Day 6: I'm Packing My Bags for the Misty Mountains

Today began even earlier than usual, with laundry duty. Further proof of time warpage-the washers and dryers in the hotel are the exact same make and model as in Jester dorm at UT, the Soviet housing block style structure where I lived in 1982-83. Except these actually worked. Had the biggest breakfast in the world not served at a truck stop. Sat next to a table of geezers, you may call them "retirees," who were holding court. What's the difference between a group of guys in their 20s hanging out and a group of guys in their 70s? The guys in their 70s know bigger words. Otherwise its pretty much exactly the same.

Laundry duty being complete, I headed to Olympic National Park to begin the Assault on Mount Olympus. It was dismally cloudy and clammy out, and the visitor center weather info said it was 44 degrees at my destination, Hurricane Ridge (elev. 5,242 feet). This caused me momentarily to rethink the shorts strategy. But by the time I got there it was 51 so that was a go. Besides, it was 92 in Austin today and the whole point of the trip was to get out of the heat.

The centerpiece of today was a nearly four-hour hike (around 3.8 miles, 7.6 roundtrip) up the Klahhane Ridge Trail to Mt. Angeles (elev. 6,454 feet). While it was cloudy at Port Angeles, it was crystal clear and sunny at Hurricane Ridge. This produced the spectacular experience of hiking above the clouds (see above). The cloud bank hung over Port Angeles, the Strait, and Canada, but stopped about midway into the Park.

The trail itself was moderate to challenging on the hills. The harder part was that it was extremely narrow most of the way, with an almost sheer face below to one side. Big ups to my personal trainer, Kirby, for all the balancing movements he makes me do-they were definitely helpful. I kept envisioning that scene in Princess Bride where Wesley and Buttercup roll down that gigantic hill-these hills were much steeper and higher. Most of the trail was alpine-fir trees, short grasses and it was carpeted with wildflowers of all sorts. Notably there were paintbrushes and bluebonnets, two Texas favorites. I asked the ranger later who said they typically bloom there in August. I also saw harrow, cow parsnip, bluebells, mountain owl clover, and asters (no I didn't know it at the time, I looked them up at the visitor center after) carpeting the alpine meadows. It was really impressive, much thicker than in other national parks I've visited the same time of year. The ranger said mid-June is their peak bloom season in ONP. I also saw a pretty large, gopherish looking creature within about 50 feet I couldn't recognize at the time, which I thought jokingly to myself was a "marmot," thinking of the Big Lebowski reference (BTW, the next Lebowski Fest is in LA October 12-13). Turns out it was, in fact, an "Olympic Marmot." Go figure. Check the pics when I post them.

Along the way and at the top, a thick cloud bank hovered below and looked like it kept trying to come further into the mountains. This produced a remarkable pillow-like look over the Strait and creeping into the mountains, with individual clouds encroaching further in (hence, the "Misty Mountains" reference). I took far too many pictures, but it was cool (let me acknowledge at this point suffering from Apollo Astronaut description disorder. You know, the way they would describe the earth in such romantic terms as "really big, really bright, just real pretty." Yeah, I ain't exactly Frost or Thoreau either). The sun was brilliant-not quite like a Santa Fe sun, but close. Santa Fe is about 1,000 feet higher than Klahhane Ridge.

Also, the haze that you see in some of the eastern and southern national parks was definitely visible here too. That's upsetting, as I would guess ONP is about as far from pollution sources as you can get. One of the lesser-discussed adverse effects of pollution, although still upsetting, is the natural view degradation. I first noticed it on Skyline Drive in Virginia, and have seen it in just about every other national park I've been. I'm told it can be really bad in Big Bend, although the problem there is "un-scrubbed" emissions from coal-fired electric generation plants in northern Mexico.

After finishing that hike, I drove a 7 mile dirt road to "Obstruction Point" and walked about a quarter mile down that trail. Got a good view of some permafrost (or whatever its called, I just know I totally wiped out on that stuff once at Mount Rainier). I also saw two female elks (I'm told female elks are called cows-insert gratuitous old girlfriend comment here). It was getting cold though (at around 4:45), so I headed back to Port Angeles to call it a day. And, it was still cloudy and clammy in town.

Bad news that New Orleans lost tonight. Some sources actually had them favored. But it was to the Colts (whom I should add, were beaten by the Texans late last season).

I hope everyone's checking out the pictures. Some are quite good.

Tomorrow-Lake Crescent and Marymere Falls, then on to the coast.