The North Cascades and Olympic

As I think this morning of all I’ve done since the last blog post a few days ago, my mind spins a bit. Fortunately I have the pictures still to remember it all. After my visit to Winthrop I continue on highway 20 through the North Cascades. I try to go on a hike that someone recommended, but the whole trail is still covered in snow. After sinking knee deep into the snow and losing track of the path several times, I decide to turn around. I don’t mind walking in the snow, but I don’t feel like getting lost in the snow with the possibility of bear encounters. So, I just enjoy the beautiful scenery from my car.
I make a few stops at one of the lakes and a waterfall by the road and drive all the way to the west coast to Fort Casey in Washington. That’s on a peninsula next to Seattle. I’ve seen on the map that I can take a ferry from there to Port Townsend on the other side of the water. When I arrive, the guy at the counter tells me that I’m on standby and that there is a fifty-fifty chance that I can get on the boat. Fortunately I’m lucky as usual and am allowed to drive onto the ferry as one of the last cars. As we take off I see that there are several cars still back at the shore waiting for the next boat which’ll go in two hours. I had arrived just in time to get this one.
I’m happy and enjoy the ride of about half an hour to the other side. It’s raining a bit, but that doesn’t stop me from going to the outside deck to feel the fresh air. When we arrive at the other side I drive to the nearest Walmart where I arrive around sunset. I get some food and call it a day. It was a lot of driving again, but I made it back to the west coast.
The next morning I make a stop at a coffee place in Port Angeles and see the boat to Vancouver Island in Canada. For a moment I’m tempted to get on it, but since I’m not sure how strict the border control will be, I decide not to make this trip more adventurous than it needs to be. Instead I drive all the way west to a town called Ozette. This morning I looked up what the most western part of mainland USA is and it’s a place called Cape Alava. It’s at the end of a 40 mile one way road and then a hike through the rain forest. This area is part of Olympic National Park. The hike is beautiful, for the most part it’s covered with boardwalks made of redwood, comfortable to walk on. The path goes up and down quite a bit, but after about an hour hiking I finally see the beach. Except from some people camping near the beach it’s very quiet here and I walk at the beach for a while before I hike back through the rain forest. It’s late in the afternoon when I’m back at my car and I’ve hiked about 15 kilometers, so I’m quite tired. The challenge is that I’m in the middle of nowhere, not really a place to stay for the night. I search on the map for the nearest Walmart which is about two hours away. The scenery along the road is beautiful, but I drive pretty fast to stay awake and get there as soon as possible. When I arrive at the Walmart in Aberdeen I’m feeling exhausted, but fortunately there is a Mc Donalds right next to the store, so it’s easy to get some food for dinner. Today was beautiful, but tomorrow I want to take it easier. Driving many hours and going on a long hike was probably a bit too much for one day.
On Sunday morning I wake up happily after a long nights sleep. I love how the mornings often feel so much better with new energy. I’m feeling thankful that there are so many Walmarts around in this country where it’s safe and nice to stay for the night. Today I’m planning on having a relaxed day. I go in the store for some groceries and then drive slowly to the town of Astoria in Oregon. It’s only about 1,5 hours driving and the road is beautiful. There are so many trees here. It rains a few times during the drive, but when I cross the long bridge between Washington and Oregon it’s dry and I can see a little bit of blue skies. When I arrive in town I fill up my car, because gas is about a dollar cheaper in Oregon than in Washington, and drive to Sleeper coffee place where I had a great time two weeks ago. The same friendly barista is there and I find a spot by the window. It’s busier than last time, but it’s also a bit later in the day now. A friendly elderly couple that I met the last time walk up to me and ask me how my journey has been. It’s so nice that they recognize me from about two weeks ago and we talk for a while. Then I sit down for a bit of reading and writing this story. I plan on staying in this town for today and don’t travel further until tomorrow. I’ve done a lot of driving in the past few days. I think about 1500 miles / 2400 kilometers since I left Helena, Montana on Thursday. So now it’s time to slow down a bit. There is a farmers market in town today and I just saw a trolly riding by, I think that might be fun to go on. The coming days I want to see more of Oregon. On my way up here I followed the coast, so I think I might go more land inward to see more of the state. I’m in the strange position that I have time on my hands, but not having something in particular that I really need to see, so I think I’ll just see what comes on my path.