Olympic National Park, Washington
Glacier National Park, Montana
May 19-22
When Shaun and I decided to tour the National Parks, we quickly realized that there was simply no way to see them all. As much as we would have loved to see Denali in Alaska or Virgin Islands National Park in Saint John (yes please!) we knew we had to be selective. In many cases the choice was easy, like our little detour to Crater Lake on the way to Eugene. Sometimes though, we really debated what to do before deciding on a route. Our expedition to the far north was one of those cases.
I will readily admit that I was the one pushing to skip Olympic and Glacier. We had made it through some fairly cold weather in the Redwoods and Crater Lake and now Shaun was proposing that we go to two parks that were basically on the Canadian border. The drive for each park would take us a full day and we weren't sure there would be much to do when we arrived since most of the North was still snowbound. Also, we didn't have the right equipment for freezing temperatures so camping became a virtual impossibility. (Some would call that a good thing but we were truly enjoying the camping!) We debated the pros and cons for a while until finally Shaun won me over by pointing out that we were unlikely to return to the far reaches of Washington or Montana any time soon. So off we went to Olympic National Park, and I'm so glad we went!
The park Lodges were all still closed for the winter season so we opted to stay in the town of Port Angeles on the North side of the park. Staying in Port Angeles gave us access to many hiking trails as well as the Hoh Rain Forest; a "must see" according to the guidebooks. We checked in at the Olympic Lodge late in the afternoon and we were pleasantly surprised with the hotel. It had big rooms and lots of amenities and was surprisingly nice for the price we paid. We had picked up some local smoked salmon and shrimp at a little fish shop along the way, so we chilled a bottle of white wine and had a nice picnic dinner in the room.
The next morning we went to the Visitor Info Center and planned a hike with the help of yet another nice Ranger. She suggested that we hike the Elwha Valley and she showed us a nice six mile loop along the Elwha River. We packed up our backpacks with the usual supplies and headed out to Whisky Bend, where we would start our hike.
When we arrived at Whisky Bend we got all suited up for the hike and then walked over to the trailhead. Of course, the first thing we saw on the outside of the bulletin board, was a bright orange flyer with a picture of a bear. The sign delivered a stern warning that a black bear had been seen in the area the day before and was most likely still in the area. It was enough to make me want to head back to the car, but fortunately we didn't. We grabbed some good sized walking sticks (left behind by other hikers) and headed into the woods, making plenty of noise to avoid surprising the bear.
Getting started on our hike
The hike was brilliant, probably one of my favorite hikes of the whole trip. From the moment we stepped on to the trails it was a day of stunning beauty and wild creatures. Within the first thirty minutes we heard the strangest noise, like a deep, low, drumbeat and when we came around the corner we saw a beautiful bird. It was grayish brown except around the neck where he had tufts of white surrounding what looked like a little yellow drum! It turns out we had stumbled on a blue grouse and the noise we heard was his mating call! He only stayed for a minute but we stood as still as possible and got a few pictures before he left. Even after he flew up in the trees we could hear him as we hiked on.
The blue grouse, all decked out for mating season
Our next wild encounter occurred at one of the Old Elwha Valley Homesteads. This Valley had been settled as early as the 1880's and some of the old Homesteads have been protected. We were stopped at the first Homestead, a little place called Michael's Cabin when we realized we weren't alone. Off to the side in the trees stood a group of deer who seemed quite unfazed by our arrival. Not wanting to bother the deer, we looked around the homestead for a little while and then continued on our way.
Arriving at Michael's Cabin
One of the deer hanging out by the trees next door
Just beyond Michael's Cabin we came to a meadow where a few folks had set up camp. The bear situation was still top of mind so we asked them if they had seen any bears during their stay. They said they had heard about the bear but hadn't seen him themselves, which made us feel better. We continued on down to the river where we found a nice place to have lunch, secure in the knowledge that we probably wouldn't get eaten ourselves.
As we were eating we saw another deer, grazing down below in the riverbed. We watched him for a while until we got too hungry and then sat down on a log to eat our sandwiches. We were just chatting away when all of a sudden the deer came bounding up over the ridge. Thinking he would be terrified at the sight of us we stood stock still, but it quickly became apparent that this deer had no fear of people! By the time he came right up to me I had to shoo him away, lest he eat my lunch! And I don't care how cute you are-- don't come between me and my lunch!!
