Toni's Tribute to All Countries, But Mostly America

 Aaron is saving his mush toes hoping they heal in time for next weeks 4-day backpack. He couldn’t have been less interested in the 2 short but challenging hikes I’d planned for today, so he graciously and selflessly waiting for me all morning.  Todays ecosystem adventure was up to and along the  dry popular Hurricane Ridge area high in the core mountain range of The Olympics.  The Day Lodge built in the 1950’s along Hurricane Ridge was undergoing extensive renovations when it burned to the ground this May. The road up to Hurricane has been closed to traffic for the past 3 days while debris was brought down. When the road reopened this morning at 0700, I was in the front of a long line of approx 200 cars heading to this popular area. Short and extremely steep, the trail up Hurricane Ridge to Hurricane Hill rewarded me with 360-degree views of the Olympic Range, Mt Angeles, and stellar Mt Olympus. The other direction far below at sea level one can see the Straits of J...

The Olympics is a vast national park comprising nearly 1 million acres, is  a  designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is fairly close to Seattle making it a highly visited park.  The park is also extremely diverse with three distinct ecosystems:  the wild untamed coast, tall alpine mountains, and the rich green rainforest.   As there is no single road penetrating the park but rather multiple roads encircl ing  it, traveling from one ecosystem to the next can be time consuming.    We are camped on the banks of the aqua blue Lake Crescent at the  stellar  Log Cabin Resort.  The  cool  water is refreshing in the heat wave we’re experiencing with some days touching 98 degrees.  Thank goodness Bambi’s AC functions like a champ.   Today we visited the Sol  Duc  area deep in the old growth  Pacific N orthwest rain forest.   First stop was at Sol  Duc  Hot Springs Resort where we soaked ...

 When Elder Ben Jensen, a junior missionary from Vachon Island, WA, whom we met in Thailand, told me of  "the best hike ever" through The Enchantments, it immediately went onto my bucket list.  We'd have done this hike last year while in the Chelan area, but alas our truck died and we spent 3 weeks getting another one.  Finally however the timing worked out and we hiked The Enchantments yesterday.  It was a doozy of a hike.  Never have I been more beat up and broken by a hike than by this one. Distance:  19.5 miles Difficulty:  Extremely strenuous Total elevation gain:  5500 feet Total elevation loss:  7000 feet Length of time:  14 grueling hours 0430:  Out of bed 0515:  Leave truck at trail end, catch shuttle to trail head.                                                    0545:  Beg...