything with them including fishing rods to provide some of the food they needed but couldn't carry. We watched with envy as they helped each other on with their heavy packs and staggered off into the wilds! we will do it sometime but not for 8 days more like 2! The bus dropped us at Rainbow Falls where we took the obligatory pictures (the falls are really nice) then meandered back along the road, calling at all points of interest, to the Hotel/Restaurant at the jetty. By this time it was really hot so it was find a shaded table, eat a very leisurely lunch washed down with? thats right, and watch the world pass by.
Stehekin is a unique sort of place and we will hike in there one day, probably from the Twisp area, stay at least one night and hike out again.
The return boat trip was too long and HOT (90's at least), if you stayed inside there was little breeze and outside there was breeze but little shade. Drinks and snacks were available on board to alleviate ones thirst & hunger. Travelled back to Wenatchee, ate dinner out and its still 97 degrees at 9.30 PM. Site we are on here is rather close to the railway and all the activity is at night. The windows are wide open for the heat and every train "hoots" to let us know. Ah! well mount Rainier should be cooler and quieter but that's next month!

End of Month Comment

We are actually getting some good hiking done at last due to more sunshine especially on the eastern side of the Cascades. The scenery, wildflowers and wildlife when we have been able to walk have been terrific. The downside to the eastern Cascades is the heat but we have coped by rising early and relaxing in the afternoons as the hottest part of the day is probably around 2 PM. As ever when hiking we have met some really nice people - encouraged us to continue at Mount Muller, returned our maps at Twisp and others along the way. Linda now has a sign on the back of the RV saying "On Tour from Scotland" and we are getting a few queries from people who believe they have Scottish ancestry. One couple were Regional Vice President of Clan Colquhoun Society of North America. Spent an interesting time speaking with them.
You MUST visit Winthrop!
We have still not received a reply from Sunnybrook regarding our leak. Another message will be sent next month.

Miles travelled this month: 1,938

Hyper Links that may be of interest:

Olympic National Park

San Juan Islands

Twisp & Wintrop

North Cascades National Park

Chelan & Stehekin

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