I read so many TRs from LDW where the weather was bad, I just wanted to share my LDW weather: perfect. Where, you say? The coastal strip of Olympic NP and nearby rainforest valleys.

Tanja, Daisy and I drove out on Friday night when I got off work around 7 pm, so we got in to Kalaloch campground pretty durn late. But with a motorhome, who cares? Just go in back and go to sleep, after a short beach walk in the starlight, of course. We had reservations for Friday and Sunday, with zip for Saturday, but I knew it wouldn't be a problem, since there are always no-shows. We lucked out in that a bluff campsite was available for Sat and Sun, so the ranger let us switch for Sun. The rest of the weekend we ""camped"" with the motorhome backed right up to the beach, except for a 25 ft bluff trail and some driftwood.



Saturday was ""do nothing"" day. Just de-stressing, resting, feasting, a little beach walking and a bit of playing with the dog, then break time again.



Sunday was rainforest day, so we drove up to the Hoh river TH and campground, with a stop to see bigfoot at the Rainforest Cafe. Knowing the rules, we knew we could take the dog for a walk in the extensive picnic area and around the three campground loops, all told well over a mile, including a nice river section. It is a pretty good walk, especially when the majority of the campsites are empty, which was strange for the Sunday of LDW.



Then we put the dog in the motorhome with a bowl of water and the ceiling fan on, and we headed up the Hoh river trail. Our destination: the nice waterfall about 2 1/2 miles in, across from Tom's creek. The Hoh trail is a natural wonder, a true delight to walk, rain or shine. We had shine. Giant trees draped in moss and carpeted in ferns, lush vegetation covering every square inch of every surface, the absolute quiet of every sound muffled before it can move an inch, sweet!



The waterfall is small but very intimate. There is a trail that goes up to it, take the short detour if you are up there. Sitting by that waterfall, I could well imagine I was in some fantasy land or fairy tale. Magical. It was also very nice to hike with Tanja, a rare treat. The flatness of the trail allowed her to do the almost 6 miles R/T without trouble. It felt weird to hike with her but without the dog. I kept looking around for her. In any case it was cool to be off the tourist loops near the TH, which were uber-crowded.



Monday was another restful day of beach lounging, until it was time to drive home in the late afternoon. We disdained the ferry system and drove through Olympia and Aberdeen both ways, since our motorhome is more than 7'6"" tall so we would have to pay double. At 17 mpg, I'm better off by far driving around. It was 210 miles each way, instead of 160 by ferry, so I saved $30 in ferry fares each way but spent $11 e/w in extra gas. That's $38 saved R/T!

Pictures are posted at www.flickr.com/photos/slugman

Started out for a five night backpacking trip to Glacier Meadows on a beautiful Sunday with the threat of storms. Night one at Happy Four (5.7 miles in) we saw some lightning which was followed by a spectacular pink, lavender and gold sunset. It was a dry night. Day Two was an uneventful hike to campsite 13.3 just past the High Hoh Bridge. There were a few sprinkles during the night, but we stayed dry.

Day three was the final uphill push to Glacier Meadows. Stunning view of Mt Olympus and White Glacier atop it. Incredible sounds across the valley of the thundering waterfalls created by glacier and snow runoff. About 3/10 of a mile from Glacier Meadows, an avalanche chute has wiped out 200 yds of the trail, and you must cross the chute to get to Glacier Meadows. It is treacherous, but doable. Look for the orange-flagged route and follow that.

At Glacier Meadows, a fall-like storm blew in with heavy rain, wind, and dropping temperatures. So on the morning of Day Four, we were motivated to get out. Hiked the full 17.5 miles out in 11 hours, under rain on and off the whole way. Beautiful trail though!

Hiking the Hoh is one of our favorites as a day hike or a backpack. This time it would be a day hike to 5 Mile Island.

The Park Service reported 2 washouts, at 1 mile and 3 mile. The first one has been flagged and cleared ready for the WTA trail crew for finishing work. We thought this would mean an easy hike. Wrong! The 2nd washout was at 2 miles and unmarked. We wandered off for a short way on an elk trail. Backtracking we tried again staying close to the river and found the trail again along the river. After another mile there was a 3rd washout. This time we stayed close to the river and easily picked up the trail. Further along is a bridge with a large sinkhole on your first step off the bridge. There is increasing snow on the trail and numerous blowdowns. Once the snow is melted the blowdowns should not be a major problem.

Just before reaching our lunch spot at 5 Mile Island we passed our favorite tree. It's a large western red cedar about 10' in diameter. It had a large side branch that had a 90 degree bend in it growing straight up as big as most trees. Alas, the branch has broken off. It fell without blocking the trail. You can easily walk between the fallen branch and the trail. Hopefully the Park Service and the WTA trail crew will leave it. It might become a nurse log. Let future hikers marvel at once was and what will be.