PNW: Embracing the Wet

Highlights from a turbulent 3 weeks in the Pacific Northwest

Black bear at Glacier NP

Let's turn back the clocks to mid-Septemer. I was 3 weeks into this great adventure, coming off an almost euophoric high of Grand Teton and Yellowstone, which blew away all my expectations. I had been catapulted into a world I’d had little exposure to prior; pristine lakes & rivers, stunning mountain ranges, and throngs of wildlife in quantities that I thought only existed in the 1600s. 

And I was exhausted. The aforementioned destinations had so much to see, and I strained myself to keep the pace I envisioned to get the most out of my time. It was inevitable that I had a bit of a crash. The 3 days I spent at Glacier National Park, while delivering some of the most gorgeous scenery yet, failed to capture the elation of the previous week-plus. Mostly, I just didn’t have the energy to fully experience the park. Nevertheless, I had a good time—I even saw a black bear up close! But by the time I left, on my way to see a friend in Yakima, WA, I was ready for a few chill days.

And that’s what I got. A few days with a shower, a bed, and some company was just what I needed. My friend Ethan is in med school in Yakima, a town that claims to be the “Palm Springs of Washington”, but is really more like the “Fort Lauderdale of Washington”. Unassuming, inoffensive, and just far enough away from the mountains that the scenery pales in comparison to the rest of the state. A perfect place to go to med school, spending 80 hours a week studying...or to have a break after 3 weeks of unusually high activity on a road trip.

Two Medicine Lake in Glacier National Park

By Tuesday, I was ready to leave Yakima. Groceries: shopped. Hair: washed. Car: cleaned. Plan: kinda made. At this point of the trip, I don’t exactly have things planned down to the day, so I’m—as they say—wingin’ it. 

My rough plan is this. I’ll spend a couple days at the nearby Mount Rainier, then head north to the North Cascades & Bellingham. After that is a 5-day stint at Olympic National Park, right on the northwest coast of Washington (I’ve grown more and more excited for this leg). Then, I’ll check out some cities—Seattle and Portland—before venturing deep into the Oregon mountains. These will take me south to the Oregon-California border, where Redwood National & State Parks await.

Mount Rainier on a...rainy day

Now, this all happened over a month ago (I am a bit behind on the blog posts). So I’m not going to take you through a day-by-day guide of my time at these locations, even though I’m SURE you’d love to hear that. Rather, I’m going to give one highlight for each—sometimes stretching to 2 if there’s something particularly noteworthy.

Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier, behind autumn colors in full swing

Rainforest in Mount Rainier NP

While seeing the mountain itself was undoubtedly splendid, my favorite part was actually this little-travelled trail called "Two Firs". It was my first real exposure to a Pacific Northwest rainforest, and it left me fascinated and perplexed. Everywhere I looked were fallen trees—which I learned are called 'nurse logs'—recycling their material to create new life for other trees that dropped seedlings on them. Looking back at it, it was probably not all that spectacular, but coming from the Midwest I had simply never seen a forest ecosystem so rich and complex.

North Cascades

Diablo Lake in North Cascades NP

Rainy Lake

While the scene pictured above was stunning, it was just a pull-out on the main highway. And while I only spent a day within the park, my favorite part was easily the "Rainy Lake" trail—technically in the nearby national forest. It was a 2-mile out and back, but the weather was warm and after the climb up to the lake, a dip in its ice-cold water felt amazing. The jaw-dropping surroundings certainly didn’t hurt either.

Olympic Peninsula

This park was as amazing as it was HUGE. I spent 5 full days (and 2 campsites) exploring it, but I still left sights unseen that I just might have to go back to see. My favorite region was the Hoh Rainforest; rich, dense, and colorful rainforests teeming with life. The kind of shit that Planet Earth documents. I did 2 trails; the famous "Hall of Mosses” and the less-famous but equally awesome “Spruce Nature Trail”.

Hoh Rainforest

Second Beach

My other highlight was the coastline—all of it. Particularly, I LOVED the modest hike to “Second Beach” (not to be confused with “Beach 2”). But the entire coast was magnificent; gigantic boulders jutting above the waters surface and the BEST skipping stones you’ll ever see. More than I could throw in 10 lifetimes.

Seattle

While the entirely gluten-free brewery I found was certainly the most novel attraction of Seattle, the gold medal goes to seeing the Mariners in their do-or-die 162nd game to make the playoffs. I went to a sports bar beforehand at like 10 am (the game was at noon I had no choice) which was actually the perfect time to watch the Bears pound the little brother Lions. Don’t ask me how things have gone since then; at least our QB is vaxxed. Anyways, although the M's lost, the atmosphere was electric and I got a cool hat out of the deal. Plus, it was nice to go to any game after a months-long sports detox.

Oregon Coast

Cannon Beach

A quick, but gorgeous pitstop. I spent just 1 day at an excellent dispersed campsite, but the highlight was a simple but pleasant stroll down Cannon Beach on my first and only morning. It was a beautiful day, people were out & about and enjoying themselves, and fresh off my morning coffee I found myself doing the same.

Portland

St. John's Bridge in Portland

I stayed with my cousin Stephen in Portland, and while I loved the city wholeheartedly, the highlight was seeing his 3-man Latin-jazz trio perform at a Latin pop-up market & bar. I had a phenomenal burrito and got to meet a whole host of his 40-something Portland friends, characters that you can make your own assumptions about.

Mount Hood & Sister Mountains

Morning-after snow in the Sister Mountains

I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time exploring the rest of Oregon as I’d have liked to. But what I did get to see—2 nights at Mount Hood and 1 night in the Sister Mountains—was really something. I managed to visit this region on the coldest days of the month (it got down to 20 degrees at night), and get caught in a snowstorm one night, but the snow turned out to be a highlight. I had checked the forecast and was expecting the snowstorm, so when it hit I was almost too prepared. I wore 2 bottom layers, 5 top layers, 2 pairs of socks, and a hat, most of which I kept on for bedtime. Not to mention the piping hot cup of tea and bowl of oatmeal I had before bed. The cold was no match for my preparedness, and I woke up warm and snuggly to something out of a fairytale. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of opening my tent to the snow-capped mountains & trees, so I’ll just let you look at the video below. 

As I mentioned, all of this was over a month ago. Right now, I am in California, just finishing up Redwood NP, San Fransisco, Yosemite NP, Kings Canyon NP, and Sequoia National Forest. Some really incredible sights which I'll find a way to share with y'all shortly. Now—November 5—I'm gearing up to meet my sister in Las Vegas. I'll pick up Caitlin at the Vegas airport and head straight to Utah. We're going to spend a week exploring Zion, Bryce Canyon & Arches National Parks, along with the surrounding areas, like Red Canyon, Dead Horse Point, Moab, and Sand Hollow State Park. 

I couldn't be more excited but it's also bittersweet as it feels like the last "big thing" I'll be doing on this trip. 10ish weeks have flown by, and while I'll always have the memories, it's hard to believe things are already winding down. Just gotta savor these last few stops and fit in all I can fit comfortably. 

I have learned a lot on this trip—about myself, about the world, about perspective, about the people in my life, and much more. I'll have plenty more to share along these lines in the future, but for now I'll be signing off, at least for the next week or 2. Peace!

Oh, and I almost forgot, fuck Aaron Rodgers.

Crater Lake, a quick stop on the way to Cali