As we aw
oke, it was time to leave Marmot Lake. It had been a great camping site with many beautiful views from our awesome campsite. We got a good early start and for the morning it was all downhill. The route was taking us down the Duckabush to where we would hit a trail junction at the Upper Duckabush camp. Along the way, we kept running into the same couple from Seattle. They were hiking faster than us, so first they passed us and then we ran into them at a stream crossing. We had to ford the river and almost went in when there was a hole we did not k
now was there. Along the way we saw some nice waterfalls pouring into the Duck giving it its large amount of flow that would quickly pour into Hood Canal. That was the unfortunate and well I guess fortunate part too about the Olympics is that a lot of that fresh water was just dumped almost immediately back into the larger bodies of water whether it be the Pacific, the Strait, or Hood Canal. Oh well, we got to enjoy it from where we were. We hit the cut-off for the Upper Duckabush camp where we ran into that couple again and wished them a good rest of their trip. From here it was uphill for to First Divide. It was our last uphill of the trip and near the top, I have to admit I threw on the i
Pod for a little extra motivation. Dad and I had not been chatting much on the uphill anyway, so this gave me an opportunity to not think about how tiring it was. It worked well as the pass came quickly. We took lunch up there and talked to another group. They had been out even longer than we had, but seemed to be taking their sweet time. It was now all downhill from here. We enjoyed our
mountain views for the last time as we knew from here on out, we would just have big trees to look at. The flowers were out here in the alpine environment and I was surprised at how many I could remember. Not nearly as many as Dad of course, because he was an expert in a way that I did not have the discipline to become. That is why it is nice that I chose hiking partners like him and Jacqueline, who can get into that stuff so they can continue to educate me. We were now following the Skokomish River out and it must not have been too impressive to us because there are no pictures of it. On day 5, we just followed it to Nine Stream. O'neil's party had been very creative naming creeks with numbers. Below us was Seven Stream and Six Ridge. The big event at camp this night was to finish out the cribbage tourney. It went down to the last game and we ended up in a tie. We could not leave it that way, so we had a best of three playoff. I was skunked first game, thus ending it right there. That was frustrating. I went down to the river to throw rocks at things for a while to get out my frustration. I also finished my book on this night. I did not entirely finish it, but 700 pages of 6 point font on the Penal system in Australia had finally taken its toll. The next morning we finished out the hike. It was a little drizzly in parts, but nothing bad. I had hiked the trail when I went up to Six Ridge eight years ago, so this was not entirely new. It did not look too familiar, though, as I remember crossing the bridge, but not much more. We were out before 11am and I was relieved to not have the backpack on my back for a while. All in all it was a very successful trip. We did not do as many sidetrips as I had hoped or see as many wild animals, but the flowers, mountains, and streams were incredible. Also the companionship was great as it is so nice for my dad and I to have a common interest like backpacking where we can get out and truly enjoy the world together. Back at Dad's home waiting for me was my beautiful wife, lovely daughter, and many games of pickleball to played.
oke, it was time to leave Marmot Lake. It had been a great camping site with many beautiful views from our awesome campsite. We got a good early start and for the morning it was all downhill. The route was taking us down the Duckabush to where we would hit a trail junction at the Upper Duckabush camp. Along the way, we kept running into the same couple from Seattle. They were hiking faster than us, so first they passed us and then we ran into them at a stream crossing. We had to ford the river and almost went in when there was a hole we did not k
now was there. Along the way we saw some nice waterfalls pouring into the Duck giving it its large amount of flow that would quickly pour into Hood Canal. That was the unfortunate and well I guess fortunate part too about the Olympics is that a lot of that fresh water was just dumped almost immediately back into the larger bodies of water whether it be the Pacific, the Strait, or Hood Canal. Oh well, we got to enjoy it from where we were. We hit the cut-off for the Upper Duckabush camp where we ran into that couple again and wished them a good rest of their trip. From here it was uphill for to First Divide. It was our last uphill of the trip and near the top, I have to admit I threw on the i
Pod for a little extra motivation. Dad and I had not been chatting much on the uphill anyway, so this gave me an opportunity to not think about how tiring it was. It worked well as the pass came quickly. We took lunch up there and talked to another group. They had been out even longer than we had, but seemed to be taking their sweet time. It was now all downhill from here. We enjoyed our 
mountain views for the last time as we knew from here on out, we would just have big trees to look at. The flowers were out here in the alpine environment and I was surprised at how many I could remember. Not nearly as many as Dad of course, because he was an expert in a way that I did not have the discipline to become. That is why it is nice that I chose hiking partners like him and Jacqueline, who can get into that stuff so they can continue to educate me. We were now following the Skokomish River out and it must not have been too impressive to us because there are no pictures of it. On day 5, we just followed it to Nine Stream. O'neil's party had been very creative naming creeks with numbers. Below us was Seven Stream and Six Ridge. The big event at camp this night was to finish out the cribbage tourney. It went down to the last game and we ended up in a tie. We could not leave it that way, so we had a best of three playoff. I was skunked first game, thus ending it right there. That was frustrating. I went down to the river to throw rocks at things for a while to get out my frustration. I also finished my book on this night. I did not entirely finish it, but 700 pages of 6 point font on the Penal system in Australia had finally taken its toll. The next morning we finished out the hike. It was a little drizzly in parts, but nothing bad. I had hiked the trail when I went up to Six Ridge eight years ago, so this was not entirely new. It did not look too familiar, though, as I remember crossing the bridge, but not much more. We were out before 11am and I was relieved to not have the backpack on my back for a while. All in all it was a very successful trip. We did not do as many sidetrips as I had hoped or see as many wild animals, but the flowers, mountains, and streams were incredible. Also the companionship was great as it is so nice for my dad and I to have a common interest like backpacking where we can get out and truly enjoy the world together. Back at Dad's home waiting for me was my beautiful wife, lovely daughter, and many games of pickleball to played.
1 comment:
It was a most excellent adventure. Now Dad shall get back to staying in some sort of shape for the next one so Pete isn't slowed up too much. Forgot to mention another bear at 1st divide, chilling on a snowfield.
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