Olympic Climbing: Day Two

After getting ravaged by mosquitoes at our first campsite along the river, we decided to elevate our game; literally!  We packed up on the morning of Aug. 31 to drive north along the Olympic Penninsula.  Our destination: the Blue Mountains and Hurricane Ridge.  The strange thing about going to Blue Mountain and Hurrican Ridge is that it’s an additonal 4hr drive from Colonel Bob and it’s still within the Olympic National Park and Forest area.  If you recall, it took us 4hrs to get to Colonel Bob from PDX. 

Along our drive, it was pouring rain very harshly.  I was thinking in the back of my mind that we were not going to get a good hike today.  Plus, I didn’t bring any raingear with me.  I anticipated great weather but paid the price.  Luckily I found a decent fleece jacket at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center and paired it up with Kevin’s windbreaker shell.  This was enough to propel me and the rest of the team up Hurricane Ridge under wet and dreary conditions.

 We hiked up Hurricane Ridge with relative ease.  On top, we took some photos of each us “supposedly” jumping off a cliff.  It was super cloudy up there and our views were not that great.

After Hurricane Ridge, we set off to the Deer Park Campground to set up camp.  We found a secluded spot and began to prepare dinner: turkey meatballs and grilled veggies with hot chocolate.  We also were blessed with additional company: 5 deer 20 ft away during dinner.  Wow!