Fall Hiking In The PNW
We have been very excited to be back in the mountains, and to have the ocean so close. We have had our sights set on getting deeper into some of the more pristine and preserved areas in Northwest Washington. There are multiple national parks close by. We recently checked two National Parks off of our lists by going to North Cascades National Park and Olympic National Park. Sometimes you can find solitude in your adventures, and other times you find that you are hiking with all of Seattle.
MIle: 23,998
Quote of the Blog: “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my sould” - John Muir
Song of the Blog: “Mountains” - MoonTricks
North Cascade National Park has been on our radar for a long time. There are many similarities between this area and Glacier National Park in Montana. We headed out on the road with a few hikes and vistas to check off of our list. Our first stop was Diablo Lake/Diablo Overlook. We had planned to do a hike around the lake, but found that the road to the lake had been closed due to recent fire activity. We decided to make our way to the Diablo Lake overlook instead and we are so glad that we did. The water was so blue and looked very inviting, though we knew all too well that it was probably too cold for me to even dip my toes into. At this point we no longer had cell service, so we decided to continue on the scenic byway and to stop if something looked interesting. The views from the road were spectacular and definitely made us feel like we were back in MT, though for the most part a lot less traffic compared to Glacier.
That was until we reached a trailhead that had cars that were lining the street for miles. We made a pass through the parked cars once, then decided to go back and stop if there was an open spot. That was kind of a mistake and very unlike us to even think about stopping at a trailhead that was busy, but we decided that we needed to see whatever it was that brought thousands of people to it. The trail was called Maple Loop Pass and apparently had set off “larch madness” in the PNW. The hike had actually been on my “to-do” list from suggestions that I had received at work. It was only a 7.5 mile hike, so we decided to make the trek. The fall colors were brilliant as we made our way around a gorgeous high alpine lake. It was a clear bluebird day and the golden larches were a beautiful contrast. The people though…I have never seen more people on a trail before, which says a lot after some of our Glacier adventures. Billy was suffering from “trail rage”, as he was trying to pass everyone, only to be stuck behind more people or in between groups of people. Regardless..the views were epic, our hearts were pumping, our legs got a workout and I was happy.
On a separate weekend, we spent 36 hours in the Olympic National forest. We left Coupeville early on Saturday and had by change booked a ferry for the same time as the solar eclipse. We did not have proper eyewear, but the WA clouds did us a favor by rolling in just in time. The cloud coverage allowed us to look at the eclipse without discomfort.
We landed at Port Townsend and made our way the Olympic National Forest. Our first adventure was to Shi Shi beach. The trail was super lush and super muddy. But we enjoyed peeping the various types of foliage and mushrooms. Our journey landed us on Shi-Shi Beach, which offered dramatic rock features and powerful waves. We could have spent a long time enjoying the Shi Shi beach area, though we had a lot of sights to see and wasted no time. After making out way back to our car, we set off to Cape Flattery. Cape Flattery is located on the Makah reservation and requires special permitting. We followed a beautiful boardwalk trail to the Northwestern-most point in the contiguous USA. Again we were able to witness spectacular views of the jagged rocks and jaded blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. After embracing the scenery we made our way back to our hotel in Sequim for rest and rejuvenation to prepare for the next day of adventures.
On Sunday we woke up and headed to Sol Duc Hot Springs. We were lucky to be able to catch Lake Crescent on a beautiful day, featuring vibrant fall colors. As we were heading towards Sol-Duc, we passed a cascading waterfall that Billy was eager to stop at in his search for future fishing spots. We quickly realized that the Salmon were running upstream and were jumping up the waterfalls at this spot. It is still fascinating to me that fish reproduce in this way. After spending some time watching this amazing feat of nature, we made the rest of the journey to the hot springs. They limit how many people can be in the hot springs at once, which made for a very peaceful afternoon. They had hot spring pools and a cold pool that we occasionally were brave enough to enter. After some much needed relaxation, we jumped on the road and headed back to Port Townsend to catch the ferry back to Fidalgo Island. The Olympic National forest is 100% on our list of places that we would like to return to and adventure more as 36 hours was not enough time to do that place justice.