Kam goes to: Olympic National Park

Where do I even start with this one? Olympic National Park was Alex’s #1 park to visit since we started this endeavor, and spending a long weekend in the park was exactly what we hoped – magical.

If anybody ever talks about her weekend in Olympic National Park and does use the word magical…well, there is something very wrong with that person. Magical can’t quite capture this multi-environment park. It’s other-wordly. I was able to go from an Alpine mountaintop, to the rainy and secluded coast, and to the moss-covered wonderland of a rainforest.

All in one freaking day.

The clearest way into the Universe
is through a forest wilderness.
-John Muir

We stayed at the Super 8 Motel in Port Angeles, which offers free wifi, free parking, and a free breakfast in the morning. If you’re not concerned with staying in a fancy hotel, this is a great option for you. It even came with a small fridge, so we were able to have “hotel dinner” to help save money.

We started our adventure on Thursday at the Visitor Center on the way to Hurricane Ridge, the rangers were super helpful with letting us know about the closures in the park. One ranger spent quite a bit of time with us, writing out the high tide and low tide times for the next few days, giving us the driving times between different areas of the park, making suggestions for seeing what the park had to offer, and showing us photos she took on her tablet. Honestly one of the best interactions with a ranger we’ve had at any of the parks.

We started our day early on Friday, grabbing a quick breakfast before heading out to Rialto Beach. We spent a few hours on the (really, really wet) beach, exploring the shore, taking photos of the sea stacks, being followed by a few river otters, and chatting with a local about the history of the areas. Magical.

Our adventure didn’t stop there, we had a more proper breakfast in Forks (please see below for my suggestion on dealing with anything having to do with Forks), and then drove to the Hoh Rainforest. The Hoh Rainforest should not be missed…yes, it’s a drive, but it wouldn’t be as magical of a trip if you don’t go there. All I need to say: banana slugs. Because, why wouldn’t you want to drive a couple of hours in search of a banana slug? We did about 5 miles of the Hoh River Trail before stopping for lunch…and the shore called to us again so we decided to check out Ruby Beach. It wasn’t as deserted as Rialto, but it was much drier.

Where to visit on your next weekend in Olympic National Park

Hurricane Ridge
Hoh Rainforest
Rialto Beach
Ruby Beach
Elwa

I cannot capture the magic that we encountered over the few days we were in the park, so I’ll be back with more posts. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some of the photos I took while in Washington. If you don’t, you can find me at @CampfireChic.

Before you go

Check the park website or call the ranger station for closure updates
Get your fill of Mexican food, the area isn’t known for it and the last thing you want to do is be disappointed when trying to satisfy a craving
Bring extra water – I only remember 2 water fountains and neither were water bottle-friendly
If driving from SEA-TAC, load up your phone/music player with some podcasts…it’s a long drive to Port Angeles
Practice saying, “No, I’m not here for the Twilight Tour”

Have you been to Olympic National Park?

June 17, 2013 { 3 comments }

Learning How to Build Top Rope Anchors in Joshua Tree National Park

Alex and I spent last weekend learning how to build top rope anchors in Joshua Tree National Park.

And I have the sunburns to prove it.

What this means is: Alex and I hired a guide to take us into the park and show us how to build different types of anchors for top rope climbing (the kind of rock climbing you do where the rope is at a fixed point above you as you climb…like what you see on cruise ships or at your local rock climbing gym) and to climb a bit. We were paired up with another young climber from the LA area, and the three of us had a blast getting to know each other while also learning a million different kinds of knots. Millions.

I think I love climbing and learning to build these anchors because it’s like a giant puzzle…and because it’s kind of like a grown-up version of Legends of the Hidden Temple…mostly the second one. Placing the gear into cracks you would normally overlook to construct a way to hold some ropes that will keep me safe should I fall sounds super scary (and it is!) but it is also a really incredible feeling knowing that you are able to do something with the gear and make good/safe choices!

Not only did we practice making anchors, we learned how to go from the top of wherever we built our anchor to the bottom where the rope hits the ground! I’ve done some rappelling in the past, but this was way cool because we had to move from one rope to another safely…again, a freaking awesome puzzle. I tried to find a video that would explain what we did, but I can’t…I’ll keep looking.

And what’s a weekend away without eating? We stopped at our favorite Joshua Tree restaurant, Crossroads Cafe, after our first day of class (class went from 8 – 4ish on both Saturday and Sunday) where Alex had the Hell Tacos (spicy Seitan tacos) and a cold beer and I had a BLT with an added chicken breast inside with a side of mac n cheese and some juice. Doesn’t food always taste more amazing after you’ve been outside all day?

We also stopped at a new-to-us place across the street from Crossroads Cafe: Natural Sisters Cafe. Both locations offer vegetarian options, but Natural Sisters has more vegan options and even locally-made Kombucha. They have great juices, smoothies, sandwiches and an awesome spinach and cheese breakfast burrito. If you’re looking for vegetarian options while in this area of the desert, we highly suggest these two locations!

