The Rabid Giant: Some PNW Successes

When we left our intrepid hero, he was on his way to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. His concerns (well documented here) were justified to a degree, yet, success was had.

This isn't to say that the Federal Shutdown (if you listen to NPR, they would preface this with "the longest in US history;" enough already) didn't impact every facet of my trip. Lines were outrageously long at both Newark and SeaTac didn't have long TSA lines due to staffing shortages. Nor is it inaccurate that, due to the shutdown, I was unable to access much of the park. However, some of that was self-imposed.

The original plan was to use the service road/Olympic National Park road up to Hurricane Ridge so that we (my cousin and I) could see the sights and get some snow-shoeing in. However, no park services means no plowing, and at the very top of the mountain, during our trip, they received over 10 feet of snow. Right.

The other component that was thwarted was the Hoh Rainforest trail. No, there wasn't any snow in that part of the park, however, a wind storm knocked trees across the single access road 3 miles from the trailhead, and, no park services means no downed-tree removal. As it was/is the rainy season, the main road can also wash out during severe events, not to mention the possibility of more down trees. In an area with extremely spotty cell phone reception, we opted against trying.

Still, what we did have access to, we accessed the hell out of it. Folks, I've said this before, and I'll say it again: go see our national treasures before they're gone due to environmental changes, natural disasters, and global warming. The species I saw this trip may drastically change with fluctuations in precipitation, ocean temperatures, and climate events.

In order (and in brief) we took a ferry from Edmunds to Kingston, stayed in Port Townsend, visited Dungeness Spit NWR, Lake Crescent in Olympic NP, the beaches at La Push and Ruby Beach (also Olympic NP), Kalaloch Lodge, Lake Quinault and the Quinault Rainforest, and Merriman Falls in Olympic NP, and then back to Seattle.

And here are the results:

Edmunds, WA Surf Scoters