Greetings,
from the pacific northwest. Washington. My good buddy from my days at Spring Hill College (Mobile,Alabama 2001-2002) Joe Kula ,picked me up at the airport. I won't harp on the fact that he showed up in a Honda Fit and was two hours late. After making a quick pit stop to pick up some gear, we hit the road. We began our road trip by heading south through Tacoma and around Puget Sound. From there we made our way out to the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula! The ride was incredible. Mt. Rainer was the backdrop for much of the day. I left the driving to Joe and spent most of the ride with my head out the window like a dog, just staring in amazement at one thing after the next.
250 miles later, we had arrived in the Olympic National Forest, abutting the Pacific Ocean. Allegedly we were close to were both The Goonies and The Twilight movies were filmed. Not to mention, we were right in the middle of where several Big Foot sightings have been recorded over the years. Our surroundings were beyond spectacular. After registering with the National Parks to let them know we were heading into the wild, Joe and I set out on foot with our camping gear, bongo drums, and peanut butter filled pretzels from Trader Joe's! We were ready to take on the world. After trekking through the pacific northwest rain forest, we came out to what's known as Second Beach. Instantly, this place skyrocketed up my list of most amazing places I have ever seen.
After taking in the sites, we decided to make camp. With the help of driftwood that had washed up on the shore over time, we were confident that we had constructed shelter that would keep us dry, out of the wind, and safe from Big Foot and Bears. It was now time to make a fire. I know many of you don't think I could start a fire if I had a tank of gasoline and a blow torch. Well, you are wrong. After searching the coast line for a bit, Joe and I gathered what we could for fire wood. A successful fire meant warmth, food, and protection from predators. After a few minutes of trying, I was able to ignite a flame that could have been seen from outer space! Like cavemen, i made fire! Dinner for the two of us meant a half dozen Brawts that had not been on ice for over 5 hours and absolutely scorched corn on the cob. Due to insufficient planning, real shocker I know, we were left without proper cooking utensils. That said we were left to our own creative devices and hung the corn above our fire from our s'mores tongs.
We followed dinner with Joe playing his bongos. That was enjoyable. (that last sentence should be written in sarcasm font).
Before turning in for the night, we decided to take precautions with what was left of our rations. Seeing as we didn't have the necessary tools to hang our food from a tree, and away from the animals, we took to stuffing it under some drift wood and logs about 50yrds from our camp. When we got up in the morning, every last morsel of food, be it last nights leftovers or what we had planned to have for breakfast, had been consumed by some sort of beast. I never knew bears liked cliff bars, bananas, Hersheys bars, and prunes. We were glad they ate our food and not us.
Next up, we set out for the Upper Dungeness River Trail also located in The Olympic National Forest, a few hours from where we had taken shelter the previous evening. The highlight of this hike was a toss up between Mt. Olympus being in the background and Joe falling into the freezing cold Dungeness River. We were also treated to a brief meet and great with some lovely coeds from Charleston, South Carolina.
Next up was The North Cascades National Park. Here, a group of us spent the day hiking up a few thousand feet to a place called Lake 22. It was UN FREAKIN BELIEVABLE. I'm tired of typing so I will let the pictures do the talking. Clemson folks, look who I found in the North Cascade Mountains in Washington!
Thank you so much to Katie and Joe. Mostly Katie. My time here in Washington has been beyond incredible. You two are great people and I am lucky you call me a friend.
Mark/Chops
PS I ate Calamari and fish chowder this weekend. No big deal.
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