Mount Rainier and Spray Falls WA

Mount Rainier is huge and has a few entrances , in my previous posts I wrote about the South Entrances ,Paradise ,Longmire , Ohanapecosh and Chinook Pass and now after a month we entered the Northern Western entrance to Mowich Lake.

At the lake there is a tent C.G with toilets and food containers to protect the food from animals.

Hikers stay in the C.G for a few days to be close to some most beautiful hikes starting from there.

The paved road to Mowich Lake becomes gravel 20 miles before getting to the C.G, some parts are "washboard" and we had to drive 15-20 miles and hour. but all this should not stop anyone to come and hike from this point.

On the way to Mowich Lake (HWY 165) Mount Rainier showed itself to us in the most beautiful way, we have seen many gorgeous natural vistas but this one is sure in the top 5.

The snowed Mount Rainier was wearing a "hat" made by the cloud in the middle of August.

After a short visit to Mowitch Lake we got our hiking shoes backpacks we chose to hike 6 miles round trip to Spray Falls ( The Green Trail), it is a moderate hike mostly in the shade and to heavy trafficked.

Once we got there we believed that it is "our day" , first the unusual snowed Mount Rainier with a "hat" and now on the same day this fantastic breathtaking waterfall with an easy access to the base, standing close by and looking up one has to watch his neck....

There is another Entrance to the park just North of the one we used today , so our next visit will be to Carbon River NW Entrance hoping to hike the Carbon River Trail and visit the falls on the way.

Hood Canal & Hama Hama Falls WA

At the camp ground in Lilliwaup next to us was a guy with a boat , while putting he tent up I helped him with tools and spikes, later he offered to share his fish with us, it worked perfectly ,he brought the fish and we grilled it and added salad with drinks..

On the following day we took a day trip along the East shores of the Hood Canal, all along the way we could see the views , endless beaches and nice communities.

Union was the turning point of the day trip, we got some groceries and ice for the fish in Hoodsport and headed home making astop in Lake Cushman.

I learned that in Hama Hama recreation area there are waterfalls, but it seemed that no one heard about them even the locals , I also made a note when searching the net to take a rope with me before hitting the falls.

The Coordinates I had 47.597424 -123.137341 brought us to FR 250 which is a gravel surface continuation of Ham Hama RD. but we did not find any falls there ,even a direction board indicated only trails to C.G and to Lena Lake , but this did not stop us for looking for the falls.

We opened the windows to be able to hear the roar of waters and continued on FR 250 driving West , surely after 5 miles next to a huge hump we saw a small turn off and hearded the roar of a waterfall but with no sign what so ever indicating waterfalls ,we parked the truck and looked for a trail that goes down to the creek and hopefully to falls.

There was no trail or a sign for a trail, so we did some exploring allowing the roar sounds guiding us towards the fall, sometimes we reached a dead end and had to retract , it was a steep walk down on rocks , moss and dead trees , we used the rope at full length (Not long enough) .

Finally we hit the jack pot, it was a very satisfaction feeling and an amazing sight to be standing infront of a powerfull watrfall all alone in this unmarked place.

We were pleased and happy as if we discovered the Americas….and for us it was like discovering a new Continenet..and no snakes or a luck of trail/directions would stop us, so using high hiking shoes , a rope and an adventurist spirit did help in this case.

Lilliwaup WA

Spent an hour on the phone to find a RV spot near Brinnon on the East side of the Olympic National Park, either they were booked solid or they did not have hookups, as I was about to change my plans I hit Mike's Beach Resort on Hood Canal.

The C.G has full hookups and internet near the office that is only 3 minutes walk.

On the phone the lady seemed to have trouble finding us a spot but when we arrived it looked like this, and later afternoon have another 10 families with tents arrived

The Resort has a private beach with Oyster and Clam harvesting, it has a strict harvesting schedule and restrictions but it sure attracts people to come over.

We did some berry collection that later will become shake,prafe or a cake.

On the following day we hiked to two waterfalls that were the main reason for having this stop.

Rocky Brook Falls is easy to find if you are a local or searched it on the net and have exact directions or coordinates, it is hard to believe but there is no sign and you can pass next to it without knowing that the falls exist.

It is only 100' from the road and you face a nice high waterfall that was not in full swing in the middle of August but still pretty.

Coordinates: 47.7210 -122.9416

Murhut waterfall is also not easy to find ,gravel roads and forest roads have to be followed from the Hwy 101 but I came ready , coordinates: 47.6733 -123.0505 will bring you to the trail head before taking an easy 1.6 mile hike to one of the most beautiful falls in the area.

To some falls it is enough to get to the view point but this one we went all the way to the base of the fall and beyond, tree roots made the climb possible and worth the effort.

After climbing to the highest point possible a took a shot that shows the path to the base , we were lucky to do the hike in a perfect dry, clear weather with no mud at all, just dust.

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At the end of the day we were surprised by a fellow tenting in the C.G whom we helped earlier with tool and tent pikes, he brought us a fresh fish caught on the same day ,so we grilled it and all the three of us had it with wine and salad.

Great ending to a great day

Hurricane Ridge Olympic N.P WA

After a day in the cities we are back to our normal activities ,the outdoors, there is so much to see in such a short time so we try to squeeze inn as much as possible.

Hurricane Ridge is can be reached entering the Olympic National Park from a North entrance close to Port Angeles, it is 20 mile ride till the end of the road where most trail start, but all the way is on a road with outstanding vistas like mountains and snow peaks.

Unfortunately the fires in British Columbia and others partly blocked clear and bright panorama , but there was nothing we could do and delaying the visit for few day would not help, so looking at the picture imagine how it would be without the smoky fogy layers.

The hikes are mostly easy to moderate , the Hurricane Hill Trail we hiked started at elevation 5242 and climbed after 1.6 miles near Hurricane Hill at 5757 elevation, it is mostly in an open range and can be considered a family hike.

We continued beyond the Hill for another 5 minutes and were surprised to see a patch of snow still hanging on.

The other hike was all together 2 Miles combining few short trails through meadows and forest, called the Big Medlow Loop starting at the Visitor Center.

We were surprised to see people hiking on this 3.2 Mile hike mostly in the sun with a plastic water bottle in the hand or some without any water at all, or hiking without proper shoes , it so easy to get proper gear for hikes and teach kids to follow, but this is THIER problem , what was more amazing is to see hikers make their own paths or pick wild flowers ...I wish there would be rangers on the trails to keep hikers in line.

We were ready for our traditional afternoon picnic and chose a table in the picnic area facing the view and this time we had a huge surprise - a non invited guest seemed to be attracted to Shula's cooking.

The deer did not get food from us but it seems that it was not afraid so hang close to us at all.

We ended the day at a free outdoor concert at the Port Area in Port Angeles it said “Blues” but we got “Rock Music” instead.