05/17/03:
Been raining the past several days. Raining today too but I'm getting cabin fever. Went to check out Cape Flattery and the trailhead to Point of the Arches on the coast. Cape Flattery is almost the westernmost point of the lower 48 states and is supposed to be a great whale watching spot as they head in and out of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Unfortunately it's on the the Makah Indian Reservation and they want $7 for an annual pass that I would use once.
Went back up the northern coast along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Could see the tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia through the clouds/fog as they moved in and out. Didn't seem more than 10-15 miles away but open water can be deceptive.
The coastline between Clallam Bay and Pysht is supposed to be a stopover for 1000's of bald eagles and hawks on their way to Canada in the spring. Unfortunately there's a small cape both at Clallam Bay and Pysht so there would be no beach access at higher tides. A tree farm with no public access stretches from one cape to the other.
Pillar Point in Pysht has flats when the tide is out. I think they're sand flats because I saw a woman and kids clamming out there during an earlier visit. I think I'd have to take the kayak across the flats as the tide is going out so I don't have to carry/drag the kayak far, explore the coastline for wildlife and try to get back during the incoming tide.
Hiking Sol Duc Falls Trail(1.6 miles round trip):
Had to get out and do something today, rain or no rain. The upper slopes even had a fair amount of snow on them from last night's rain/snow.
The Sol Duc Hot Spring entrance to Olympic National Park is just south of Crescent Lake. I did a nice little rain forest nature trail on the way in. Passed several trailheads too. At the very end of the road is a single trailhead from which several trails branch. One of them was Sol Duc Falls Trail. Since it was only .8 miles and seemed to be through heavy forest I figured I wouldn't get too wet.
Nice wide trail so I didn't have to get soaked plowing through ferns and such. One pretty nice spring cascading down through moss covered rocks, A woman was there with a tripod and camera when I went in and still there when I came back.
A pretty flat trail brought me to the falls before I expected it. I thought it would be dropping down from above but instead a log bridge crossed over near the top. The Sol Duc River flows through 3 openings and drops about 20 feet with quite an amount of force. It then flows through a very narrow, moss covered chasm with ferns growing out of the sides. Very pretty.
The Sol Duc River is a Coho Salmon river and they fight their way upstream for 50 miles to spawn in August and September rather than October as in other Washington rivers. I believe they spawn below the dam although there are some cascades downriver they have to surmount.
Went into Port Angeles to see if I could find a sports store and get some gaiters, without luck. Stopped in at the Elwha section of Olympic National Park, north of Crescent Lake on the way back. Nothing much to see there, just a pretty drive up the mountain with some trails at the end. I did pass Lake Mills nestled down in a bunch of high, steep, forested slopes. Looks like that might be a pretty paddle for a couple of hours.
05/18/03 Paddling Crescent Lake (Fairholm):
No rain last night. No rain this morning. No wind either. Bright sunshine instead. Temperatures still in the 40's though.
Got to Fairholm on the southern end of Crescent Lake at 8:45. The lake was flat, just a few ripples on it where sunlight sparkled off the surface. Mist rose up off the parking lot surface and off the lake. Several mountain peaks at the far end, some still dusted with yesterday's snowfall. Big white clouds rose up behind them topped off by blue sky. Does it get any better than this?
Traffic noise from US-101 hardly made an impact as I paddled off into this beautiful scene. I'd have to keep an eye out for the wind though. I didn't really want to get involved with 15mph winds or 2 foot waves coming from the wrong direction.
This part of the western shore has moderate development on it. A chain saw scraped the raw edge of my nerves where the US-101 traffic failed to. A 5mph wind and distance soon made it fade into the background too.
I paddled out for more than hour before the wind and small waves started picking up. Some stormier looking clouds appeared from behind the ridges and I thought it best to turn back. I didn't have to do a marathon, I was just happy spending a couple of hours on the water in such a great setting.
05/23/03:
Just been hanging out, waiting for the new Olympus C-700 digital camera to arrive from my mail forwarding service. Ordered it off the Internet after I broke the other one. Never any question that I would get the exact same one.
Tried hiking the Eagle Lake Trail the other day but although it wasn't raining, it was still too wet. In less than a mile my feet were soaking wet. I ordered a pair of gaiters and some other stuff from Campmor. I'll have that stuff forwarded in a couple of weeks so I will be able to hike in wet and rainy conditions.
Did a little exploring. Checked out the Elwha section of the Olympic National Park. Not much but some trails at the end of a 10 mile drive and Lake Mills. This is a rather small but pretty lake, at least from what I could see of it.
The Hurricane Ridge section is a 15 mile drive up to an elevation of 5200 feet. Lots of black tailed deer and snow topped mountain peaks along the way. It was raining on the way up and turned to snow about 4000 feet. Snow is still 4 feet deep in places at the top. The Deer Park section was closed, maybe long term. Gate locked and big piles of dirt in the road.
Picked up the camera at the Forks Post Office and headed right back to the Hoh Rain Forest where I broke the other one. Hiked the Hoh River Trail to the waterfalls. Took several picture and was disappointed in them.
Went down to the Oil City beach looking for bald eagles but didn't see any there.
05/24/03:
Hiked the Sol Duc Falls Trail and the Marymere Falls Trail again today so I could get photos of them. Campers are out in force, probably because I don't think its supposed to rain. This morning was cloudy but not raining. Around noon things darkened up and I chose not to tempt the fates. Got and oil change/lube in Port Angeles, did some shopping and went back to where I was camped.
05/25/03:
Rained last night but the sun was shining as I passed Lake Crescent. The rest of the day was mostly a bust. Drove up to Hurricane Ridge hoping for some good photos of snow covered mountain peaks. All I got was dense fog and rain all the way to the top.
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is just north of Port Angeles. It claims the world's largest natural sand spit. This creates a protected harbor for migrating birds to feed and rest. Nobody home while I was there except a bald eagle perched high up on a dead tree. A crow must have been nesting nearby because it was quite unhappy about the eagle being there and kept buzzing it. The eagle ignored the crow for the most part and just looked at it a couple of time as if to say "Whaddya, crazy or sumthin?" Got my best eagle photos to date.
Kept heading north but a rainy, dreary day pushed me into a camping spot in the Olympic National Forest north of Quilcene off US-101.