Hey, buddy. Yes... you! Please sponsor my attempt to hike 50 miles in August in support of Washington Trails Association. Please be like Kate, our friend and first (ahem, only) sponsor. Thanks so much, Kate - you rock! Ok, moving on to...
Hike Report #1: August 2
Mount Townsend
Olympic National Forest
8 miles, 2800' elevation gain
When the Hahn boys converge on Olympic National Forest, one might expect beautiful scenery and good conversation. One might also expect a non-stop barrage of smart-ass comments at one another’s expense. Check, check, and check.
Out of the gate, Joshy and I nearly missed the 8:40 Kingston ferry. As we drove toward the boat, the Safety-vested One seemed to take great pleasure in stopping us just before the ramp, but redeemed himself a minute later. "Must be your lucky day," he said, waving us forward. Lucky indeed... last car on.
We met up with Dad and Uncle Josh in Quilcene and carpooled to the trailhead, which was set 11 miles back from the highway on the kind of beautiful, twisty, single-lane road that makes one wish (ok, so I wished out loud) that he could bomb the hill on a bike.
We hit the trail just before 11am... off into the lush rainforest. The trail was soft as new carpet under our feet, and the anticipation pushed us forward at a pretty decent clip. At 2 miles, we rose out of the canopy to incredible views. The hillsides were blanketed with wildflowers, which dotted the landscape almost to the summit. A waterfall appeared in the distance, tumbling several hundred feet straight down to the forest floor.
Then clouds rolled in. Slowly at first, but as we gained elevation the fog became so thick that we could only guess at the views we were missing. No matter, we deemed Mount Townsend a "do-over" and we’ll be back someday when it’s sunny! We reached the top and climbed a small ridge to the highest point (it's a given that you have to get to the highest point, right?).
Joshy and I dined on peanut butter and jelly sammiches, the uhhhh... "culinary complexity" of which was difficult to chew at first. It was quickly getting cold and was definitely time to head down. As always seems to be the case, down seemed to take eons longer than up, and we were all thoroughly cooked by the time we hit the trailhead again.
What a great way to kick off the August hikes! I was reminded of so many reasons why these trails are important to me; quiet peace and change of pace. Risk, reward. And family brought together, working toward a single goal. These things don't happen every day!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
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2 comments:
thanks for the shout out yo! but really ... do you spell sandwiches like this: sammiches? get it together.
Looks like a wonderful time. I know your dad loved every minute of it. Fun for him to be out with his boys.
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