Olympic National Park, The Enchanted Valley Backpack - Aug 22-25

 We love backpacking.  We enjoy it so much.  There's nothing that compares to being out in the wild and completely on your own, carrying your own food, water, clothing, and protection from the elements as well as the animals.  I'd read that one of the best hikes in The Olympic National Park was to The Enchanted Valley, so off we trundled for a 4-day, 3-night adventure.




Aaron's toes were still healing from our grueling 20-mile hike only a week ago, so he was a brave man to carry a heavy pack and hike for 4 days, especially since the park required we carry stupid bear canisters.  I hate bear canisters.  They are super heavy and make my hiking miserable with the added weight.  Plus they consume too much precious space in my small backpack.  Since Aaron always hangs our food up in trees at night, the canister was superfluous weight which I did not appreciate hauling.  But we obeyed the rules.  And encountered not one stinkin' bear.  The scenery, however, couldn't have been more wonderful.








From those beguiling backcountry wooden bridges to moss-draped massive old growth to a plethora of great camping spots to clean fresh abundant water, we thoroughly enjoyed our four days lost in the rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula.  








Yes, Aaron experienced fresh new blisters.  Yes, our joints and back and hips and shoulders were uber sore.  But we slept amazingly warm, snug, and comfortably in our brilliant hammock system.  We were rained on during the first evening and night but the skies cleared and the scenery once we arrived up in the valley was worth all the effort to get there.  








Built in the 1920's from local wood, the old chalet welcomes hikers into this gorgeous valley alongside The Quinault River high in the Olympics where clouds drape the steep waterfall-laden cliffs.  



Backpacking gets more difficult for us with each passing year, and we've no idea how many more backpacking trips are still in us, and we were definitely the oldest couple on the mountain, but we'll gladly take these days when we can hike out into the wild and bask in the quiet serene beauty that is the untamed old-growth forest.


Fall is coming; the changing of summer to autumn never ceases to brings out feelings of melancholy and a wistful sadness. Oh my Bryan is never far from my heart.





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