05-30
Already at the
California/Oregon border I was too tired to drive. And there were still another 300 miles ahead to reach our hotel in
Portland.
05-31
Our first destination were the
San Juan Islands.
We were lucky to get on the ferry to
Orcas Island without any waiting so we could already spend the afternoon at the
Cascade Lake in the beautiful
Moran SP. Well, Maarten was, of course, immediately IN the lake.
We had even enough time to climb on the
Sunrise Rock above our campground.
06-01
The
Cascade Creek Trail was not a strenuous hike but the travel tiredness from the last couple of days took its toll that day, I guess. And it was still so hot.
Maarten only wanted to swim in the creek or climb around the falls, understand 'to do dangerous and exciting stuff'. But I forgot to pack his swim shorts for this hike. As you may know, in this country even baby-girls wear bra, and therefore a four-year-old swimming naked is surely disagreeable! Well, Maarten did it this time but he had to keep his T-shirt on. And I was not comfortable when occasionally hikers were passing.
After all, we are still foreigners here.
I don't see much challenge in hiking somewhere where others drive, like to the summit of
Mount Constitution, the highest point on any of the
San Juan Islands. The observation tower was closed but also the view from the lookout was worth coming here.
06-02
By the campground, the lake was shallow and good for swimming. It was difficult to keep Maarten out of the water. In the morning while he was hunting for water snails I went for a stroll around the lake.
There along the
Rosario Lagoon someone or something was staring at me. I believe it was a barred owl, the first owl I've ever seen in the wild.
Just like thousands of others also we were hoping to see the 'killer whales' during our stay on the islands. The best season to see the whales is from mid-May to mid-July. There is a 90 % chance finding orcas in the waters off the San Juan Islands!
We had to call in the morning just to be sure. There was a pod of transition orcas spotted!
However, the excitement on our vessel went slowly down after seeing some harbor porpoises and a floating swollen body of a death sea lion. Our guide did really his best to keep everybody amused but he had a very tough job. We ended up close to the shore of
Whidbey Island watching an old lazy minke whale named
George. I believe they always cruise here to watch
George which should offer some satisfaction to their disappointed guests at last. As for me I was disappointed indeed. Even though it always is and awesome experience to watch whales I've seen
George-like whales for so many times already!
The cormorant and bold eagle nests were far better highlights of our boat excursion.
While talking about the nice weather our guide sighed: "Beautiful weather those last two weeks, but no whales at all..."
And what about the pod of transition orcas this morning?!!
06-03
It took a while before we found the southern trailhead to hike the second tallest peak in the
San Juans, the
Turtleback Mountain. We enjoyed the sweeping views, huffing and puffing on the steep trail to the 'turtle’s head', known as
Ship's Peak.
I had to play
Kotrč and
Heršpic with Maarten but, compared to us, he was truly running up the trail.
06-04
It was time to leave the island and head for the mountains.
And honestly, I've considered sleeping in a tent in this remote area of
North Cascades where grizzlies and grey wolves still roam. After we pitched our tent in a most beautiful forest alongside the wild
Nooksack River we had a word with the camp host about the bears.
Bears?! No, they had never problems in this campground. I guess, they just wanted us feeling safe.
But the signs were warning all over the place. Already at home I was sweating by the idea of a possible encounter with a grizzly. But after arriving here I felt completely safe. And of course, we camped bear proof as always.
You never know.
06-05
It was so hot I forgot about the high elevation of
Mount Baker. Even though it was pretty warm, the last part of the
Mount Baker Highway was still closed because of the snow. We could only get as far as the ski lifts.
On our way down we stopped at the imposant
Nooksack Falls. Despite the large chain link fence, I was nervous to be here with Maarten.
It was too late for another hike and being so close to
Lynden we decided to visit this Dutch heritage town. The
Dutch Old Town supposed to be modeled on Amsterdam of a century ago but as for me, it really wasn't worth visiting.
06-06
We woke up in a rainy morning. Knowing that rain is not a rarity in this area, you wouldn't hear us complaining about the weather so far.
But also other planned hikes in the
Glacier area ended up before they could start - due to snow or storm damage that washed out the road and eliminated access to the trailheads.
It was pretty warm and only drizzling, no solid rain. We set off for a hike in the
Mt. Baker Wilderness. Over the
Excelsior Pass I hoped to reach the
Damfino Lakes. But also here the snow made the trail inaccessible.
06-07
I was a little sad to leave this beautiful forested campsite.
