We Do Stuff: June 2023

Olympic National Park

June 17-26, 2023

When we invite my Dad (Grandpa) to go on adventurous trips with us, I'm never sure if he knows exactly what he's getting into. But he is always good natured and seems happy to tag along no matter what the suggestion or the fact that most Grandpas would never be able to do half of what we consider a normal family vacation. So that's the way Olympic started as well; with a suggestion to haul Grandpa and Hazel into the backcountry to climb Mount Olympus then spend the rest of the vacation camping and exploring the national park. The plan was made and things started to come together.

Dad picked us up late one Friday night in Seattle, we drove a few hours to Bremerton where we stayed at a hotel and enjoyed a nice hot shower and continental breakfast before heading out on our backpacking and camping trip in Olympic National Park. First thing on Saturday morning, we headed to the Hoh rainforest to backpack in along the Hoh river trail. We spotted a playful river otter on our way into the trailhead where we proceeded to load ourselves down with about 50-60 pounds of gear each.

Packing gear in the parking lot before backpacking into the Hoh Rainforest

We were all in good spirits and thoroughly enjoyed the hike through the enormous trees and moss-covered logs. This forest was so much deeper and denser than what we're used to in Colorado. After stopping for lots of pictures and letting Hazel walk a substantial distance, we eventually made it to Happy Four where we would camp for the night. We had a nice fire and enjoyed the company and a peaceful evening.

Hazel enjoyed walking a good distance on the way to Happy Four

Hazel is a pro at eating outdoors

The following morning we tore down camp and continued on to the Olympic guard station where we would set up camp for Grandpa and Hazel before Justin and I continued on to Glacier Meadows at the base of the Blue Glacier. Justin, Scott and I spent the night trying to stay warm and dry despite continuous rain and snow showers. When we awoke at 2am, it was no longer raining and we enjoyed a beautiful day climbing mount Olympus while Grandpa and Hazel enjoyed throwing rocks in the creek and goofing around in the tent to avoid rain.

Preparing to hike on day 2 with full rain gear on

Grandpa and Hazel's setup near the Olympus guard station

Hazel having fun throwing rocks into the creek with Grandpa

Justin and Scott on the Blue Glacier on Mount Olympus

Hazel eating by the campfire

After returning from the mountain, we all enjoyed hanging out by the fire, eating and drying our wet clothes the best that we could. We would hike out to the trailhead the following morning on a beautiful day with no rain. Hazel hiked at least a couple miles on her own and proceeded to tell me stories the entire way. It's clear she really enjoys being outdoors and was having a fantastic trip so far.

Grandpa crossing the Hoh river on our hike

After the 10 mile hike out, we drove up to the Sol Duc campground where we would spend the next three nights. On the first day here, we hiked to Sol Duc falls, went to the salmon cascades, where there were no salmon due to being the wrong time of year, and went to the hot springs to relax and recover.

Hazel planning the days activities

Hazel, Laura and Grandpa as the trailhead ready for the hike

Sol Duc Falls

Hazel and me goofing off under a big tree root

Camp life

Hazel and Laura at a cool tree stump

The following day, we drove back out to Port Angels to go to the park visitor center and see if we could drive up to Hurricane Ridge, which is supposed to be one of the only places you can actually see Mount Olympus from. No luck, the road was still closed after a fire destroyed some of the structures in that area. We hiked to Marymere falls, visited the shore of Lake Crescent and even went back to the hot springs for a second time before returning to our camp and cooking s'mores.

Olympic National Park Visitors Center

Enjoying the visitors center

Hazel helping Grandpa with his tent

Marymere falls

We got up early and packed up our camp, but before leaving the area, we decided to make the ambitious hike up Storm King Peak. This trail had garnered our attention the previous day when we had passed the trailhead and could tell people thought the trail was extreme. We asked the rangers about it and they also hesitated to recommend it to our group despite commenting on my Ironman hat. They made it clear that the ropes were not maintained by the park service and the end of the trail to the top was treacherous. Everyone spoke very highly of the views though. Of course we had no problem with it, actually though it was pretty casual, although we did decide not to take Hazel up to the very top. We carried her to the end of the maintained trail about three quarters of the way up, then I waited with her while Justin ran up to the summit. When Justin returned, Grandpa and I went to the top while Justin and Hazel hiked down. The views of Lake Crescent were amazing and the hike was fun and interesting. Justin finished the hike with a dip in Lake Crescent.

Our group at the ranger station just before starting the Storm King hike

Having fun while waiting for Dad to return

Amazing views of Lake Crescent from the Storm King viewpoint

Grandpa using the unmaintained ropes on the Storm King trail

Hazel and I waded into the water at Lake Crescent

Justin took a quick swim in Lake Crescent

Eventually, we made the drive over to the coast where we would spend the rest of our nights camping at Kalaloch campground. It was a bit cold and windy when we arrived in the evening, but that didn't stop Hazel from playing on the beach. We had to drag her back to camp kicking and screaming as the sun was setting. She loves playing in the sand and was ecstatic to realize we would be staying at the beach for the next few days. We went to Ruby beach and explored tide pools. We played in the sand at Beach 3 and Beach 4 as well as the beach at Kalaloch where Hazel made some friends and we hiked to the tree of life hanging on the edge of the coast above a washout and piles of driftwood. We watched the waves crash on Destruction Island and took a nature hike out of the campground where we were again amazed at the size of the trees.

Hazel is so excited to be at the beach

Hazel tide pooling at Ruby beach

Hazel made friends with a nice family and played with them for hours

Hazel got buried in the sand

We have found that setting Hazel up with a table of sorts, usually a rock or log, to put her dish on, in addition to one to sit on, works really well for her to eat outdoors. She started calling the arrangement her zanyan. We have no idea where that came from, but it stuck. Now we build her a zanyan every time we eat outdoors.

Camp life; Hazel in her zanyan

Hazel took this picture. She loves taking pictures and is getting quite good at it.

Hazel and Justin at the visitor center with a display of a whale skull

Grandpa and Hazel at the visitor center with a canoe display

Grandpa under the tree of life

One day, we drove down to the Quinault area where we did the Maple Glade hike and explored the Kestner homestead. We drove to the south side of Lake Quinault where we stopped at Merriman falls and Brunch falls before hiking down to the worlds largest spruce tree. We learned about another record breaking cedar tree nearby, so we decided to visit that one as well. We had fun taking pictures with the trees whose roots were so big, we could completely hide within some of them. We spent more time walking the beach and letting Hazel play in the sand.

Hazel at the Kestner homestead

Hazel learning to drive

Justin and Hazel hiding in some tree roots

Worlds larges spruce tree

Laura at Brunch falls

On our final day, we wanted to get back to Seattle well ahead of our scheduled flight just in case of traffic or other unforeseen circumstances, so we headed out early. Everything went smoothly so we decided to explore the Tacoma Narrows bridge for a while as we were heading past. We walked out on the bridge and Hazel had a blast signaling to the truckers to honk their horns for us. It was hilarious and we all laughed at how much excitement she was getting out of something so simple. Overall this was an amazing trip that we will always remember and cherish the time we spent together.