September 6 & 7, 2018
After leaving Silverlake and Mount St. Helen's, we chose to make a big circle around Olympic National Park and the large peninsula in northwest Washington. It was a beautiful ride to our first stop, Port Angeles, but the road was much narrower and curvier than we expected. We wished we were on the trike rather than in Shorty! Port Angeles is located on the northern end of the peninsula on the Straight of Juan de Fuca, just south of Victoria on Vancouver Island. It was the first port many of our World War II soldiers saw upon returning from the Pacific.
We had a decision to make about where we wanted to ride and spend our one day in Port Angeles. One choice was doing some short rides into Olympic National Park and the other was a long 70-mile one-way ride to Neah Bay and Cape Flattery. It is about as far west as you can go in the lower 48 states. The weather was iffy that day so you can just guess our choice. You're right. Cape Flattery. Yikes. We were told that there was a 1/2-3/4 mile hiking trail to the ocean with amazing views and that it would be so worth it. We believe anybody so off we went.
It started raining just as we pulled into Neah Bay. There's a short drive from there to Cape Flattery and the trailhead. We had all our rain gear on, hiking boots, hiking poles, cell phones for pictures...we were set. Well, it rained our whole treacherous hike. Even Rick, who is a great hiker, thought it was one of his hardest hikes ever. Muddy paths, slippery rocks, slippery intermittent board walks, tree roots out to grab you, you name it. We met lots of people coming back and they all said, "keep going, keep going, it's worth it." Ya, ya, ya.
I must have been really motivated that day though. I hung in there, stayed upright and even helped Rick lift up a lady who had fallen in a bush and couldn't get up. I was so glad I had my poles! We took some great pictures and eventually got back to the trailhead safely. It's all good...or was it? We were cold and wet and had a 70-mile trip home on the trike. Oh oh. Won't go into detail but I don't think I've ever been so cold in my entire life. We eventually got back to Shorty safe and sound, got into warm, dry clothes and blankets and were fine. It is a day we will never ever forget. We wish you dry
Happy Trails. 🎵🎵
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