It took us a couple of hours drive, waiting for a ferry and... a speed ticket! to get to
Dungeness Recreation Area.
I was a little sceptical about this campground but the sites were really very large and private, with an awesome view of the
Strait of Juan de Fuca. And what do you think of falling asleep with the lulling sounds of the sea?
The main reason we've chosen this particular campground was it's location. The
Sequim-Dungenes Valley is the driest and sunniest spot of the
Olympic Peninsula.
I don't mind rain, on the contrary, but it is more convenient not to get wet while tent camping.
06-08
It was sunny in the valley but the tops of the
Olympic Mountains were covered by heavy and dark clouds. The friendly ranger at the visitor center advised us to drive up anyway.
The weather is going to be worse tomorrow. Loaded with information and all kind of advises we drove to the ridge.
It was cloudy up there but as soon as we left the parking lot it became warmer and sunnier. The
Hurricane Hill Rd was closed due to avalanche danger, so we had to walk to get to the trailhead.
Even we were still early in the season the flower show was spectacular. And too bad I can't describe it's lovely smell!
The ranger found the trail to the top of Hurricane Hill too difficult for a four-year-old, but the snow along the trail was the best trigger to keep him going all the way up.
And I shouldn't forget to mention his chasing after the chipmunks around the top of the Hill. I wonder why the other hikers hastily ended their picnic and set off returning downhill.
There is so much to do at the entire peninsula but it would be a shame not to see the
Dungeness Spit, the 5 mile long sand spit just next to the campground.
06-09
The
Olympic Peninsula is large so we had to get in a car every day.
We drove more than two hours to see the
Hoh Rain Forest.
Like hundreds of other tourists we walked the
Hall of Mosses Trail. Despite the fact that this is the premier temperate coniferous rain forest in the United States, I wasn't that impressed. Personally I liked the forests of
California Redwood's Coast better.
The sunny and hot weather during our visit was to blame. The rain forest wasn't actually wet at all and the mosses were yellow and dry.
We spent the rest of the day at the
Rialto Beach, near the mouth of the
Quillayute River.
The short 1.5 mile walk to the rock formation called
Hole-in-the-Wall seemed to be the heaviest 'hike' of our trip. Walking in the sand doesn't really suit my hips.
We passed through
Forks, where the popular
Twilight series are set and filmed. This attracts thousands of fans to this little town.
I admit, I've never seen a single episode of
Twilight.
06-10
We have been living in the U.S. for more than three years but this was our first visit to an
Indian Reservation, the
Makah Nation Reservation.
Well, I'm not into casino gambling and I always feel strange and sad about the
Indian story.
Maarten was very excited to meet an 'Indian' (I know it's politically incorrect, but explain that to him) and was permanently asking where they were hiding.
We came to their land for another reason, the most northwestern point of the contiguous
United States, the
Cape Flattery.
The scenery here is spectacular. From the handcrafted lookouts you get majestic views of water crashing up against the rock cliffs, which have eroded the rock, forming a series of sea caves.
As we learn from the interpretive signs, the ground where we were standing upon won't last forever. The pounding waves continue eroding the rock.
In the distance you can see the
Vancouver Mountains and
Tatoosh Island with its picturesque lighthouse. And of course you can spot a lot of wildlife. We saw all kinds of birds and playful sea otters.
The
Makahs are doing a wonderful job building a rough and rustic boardwalk over muddy patches.
A friendly ranger advised us to hike another trail in the
Neah Bay area to the
Shi Shi Beach. I was a little concerned about the trail lenght, 6.6 miles RT. I believe though, that Maarten is capable of hiking any trail, as long as there is enough excitement. He is actually more difficult on 'easy trails'!
The first mile of this trail is easy walking on a boardwalk with some bridges but then comes the mud! And you can avoid most of the mud by walking around on a overgrown path. But sometimes you just need to get your shoes muddy. That meant huge fun for our little hiker, who immediately became a dangerous
Tyrannosaurus Rex...
And then the beach.
It was so hot!
Maarten kicked off his shoes and pants and ran into the water. It was a tough job to get him out when we had to leave this absolutely amazing place.
06-11
V nejlepším se má přestat, as we Czechs say.
We were all looking forward to go home again and considering the cloudy morning, I rather pack the tent dry.
Later that day in
Southern Oregon we got caught in a storm which brought heavy rain and gusty winds and we better looked for a place to spend the night.
I prefer a tent to a hotel room but not in this weather.
And how about a room with a view of
Mount Shasta?
