Yet another couple days off, and another backpacking expedition. Actually I shouldn't say expedition as we only stayed for one night. David and I got together with our two good friends Ross and Ryan, and unfortunately Ross had summer school so that limited us to one night. After checking out the weather reports to several hikes Ryan had found around Washington, we threw it all out the window and just looked outside. Rain was predicted for most areas, but when we looked west, the clouds looked the lightest of all of the foreboding skies around us. Olympic Peninsula or bust!
We darted through traffic in Belltown and were on the ferry to Bainbridge Island in minutes. We set out for the Big Quilcene River trailhead. We stopped to grab some snacks in the little town of Quilcene, drove a long way down a dirt road (that seems to be the trend with backpacking) and finally reached the parking area.
photo by David Duffy
Our hike to the campsite was about 5.3 miles. It started out pretty mellow, weaving in and out of old growth trees next to the Quilcene River. It was very lush and green, with a jungle feel to it. It was my first trip to the Peninsula, and I could definitely tell the difference between the forests there and the forests that I'm used to in the Cascades.
photo by David Duffy
The trail description on Washington Trails Association's website described a part of the trail called the "poop-out drag". It's about 2.5 miles in, and climbs pretty steadily with no remorse for two more miles. I will be the first to admit that I became pretty exhausted during parts of that, especially since I was trying to keep up with three quick-moving, long-legged (at least compared to me) dudes. David was nice enough to stay back with me during parts of it.
photo by David Duffy
It wasn't until we were pretty close to the campsite that I was rewarded with gorgeous views of the craggy peaks surrounding us. It was pretty cloudy, so the mountains were fading in and out of the cloud cover. It was eerie, but beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. I instantly fell in love with the Olympics!
photo by David Duffy
photo by David Duffy
photo by David Duffy
photo by David Duffy
Pretty soon, we passed another couple who told us the campsite was just around the corner. Of course, I had fallen behind, so the guys thought it would be funny to tell me that we had two more miles to go. I thought "NO WAY!" and I can't even tell you how frustrated that made me. Little did I know, I was only about 50 steps away from our destination and I was utterly delighted to see little rushing springs located conveniently next to clearings with fire pits as we rounded the last corner.
We set up in our tents in a cozy little clearing in the woods right in between two streams. I had gotten pretty hungry on the hike so I used our little stove to whip up some salmon pesto pasta, our staple for backpacking!
photo by David Duffy
photo by David Duffy
We spent the rest of the night catching up, reminiscing, and telling stories. I love camping with just the two of us, but stuff like this is always more fun with friends.
On a side note, I also just wanted to mention that Ross is quite the beast when it comes to camping. I know Ross from when I was the feature twirler at UW, and he was the drum major. He never gives up at anything, whether it's perfecting a trick, beating me in a toss competition, or...chopping wood. See example A:
photo by David Duffy
That was a massive log. The next day, we wanted to hike the rest of the way up to the top of Marmot Pass. We passed through a meadow and then hiked further and further up until we reached a huge overlook and the top of the pass where the trail split.
None of us were satisfied, seeing that there were many peaks around us still to climb. We decided to take a hard left and follow the trail along a ridge line. It was a little slippery, but that's probably David and I were hiking in skate shoes and not boots. I think Ross was the only one that had footwear that was truly appropriate for hiking. Oh well, I ordered one of the least ugly pair of Keen shoes that I could find (and afford) so that next hike I will avoid the whole traction problem. The theme of the trip seemed to be "hard climb rewarded with astonishing views," and this short jaunt was no exception.
We were above the clouds, taking in sweeping views of peaks and meadows below us.
I decided to set up a group shot, using a rock as a tripod.
We really should have camped up there. Not only were there gorgeous views, there were little wildflowers everywhere. Purple, orange, and...fuzzy? Seriously, straight out of Dr. Seuss.
After taking in the fresh mountain air, it was time to pack up camp and head home. We stopped and got some much deserved pizza in Quilcene, and hopped in the car, us passengers dozing off the whole way back to Bainbridge. When we got on the ferry and saw the city again we were all exhausted, but what a great adventure it was.
photo by David Duffy
I'll leave you with that gorgeous shot that David took when we neared the city. I hope you enjoy my stories and photographs. As always, I have a few more on Flickr. Please check them out!
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