Mountains, Lakes, and a Waterfall...
We woke up Monday morning to a low overcast, planning to head up to Hurricane Ridge. The drive up to the parking area was beautiful, transitioning from thick forest to a more open alpine environment. Views were great from the visitor center, but we wanted to go higher and proceeded to hike up the Hurricane Hill Trail. A steady climb with some rather steep sections brought us to the top. Jen saw a bear briefly off in the distance that disappeared quickly into a small thicket of trees.
While we were enjoying the views from the ridge, someone near us said that there was a beaver near a tree. We are a long way from the closest water and felt it was strange for a beaver to be here. We went to look and saw that the beaver was actually a marmot. 🤣 After spending a bit more time enjoying the grandeur of the mountains, we headed back down to the visitor center to find some stickers.
We decided to explore Obstruction Point Road, a dirt road that goes for about eight miles from the visitor center to additional trailheads. We found a nice place about four miles in to stop for lunch.
After lunch we headed back down to Port Angeles. There we made the “obligatory” (according to Shoopie) stop at Frugals, a drive through place known for hamburgers and milkshakes. It must be good because there is always a line of cars. We skipped the burgers and enjoyed some shakes.
That evening we were joined at dinner by a small squirrel eating the seeds of a cone on the fence next to us.
Tuesday, we had a bit of a slower morning as we didn’t have as much driving to do. We headed west to Crescent Lake to do some easy hikes. The first one was on the north shore along the Spruce Railroad Trail. This trail was put in after the rail line was taken out and follows the lakeshore very closely making for some beautiful lake views. The trail goes through a tunnel near where an optional route takes you to a popular swimming hole called Devil’s Punchbowl. The water was tempting but we didn’t bring bathing suits and there were too many people there.
After the walk, we went to the south side of the lake to the trailhead near the Crescent Lake Lodge. There we hiked up to Marymere Falls, an easy hike through the forest that ends at a nice waterfall. We detoured at the end of the hike to the Crescent Lake Lodge to enjoy a “docktail” on their pier. Those “docktails” turned into “walktails” as we made the long walk back to the car.
Before heading back to camp, we drove into Port Angeles and visited Caudill Bros Distillery for a tasting. We ended up supporting the small local business by buying a bottle of their bourbon.
Tomorrow, we head around the Olympic Peninsula to our next stop, Lake Quinault…
