PORT ANGELES, WA – We’re enjoying the beauty of Olympic National Park during our first two full days near this port city along the Strait of Juan del Fuca.
Yesterday we biked for 11 miles round trip along the north side of Lake Crescent, a 13-mile-long natural lake carved by glaciers thousands of years ago. We followed the Spruce Railroad Trail along an old railroad bed, through a couple of tunnels and alongside the green and blue waters of the lake. We stopped for lunch at the Devil’s Punchbowl, a small inlet spanned by a picturesque footbridge. While there, we visited with a friendly group of older Asian Americans from Los Angeles who were walking this part of the trail. One of them brought his fishing pole and almost immediately caught (and released) an eight-inch trout.
From there we drove up the Sol Duc River Valley road to the trailhead for So Duc Falls. It’s described as “a stunning signature falls of Olympic National Park,” and after our 0.8-mile trek through the forest we weren’t disappointed. The falls crash at an angle through three separate channels into a narrow gorge, sending clouds of mist up to the observation area. The falls can be viewed from a bridge downriver or an overlook at the side, but of course I needed to scramble down on the rocks and tree roots below for a closer look!
On Thursday, our first full day here, we drove along another entrance to the park to the trailhead for Hurricane Ridge. The 1.6-mile trail to the ridge peaks at Hurricane Hill 5,757 feet above sea level. We were rewarded with 360-degree views of the snow-capped Olympic Mountains to the south and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Canada’s Vancouver Island beyond to the north. After picking our way over packed snow in the shaded areas, we encountered several tame deer and a couple of very sociable chipmunks.
Lord willing, I’ll be backpacking on my own Monday to Wednesday through the rainforest along the Hoh River Trail on the west side of the park.
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