Olympic Peninsula in August

[Roxi]

Please bear with me while I ramble...for the past several months I've been nursing an injured shoulder SLOWLY back to health. A month ago my PT gave me permission to return to hiking small mountains w/ no weight or a low weight backpack. So I've been doing North and South Pack Monadnock weekly and will increase distances, intensity, and weight carried as my shoulder can handle it. Believe me, I'm being careful as I want to move forward with healing and not lose the ground I've gained! My goal is to return to Isolation in August. I've done it twice before and I am very confident that I can reach that goal.

Here's the reason for THIS post: my daughter wants to take a trip to Seattle WA in mid to late Aug to check out the Univ of WA as a potential grad school. And yes, I immediately thought, "Cool! While we're out there, we can go hiking in the Olympic Peninsula!" The last time I was there was DECADES ago, as in before my daughter was even a thought, never mind an embryo. Now she's 21! So it's been a while...I remember the rain forest was pretty cool. Besides that, what else do those of you who have hiked that area recommend? Keep in mind I'll be able to (and probably will have) hike(d) Isolation by then, and my daughter can handle about 7-10 miles depending on the steepness of the trails. So what trails should we check out? Any other advice? THANKS!!! So excited....

 

[Toe Cozy]

Ozette Triangle

If there's anyway you can manage to do an overnight on very easy, flat terrain with a total distance of 9 miles (yes, you could do it in a day, but you shouldn't rush it) you should check out the Ozette Triangle loop. Camp on the beach. Awesome beach combing, great sea stacks carved by the ocean, cool boardwalks on the way in and out. We loved it. Still talk about it all the time.

 

[Roxi]

Thanks, Toe Cozy! I found it on the map and am looking forward to checking it out in person. I love the beach so this will be a perfect hike! Despite your wonderful recommendation, however, I don't plan on camping. My shoulder is enjoying the "go lite" mode (or at least "lighter") very much right now.

 

[Roxi]

Many thanks to Toe Cozy for the wonderful recommendation for the Ozette Triangular Loop. It was 9.2 miles total, of which almost 6 miles was boardwalk! And the "hard part" was the 3 miles along the Pacific coast as the beach was like an obstacle course (really large logs/drift wood, boulders, rocks, tide pools, etc.). So much fun! Especially the part where we had to climb using a rope up and over a large boulder. I was so proud of my daughter as that was a first and somewhat scary experience for her, but she did it! In addition to many crabs, we also saw 6 large starfish in one of the tide pools. Too cool! And it was neat watching her see the Pacific Ocean for the first time. The previous day we did the 3.7 mile hike up Hurricane Hill (incredible views of glacier-topped peaks!), followed by lots of driving and then 2 miles of hiking in the Hoh rainforest. Walking among the very large moss covered trees felt like being in a truly sacred place. We had such a good time hiking on the OP and enjoyed very different hiking experiences from what we have done here on the east coast. Highly recommended!

 

[Toe Cozy]

Hey! Thanks for the update and I'm glad The Ozette Triangle didn't disappoint. I still think of it often and also of our overnight next to the Hoh river. Definitely a great place to visit.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

We've been out to visit our daughter at U Dub a few times and have been to both Olympic (Staircase) and Rainier (Longmire and Paradise) National Parks. Both very cool places, but the trip to Rainier seemed a lot quicker.

The Rampart Ridge loop hike from Longmire is 4.6 miles with nice views.

 

[cbcbd]

Cool, I hadn't heard of this loop and we'll have to check it out next time we're out there.

We've been out to visit our daughter at U Dub a few times and have been to both Olympic (Staircase) and Rainier (Longmire and Paradise) National Parks. Both very cool places, but the trip to Rainier seemed a lot quicker.

The Rampart Ridge loop hike from Longmire is 4.6 miles with nice views.

Bob, you're right. The Olympics are awesome but the Peninsula is HUGE and requires a lot of driving and most times a ferry ride to get to some key areas and most of the driving around the park is not necessarily scenic save for a few spots (all of them worth seeing too!) which are far away from each other.

From Seattle you can get to Longmire in a little over 2hrs. 2hrs (with no waiting line at the ferry) will only get you to Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge. To get to the Pacific and the rainforest it is about 4hrs. Hard to do a day-trip in the Olympics. I would take at least 2-3 days to see all the cool things it has to offer - the biggest (temperate) rainforest in the lower 48, huge trees, sea stacks, remote glaciered peaks, and some of the best tidepooling in the country.

...and of course there are always the Cascades.