This little guy had no fear!
Lunch crisis averted, we continued on along the river. We bumped into another couple who told us we HAD to go out to Goblin's Point. They didn't tell us what exactly Goblin's Point was, and we didn't ask, but it sounded cool so we headed that way. I started to mentally question our choice right away. As we hiked further and further downhill, I knew there was only one way back out, which was uphill. And as much as I truly hate downhill hiking, a long uphill hike at the end of the day challenges even the best hikers.
As we hiked ever downhill, we encountered yet another couple and asked if they had gone to Goblin's Gate. They had, and they agreed that the scenery was worth the hike. And, they added, they had seen the black bear!! Just down the path before Goblin's Gate they had seen him grazing in a field across the river. They gave us a rough idea of where to look and we said our goodbyes. For the first time all afternoon I was no longer scared of a bear encounter. All I wanted now was to see a bear!
It didn't take long to get my wish and the circumstances were great. We spotted the bear all the way across the large raging river. Eating berries appeared to be his all encompassing focus. I loved just standing there watching him, in the wild, but far out of danger. After getting our fill of bear watching, we headed off to Goblin's Gate, which was quite beautiful indeed. We got one more glimpse of the bear on our way back out of the canyon that day, and we walked back to the trailhead exhausted but so satisfied by our day of hiking in Olympic.
The bear was far away and very busy eating, the perfect combination for bear-viewing!
Goblin's Gate was really neat. Basically the river takes a sharp right turn and the water crashes through this narrow gateway between these rocks!
On our way back to the trailhead after a great day of hiking
Our next adventure in Olympic was the Hoh Rain Forest, which was a trip. As any Twilight fan can tell you, Upstate Washington gets more rain than any part of the Continental US. In Olympic, all that rain (up to 12 feet of annual precipitation) produces giant spruce trees and other conifers. The trees tower over this rainforest and when they fall they become giant nurse logs for the other conifers which are still growing.
Shaun among the fallen Spruce trees
But the real draw of the Ho are the mosses. These Epiphytes (plants that grow upon other plants) give the whole rainforest area an otherworldly quality. Everywhere you look gauzy hanging sheets of moss blow gently in the wind. It was all very funereal and haunting. I kept expecting Miss Havisham to come crawling out of the woodwork in a wedding dress made of moss!
A few shots from the Hall of Mosses!
The next day we packed up and started driving again, this time headed East toward Montana and Glacier National Park. The drive between the two parks takes about 12 hours so we decided to go as long as we could the first day and try to get within a few hours of the park before stopping. We drove about 10 hours and finally stopped in Polson, Montana where we ate a quick dinner and crashed for the night. The next morning we woke early and headed to the park. We were both excited and a little nervous about our visit to Glacier. All the guidebooks suggested that this would be an amazing place full of beautiful scenery and wildlife. Unfortunately, that wildlife included a "thriving population" of Grizzly Bears, the much more deadly cousin to the Black Bear.
If you don't know about the Grizzly population in Glacier, you will know as soon as you arrive. The very first thing they handed us was a pamphlet called simply "BEARS". On the front cover stood an angry bear with his teeth bared and, I kid you not, blood all over the fur around his mouth. Inside, the pamphlet lists tips on hiking and camping in bear country. It also contains a note in red that simply states: "Note- People have been injured and killed by bears in Glacier National Park". Along with that heartening brochure came the Glacier Visitor Guide, the park newspaper. Every park has their own newspaper which usually details services and facilities, openings and closings and other pertinent info. In the case of Glacier, the newspaper devoted a third of the space to bear safety information. I think we both knew within 5 minutes that we were not going to be hiking in Glacier. The bears were really winning the mental game at this point.
Welcome to Glacier! Number Nine on our Park tour!
One of the signs in Glacier, at least this guy isn't all angry and bloody like the one in the brochure!
