Day 14, Snow Capped Peaks
| Miles: | 274 |
| Start Point: | Port Angeles East, WA |
| Sun Rise: | 7:42 AM PDT |
| Start Weather: | At 6:00 AM PDT the temperature was 43.2 ° with 88% humidity. The conditions were partly cloudy with a wind speed of 3.2 MPH and wind gusts of 3.8 MPH. |
| End Point: | Omak, WA |
| Sun Set: | 6:00 PM PDT |
| End Weather: | At 6:00 PM PDT the temperature was 52.5 ° with 40% humidity. The conditions were foggy with a wind speed of 3.6 MPH and wind gusts of 7.3 MPH. |
Table of Contents
As I said yesterday I was bummed that I did not get to drive to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park to see the snow capped mountains. But we could see some of them from the WalMart where we camped last night. We will just add Hurricane Ridge to our list of places to return to sometime (when I retire).
I did not want to drive south and then north again through Seattle to get to the Cascades so we took the Port Townsend ferry to Coupeville. I had called the day before to make reservations. An 18 wheeler pulled in behind me on the ferry. It was a fun ride of about 30 minutes.
In 1984 I was a young man and was flying to Toronto, Canada often while working for Nothern Telecom. I had racked up frequent flyer miles on Delta so I looked at their route map and the farthest place I could fly was Seattle Washington. So I got a first class ticket, flew out to Seattle and drove around the area for a week. I loved it so much I returned again in 1986 and did a week of wilderness hiking in the Cascades. On this trip I wanted to return to the Cascades since I have to been back since. I hiked about 65 miles in less than a week and have thought about that week all my life. It was one of those life changing experiences.We found the parking area when I parked my rental car for a week while I was hiking. When I was younger I would joke that I flew as far as Delta flew in the lower 48 states, then drove several hours into the middle of nowhere and then hiked for a couple of days deeper into the middle of nowhere. I will never forget that week.
Click here for the 1984 trip or here for the 1986 trip.
The autumn colors were beautiful in the Cascades. They also have already received some autumn snow. Laurie said it felt like Christmas. We had a blast. Be sure to play the video below.
WalMart campground in Port Angeles
Bobby, Laurie
Port Townsend to Coupeville Ferry, WA
Port Townsend to Coupeville Ferry, WA
Port Townsend to Coupeville Ferry, WA
Bobby
Port Townsend to Coupeville Ferry, WA
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
Bobby, Laurie
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
I parked a rental car here in 1986 and did a several day wilderness hike. I had not been back since then.
North Cascades Highway
Laurie
Video
Near the Bridge Creek trail head parking area where I did my wilderness hike in 1986.
North Cascades Highway
Video
North Cascades
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
Video
North Cascades Highway.
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
North Cascades Highway
Elevation Changes During the Day
The day started at 232 feet and ended at 912 feet. The highest altitude was 5,523 feet and the lowest altitude was 0 feet.