Day 4
15.23 miles, 1275ft gain/4097ft loss. Fitbit Steps: 32,859 A little rain over the night, but not bad…Still, needed to put on a rain jacket before crawling out, to keep the soggy rainfly from wetting me down.
“…Maybe he wanted the bowl so he could create his own hot tub. Who knows?”
Awoke several times during the night, hearing things go bump in the night…Something prompted me to put on my headlamp and take a look around, and when I looked out under my small vestibule side where I stored my boots, and other small gear, I noticed that my small kitchen set consisting of bowl, plate and kitchen wash kit was outside the perimeter of the vestibule. Like a turtle that had wandered off…Funny, I don’t remember it being windy, how in the heck?? Then I could see that the strap that held them all together was pulled out straight, like a leash. So, some little critter had tried in vain to drag it off back to his pad. Maybe he wanted the bowl so he could create his own hot tub. Who knows? I reached out and pulled it back in, and in a flash thought, “gee, sure hope this wasn’t an elaborate trap to get me to stick my arm out in the middle of the night…” If so, I fell for it…
Kitchen kit safely tucked back under the vestibule, I wrestled a losing battle with sleep…
Well, this day looks more promising than the first three, as the clouds seem to be breaking up, and why wouldn’t they, on our last day out?While eating breakfast, we get visitors; a small herd of deer join us for breakfast, a few does and a couple yearlings. They get fairly close, wanting the grass in the open area near our site, but still keep a watchful eye. They spook easily, especially when they notice we’re watching them, they move on into the protection of the trees, but stay close, occasionally doing a quick sneak out to much for a bit then back into the cover of the trees. One of the young ones is constantly bleating for mom. A strange, short, “Meeep”, as if needing reassurance that mom was close by.
Packed, it’s back down the trail, through Honeymoon Meadows, and the long, long, interminably long trail back to the bikes. We pass now familiar landmarks, and are able to enjoy the long stretch under the great trees, a trail that snakes through a vivid green carpet of moss. If it was only 3 or 4 miles long, it would be an enjoyable jaunt, but now it seems more like a death march. The sound of the river is backdrop to the constant thump-thump of boots hitting the ground, with trekking poles clacking on stone as accompaniment. The long trek over monotonous terrain causes each of us to get lost in our own thoughts and just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other to get home. When we reach the river ford, we decide this time to shed boots and wade across, not wanting to try the tricky log crossing in reverse.
Finally, we’re back to the campground to reclaim our rides, and are glad to see them all in one piece, well, except for the taste test some little rodent performed on my bike seat…I guess I should be flattered that he preferred my seat to Greg’s, but it’s not the seal of approval that I was looking for…
“…and people move to the side quickly, seeing a 235lb grinning lunatic bearing down on them…”
Now, we ride! Okay, only through the deserted campground, for the ride out of the entrance immediately starts up, and our already high mileage legs complain right away…Dismounting, and now we walk! We push up this slight incline, and I laugh when I see the old street sign that suggest 25MPH is top speed for this road…Yeah, right! When we get to the Dosewallips Falls area, it’s an exhilarating downhill ride, swerving in and out of the jumbled rocks (and meteor strikes) with brakes screeching loudly. Boy, hope they don’t fail me here, for if they do it’s gonna be ugly, I try not to think about hitting head on into one of the boulders, or even side-swiping one, for that’ll be one painful endo here…A few more pushes, then it’s mostly downhill, and awesome way to get back to the truck! As we get closer to the end, we start to encounter more and more people. Approaching from the back, I need no bell or horn. I just grab the brake hard a few times, and the complaining coming from the pads announce our presence, and people move to the side quickly, seeing a 235lb grinning lunatic bearing down on them. At one point, we pass a group of 6 or 8, and I holler as I pass, “It sure was a bitch pushing this thing up hill, but boy is the ride back a blast!”
And, before we know it, we’re at the final portage to the truck, and we’re done! It only took about 25 minutes to get from the campground to the truck! Sure beat the walk up, that’s for sure. I remember telling Greg, “that was almost worth it just for that, what a kick!”
We drive back to Hoodsport, and stop at the Model T Pub for a burger and beer. Nothing ever tastes as good after four grueling days in the backcountry.
Final Thoughts? Well, we did get a few pictures that were worthy, and got to see deer, elk, and mountain goats. We also got the opportunity to push our limits, get drenched, overcome pain, and be disappointed at the lack of scenery. It was a mental challenge to continue forward…
I would have to say, and I’m sure that Greg agrees on this, that for the amount of effort expended, the pay-off was minimal. IF your thing is to walk endlessly through rain forest and marvel at the ancient ones, then this hike might be for you. For us, though, it’s a place we’ll never visit again, though if they ever open the road again to Dosewallips CG, I might be persuaded to re-visit…And, if so, I’m bringing my bike. Do me a favor, and pick me up on the way out, will you? It’ll be easy to spot me; I’ll be the grinning idiot at the bottom of the hill…
Thank you! And, I suppose a thank you to borvest inkral is in order, too? Is this a community forum as well? I notice there are different e-mails attached to it…Anyway, as far as community forums, no, i’m not aware of any, I know that I had some difficulty sometimes getting information on different hikes that I was interested in, so I decided to create a site that listed the places that I had been to, and what I thought about the conditions, views, etc…Again, thanks so much for the nice reply!!