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Five Mile Island,
Olympic National Park |
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Ever since my first trip to the Olympic National Park, I have been trying to get time to bring Amber up with me. Many times he expressed the desire to come with me on a trip. As Amber and I have spent a lot of time in the back country, I know I can trust her to follow the basic rules of just such an area. We packed up on a Thursday and headed up to the Hoh Rain Forest, Friday after noon, ultimately arriving Friday night. I brought two down sleeping bags and inflatable mattresses just for the back of the 4runner to sleep on. At 11:00p.m., we had to stop just short of the rain forest's parking and wait due to deer crossing the road and inevitably stopping to look at us. This awoke Amber enough for us to find a parking spot after signing in and acquire out permits. We got into our pajamas and fell fast asleep. She was pretty wired though for tomorrow.
Next morning, we awoke and donned out hiking gear, took a snapshot and scurried off to Five Mile Island. Amber was on the lookout for Black Bear as that was what she really wanted to see, but did not lead on to that fact until the end of the trip.
I tried to tell Amber about the elk in the park and the size that they grew to be. She did not comprehend or wish to believe me as we strolled effortlessly along the valley floor in search of something good to see.
She started fawning over all the wild plants that she had never seen at home. All the colors, shapes, and sizes stimulated her mind into wanting more. I brought along a guide book, although it did little to answer the plethora of questions she threw at me.
A little further along the route trail, I head the unmistakable sound of bugling elk. Amber, freaked, asked me what it was. When I told her it was elk, she said "Daddy, it sounds like a monster.". Indeed it did sound like a monster as we were right up on a heard of 6. Amber turned around and in her fashion said "Shhhhh! Daddy, be very, very quiet. Don't scare them. Stay here." I, amused, stayed put while watching her mimic the Steve Erwin. She grew up watching Steve as we will miss him immensely. She snuck close as the beast sauntered forward, well aware of her presence.
After scouting through the woods, we arrived at out destination with energy to spare. Amber was quite beat as I could tell and I quickly set up the tarp for her to take an afternoon nap while I did chores.
Chores consisted of fetching water and treating it before hanging the bear bag. Since the park service said the wire was out, I brought with me the necessary gear to keep our food safe as well as the animals. I have become quite efficient at the PCT method of hanging food. I got the bag at least 20 feet up and 12 feet over on my first attempt. Unfortunately, I found a wire that was in primo condition and used it instead.
As Amber slept, I noticed more and more bees came out to greet us. Now I like bees and look at them as an essential part of nature, but these were yellow jackets and I hate yellow jackets. I let Amber sleep a little longer while I moved our camp to a spot further down river. It was slightly shaded and had a bit more tree cover. I got dinner going and hunted around for some firewood for the evening.
Done with chores, Amber convinced me to go look for bear on the island itself. We packed up a little daypack and skipped across all but the main channels of the river. While scouting the island, we only came up with frogs. They were big frogs. In fact, the biggest ones Amber has ever seen. Satisfied, we sauntered back to camp, happy.
I got the fire going as we had all the luxuries one would want. It got cold fast this time of year here. The daytime temperatures crested the mid sixties. The nighttime temperatures were expected to be around the mid to upper thirties.
Full after a big dinner and all the food hung, we snuggled around the campfire spending quality time together. Amber did not have much home sickness on this trip as she was pretty beat. We chatted until nine and then I got her snuggled into her sleeping bag. I stayed up a little longer to ponder some things that you simply cannot when having a young one with you to take care of.
A damp morning was in store for us as the condensation turned this area back into a rain forest. With clear blue skies, it was raining on my tarp that had a ton of condensation within it's walls. No matter as we would be back at the truck soon enough. We packed up and were heading down the trail occasionally running into grazing elk on the trial itself. The camera I had with me is dead as the pictures are just not turning out anymore.
We took the time back at the trailhead to scout the visitors center and talk to the local rangers. They had a lot of good info about the area as I wanted Amber to get the complete experience of the Olympics.
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