I can’t wait to get back out to Joshua Tree to do some more climbing, but it’ll be too hot until later this year. I’m hoping Alex and I can get up to Big Bear to do some climbing and maybe a few other mini-trips so we can get more experience and meet more climbers.

Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park?
When was the last time you took a weekend to dedicate to learning something new?

May 22, 2013 { 8 comments }

New: National Parks Page

I made a new page!

Visiting National Parks and sharing posts from our adventures inside and around the parks is a high priority for me. I wanted to make it easier to find posts for each National Park and decided to create a whole page dedicated to organizing those articles!

If you visit campfirechic.com/national-parks, you will find an alphabetical list of the 59 U.S. National Parks and the posts associated with the parks we’ve visited since Campfire Chic began in June 2010. The parks we’ve visited are bolded and the posts are included below the name of the park.

It may not look like a lot right now, but we have plans to add at least two more parks to the “bolded” list and plenty of articles for each of the parks we visit this year. I love the idea of having this page grow over time and possibly look prettier in the future, but for now it will do just fine.

Feel free to check out the new National Parks page and let me know what you think.

April 17, 2013 { 8 comments }

Golden Canyon Hike – Death Valley National Park

Earlier this week, I shared a quick hike report for Natural Bridge in Death Valley National Park. I’m back today with another hike report, this time for the Golden Canyon Hike, also located in Death Valley National Park.

Alex and I did very little planning for our trip, so we consulted the free newsletter at the Ranger Station for some quick hikes we could do on our way out of the park. Golden Canyon seemed like a good option and a great way for us to stretch our legs a bit before confining ourselves to the truck for 4.5-5 hours.

Golden Canyon Interpretive Trail

Length: 1 mile, one-way.
Difficulty: easy
Start: Golden Canyon parking area, 2 miles south of Hwy 190 on Badwater Road.
Description: Easy trail through colorful canyon. Red Cathedral located ¼ mile up canyon from last numbered marker. An interpretive trail guide is available.

Before I continue, if you’re a Star Wars fan, you probably want to pay attention. Remember that part in A New Hope when R2-D2 is cruising around a canyon to find ObiWan and then gets attacked by some Jawas? That scene was filmed in this canyon. Check out this site for more Star Wars filming locations in the park.

There was a ton of rain the day before our drive home, so there were plenty of muddy patches in the canyon…and the mud is this gloriously smooth substance. In the photo above, Alex is investigating a small patch of mud. To answer your questions: yes, we did attach one another with the mud…yes, we made jokes about being at a spa…yes, we had plenty of baby wipes in the car to clean up after.

If you’re on your way from Furnace Creek down to Badwater and are looking to see some more of the geology of the area, be sure to stop at Golden Canyon. There is a pit toilet at the trailhead near the area where you can pick up the interpretive trail map for 25 cents.

Do you like interpretive trails?

March 21, 2013 { 5 comments }

Natural Bridge Hike – Death Valley National Park

Alex and I visited Death Valley National Park a few weekends ago and despite the rain, we were able to get in a few short hikes as we headed out of the park toward home.

If you are not much of a hiker but want to see some of the natural beauty of the park, the Natural Bridge trail is a great option.

Here’s some information:

Distance: About a mile to the bridge and another mile back to your car (2 miles round trip / 3.21 kilometers)
Elevation Gain: About 450 feet in elevation. The sites I’m looking at (here and here) don’t agree so I’ll average it
Terrain: Gravel. I show a photo of what the trail looks like in my recent review of the new Keen CNX Clearwater Sandals, wear closed toe shoes for this short hike
Vault toilet at the trailhead, information kiosk available, no water

This hike is south of Furnace Creek and North of Badwater. There is a sign on the side of the road pointing the way up an unpaved road. You’ll gain a lot of elevation as you drive the trailhead, we didn’t realize how much until we were driving back toward the main road.

The ground makes the hike to the bridge feel harder than it is, but don’t worry, the hike back to the car is easier. I saw a woman on the trail wearing platform wedge suede boots…if she can do this hike, so can you (but seriously, be careful).

As you walk through the canyon to the natural bridge, take a look around and see how water has formed this canyon over the years. You will pass some dry waterfall chutes, which are pretty but kind of boring considering there is no water, and plenty of precariously perched boulders along the trail.

Before long, you’ll come around a bend and see the natural arch. If you’re like me, you’ll want to take some silly photos…jumping photos, super touristy photos, and what Alex likes to call “yogadouche” photos. His words, not mine.

You can go through the hike and continue up a little further on the trail. Our campsite neighbors were in the canyon that is at the end of this hike (but apparently hard to hike up to the start of the canyon so most people don’t know it’s there).

Here’s one of the Martian-like views on the return trip to the car. You can see Alex in the middle-ish of the photo and the salt flats in the background (the sand-colored part). The hike is shorter than you’d expect, so if you’re itching to get out of the car to learn about some of the geology of the park and take some photos, we recommend trying this one.

Do you enjoy hiking?

When you go someplace new, do you like to learn about the history of the land?

March 19, 2013 { 5 comments }