Elk Fishing Hoh

A little Queets, into Hoh, up to Tom and finally to Bainbridge.

   We last left you at a Red Warning sign forbidding something. A peaceful evening and another slow morning took us further North, again, on the 101. We reached Ruby Beach and time to explore. A remarkable place with tides strong enough to encourage sea life to be caught unawares.
   Some lunch and we continued on, gradually making our way up to Hoh river. Moving in land, we meandered until a nice spot was found. This may be an opportune time to announce that our vehicle insurance does not cover us on unsealed roads. So far in three weeks we have covered 2,000 miles. Possibly half of that on unsealed roads. We often have discussions about whether we feel comfortable as we look ahead at the potential route. More often than not, the foot goes down, and off we go, bumpity bump. It wouldn't be the right kind of holiday if you only went the insurance route.
   So we found ourselves a peaceful location on Hoh River just shy of the Olympic National Park. Our plan to venture into the Olympic the following day. This was also a public holiday long weekend, Labour Day falling on the Monday. So we were slightly conscious of possible extra traffic.

   Hoh River was an absolute delight. We chose to stay an extra day which allowed us to build a campfire by the river and play with a different style of cooking. We scoured the riverside in search of lost fishing line, having found none we opted for twine and were fortunate enough to find a small fishing hook. With Jamie leading the way, we opted for Huckleberries as the first enticement for the fish. Hoping they would ignore the particularly lengthy piece of twine dangling above, we though maybe a nice salmon would go well roasting on the fire. Alas, many hours passed, no bites. We changed cuisine several times, numerous locations and even differen techniques. Sadly, we can confirm, there are no fish in the river Hoh. That is it. No fish.
   A delight with a campfire, as most of us know, roasted potatoes! We had great enjoyment building up coals and slowly roasting. Then for dessert, of course, bananas with chocolate and blackberries   :)

   After an extra days rest at Hoh, we ventured into Olympic Park on a Sunday. We only chose some of the smaller walks, but a stand out for us, after seeing the great Redwoods in California, here were the Maples! Such a different style of tree just as old with plenty of strength and long droopy arms. We thouroughly appreciated a stroll amongst them.
   Trekking further North we made our way into Forks for a re-supply and lunch. As has been on the menu for awhile now, we've been in search of a diner to provide an apple pie. A little searching and we pulled in to a hopeful outcome. The waiters appeared a little flustered but still polite. They apologised the kitchen was running slow and a 45 minute wait should be expected. We were totally fine with that and settled in. When ordering, we spotted apple pie on the menu and chose a burger first, "Soup, salad or fries?" We chose salad, then the apple pie. With the kitchen under pressure, they asked if they could bring us the dessert first, we said, "You read our minds!"
Almost perfect, the pie was delightful, if only we knew it was accompanied with hefty cream from a can and a Grandfather's drizzle of chocolate syrup. Maybe yum for some, we thought it slightly detracted from our delicious apple pie.

   Another campsite googled, we cut through parts of the Olympic Park and wound our way through the North side. 'A Little Bit Further' each time and we somehow found ourselves attop a ridge all alone. It seemed a fire may have passed through possible 15 years ago, a mixture of clearing and burning. Just beside Tom Creek and South of Sol Duc River. We decided to explore a little, so hiking boots on, Jamie led the way as the experienced expeditioner. Down hill fast with a combination of bum sliding. Ian opted for a couple of sticks to keep himself steady, Jamie chose head first and fast. As we reached the bottom of a lengthy ridge, Jamie went right, Ian went left. With a combination of whistling and 'coo-eee' we somehow met up together at Tom Creek. A quick re-telling of adventure, which path we thought would be better upon return, we then settled in for some stone throwing and feet dipping.
   The trek back up worked on the quads, a curry dinner settled the tummy. A few birds kept us entertained and we settled in for the night. We were on the eve of four weeks away. At times it felt like less, others it felt more. We have enjoyed scrolling through older pictures to recall some of our trails.
   The next morning we made for the Olympic Hot Springs, tempted for a dip and a sneaky shower. It had been four days so we may be due. Our baby wipes certainly count for a lot, but let's be serious, a baby wipe doesn't get it all.
   Sadly the road to the Hot Springs was washed out from a flood in Nov 2017. Significant repairs were well underway, but we weren't able to make it to our little dip in warm water. Another option was a side trail which turned out to be remarkably pleasant. Clearly no others had walked on the path for awhile, as the spiders had covered each side in web. So with a stick each, we waved our way through, appreciating the calm, green landscape.

  After another sandwich lunch, we worked back to the 101. Our very first wild elk sighting left us aghast. We weren't sure at first as it stood beside the road, then slowly as we approached and came to a halt, it scampered off into the forest. Both of us wide eyed, we knew straight away there is no way you would want to accidentally hit one of them. Even in our Big Bird, it was as big as a horse.
   One thing that has been on our minds for awhile now. We have never seen so many electoral signs. We're not talking about federal election, though we have seen a few of those. But every small town we pass through has a plethora of hammered in wooden signs alongside the roadside arguing who you should vote for, whether it be the County Judge, District Attorney, Local Sherriff, even Town Auditor. We could only imagine the office competitiveness as two potential candidates walked down the hall, knowing their publicist was working hard to promote their candidacy.

   Now, again, here you find us, on a wooden bench at Tent Site number 40 at Fay Bainbridge Park, a short ferry ride from Seattle that we hope to catch tomorrow. Today a public holiday, Labour Day. School returns tomorrow, so we hope our camp sites and tourist attractions may be a little less occupied.
   Our aim over the next few days, see the sights of Seattle, venture North and then inland of Washington to friends in Twisp Valley. We feel as though we've been making a lot of miles, so a pause will be appreciated.