Our first stop after arriving at the park was the Apgar Visitor Center. We had a full day to spend at the park, which would not have been enough in summer, but was fine for the spring when many trails and roads were closed. At the Visitor Center we waited a little while for the ranger to finish his bear safety talk (of course) and then stepped up to chat. The ranger was a neat old guy who had been working in the park service for over 40 years. He spent 20 minutes asking us about our plans and giving us lots of tips on how to spend our time wisely. After learning we were heading to Wyoming the next day he even helped us plan our lodging for the night, giving us suggestions for the best towns to stay in on the route. My admiration for the rangers grows with every stop on the trip.
We started our tour of Glacier on Going to the Sun Road. In the summertime you can take the road all the way across the park, but in winter only about a third of the road is open. Regardless, we really enjoyed the drive. Along the way we passed beautiful McDonald Lake, McDonald Falls and Avalanche Creek. The springtime water barreled down the hillsides, cascading here and there into beautiful falls. We kept our eyes out for bears, but all we heard and saw was the powerful raging of the water.
The glacial waters were so clean and beautiful
Shaun on the overlook to McDonald Creek Falls. The water was roaring so loudly we had to be standing right next to each other to speak.
What kills most people in Glacier National Park is not bears, but the waters. People come to see the beautiful streams and lakes but forget the awesome power of water. One of the coolest things we saw the first day was actually a ranger training course in water rescues. There were about 20 rangers learning how to navigate their way across a river. The current looked somewhat strong when nobody was in the river, but man, when they stepped in you could really see the strength of the current. Even though they only had to cross a few feet, many of them couldn't make it without help. It was easy to see how unsuspecting tourists could misjudge the power of these waters.
This was so cool to watch. It was incredible how hard they had to fight to take each step without going under!
But enough about the things that can kill you! We loved Glacier. The weather was cold the day we visited and it rained off and on, but the clouds just added to the beauty of the mountains. After Going to the Sun Road, we drove the bottom half of the park, stopping all along the way to take in the gorgeous mountain ranges and deep glacial lakes. On the East side of the park we took all of the side roads into the park as far as we could go this time of year. The roads here all have great Indian names like Two Medicine, Many Glacier and Rising Sun. We drove them all and stopped to check out the prairie dogs and big horned sheep and other critters along the way. We, of course, kept our eyes peeled for bears all day. We saw lots of warning signs and places where trails were closed because of previous sightings, but we saw no bears.
Mountains, mountains and more mountains...
...and always water surrounding those mountains.
A huge fire on this ridge left it scarred but still quite beautiful.
What did we see lots of that day? Horses. What, you may ask, is so interesting about horses? People see horses every day in pens and stalls all across the US? Well, these horses didn't live in pens or stalls, they ran free throughout the park! We came across the horses three or four times and it never failed to amaze us to see them galloping down the road, their manes blowing in the wind. And of course, since it was springtime, there were babies! Every third or fourth horse was a colt. We asked a few people about the horses and got different stories but the one that sounds most logical is that they belong to the local Native Americans who let them roam free in the park instead of penning them up. I wanted to believe that they were just wild horses, but I suppose that's just as good. Either way, I'll never forget our encounters with the horses at Glacier.
Just a few pics of the horses...
After a very full day of exploring Glacier National Park, we took the Ranger's advice and headed out the East entrance and South toward Browning Montana. Just outside of Browning we stopped for the night at the Aspenwood Inn. It was another Trip Advisor recommendation. The best thing about Trip Advisor is that you get the good, bad and the ugly. Basically people had said don't judge this book by it's cover, and they were right. The place wasn't much to look at from the outside, but the owners, Teri and John, are really sweet and the room, a big loft called the Grizzly Suite (of course) was clean and cozy.
The next day we got up early, ate a nice breakfast cooked by John and hit the road once again. You may think all the driving was starting to get to us, but truly, driving in this part of the country is a treat. We meandered past snow capped mountains, green sloping hillsides and long vistas that made the whole drive such a pleasure. It was a beautiful reminder of why we took this part of the trip. Our country is such a magnificent place and it would have been a shame to have seen so much of the world and miss the things in our own backyard. So on we drove, down through Montana with a slight dip into Idaho before finally arriving in Wyoming. We had reached the promised land! Wyoming, home of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks!
Farewell Glacier!
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