Skokomish Park

We have learned so much about Olympic National Park on this trip. First and foremost, we get it that the park is enormous. Our goal was to hit a couple of broad regions and explore in sections. This stay was supposed to be in Staircase Campground, on the eastern side. But the other thing we have learned is that this is really more like a National Wilderness than a National Park. The bulk of the land is in the middle, is rugged, and accessible only by long backpacking trails that climb over mountains. Some of the campgrounds, like Staircase, seem to be intended as jump off points to venture into the interior. As such, these roads are not always paved. We discovered that the road leading to the campground was going to include 6-8 miles of gravel, running along the side of Lake Cushman. For sure there was not going to be cell service out there, and for sure we were going to feel just that little bit on edge. So we changed up the reservations and grabbed a site at a private place right at the beginning of the lake. It was way more expensive, but it made for a far easier travel day, with hookups and wifi. We deemed it worth it.

From Fort Ebey, it is a short distance to the ferry terminal. We arrived around 9:30 and got right on the 10:15 boat. Ferries are fun and we splurged and got a soft pretzel to split. They mistakenly brought two, freshly baked, out to us at our table and we did not correct them. Note for future self: hot soft pretzels are my Kryptonite. Saying that I will have the will power to save one for later is probably bullshit. But it was so good.

We took 101 down the western side of Hood Canal. That is a pretty stretch of road, with a few tiny towns along the way. In terms of places we might consider staying in the future, the state park campgrounds of Dosewallips and Potlatch are possibilities. There is also Big Creek if we want to be near Lake Cushman.

The trails around the lake are mostly about climbing to the top of a mountain and getting a spectacular view. We were seeing relentless switchbacks and elevation gains of at least 3,000’ on most of the hikes. Honestly, that’s more of a climb for me than sounds fun. Those are just up, up, up, “ooh, ahh,” and then ouch, ouch, ouch, all the way down. We also could have driven the unpaved road out to the campground, just to see how bad it would have been, but there was nothing particularly compelling waiting on the other side. Dunno. Maybe we missed out on a nice campground, but we had a lovely time next to a nice lake, with electricity, internet, and ice cream.

Now that I have been indoctrinated into the world of fitness watches, I am motivated to close my activity rings every day, just like Richard has been, which I  have been openly scoffing at. We got in a little hike around the area which took us on logging roads through lush and lovely forests. Clocked over three miles and earned all the badges. Yay us.

The next day we biked over to Big Creek Campground, which is an unserviced Forest Service place. We noted that there was one bar of LTE for both of us over there, so it could potentially be a cheaper place we could stay in this area. We hiked the Upper Big Creek Loop trail, which is almost five miles and climbs a mere 1,000’ gain. You don’t get breathtaking views, but you can see the peaks of Mt. Elinor and Mt. Washington looming overhead. It also crosses several rivers along the way. The bridges seem to be all new and very sturdy. The rivers tumbled over logs and rocks, joining together to eventually form Big Creek. It was really pretty.

We made it back in time for relaxation (napping), with time to spare before Richard had to hop on a Zoom call and do an interview. Yes, he is actively looking at employment options now. He said the first thing the interview panel said when he logged in was, “Wow, your background is REAL!”

We had a delicious grilled dinner with steak and onions in a sweet balsamic sauce, over a baguette, with melted cheese, and a salad of arugula and radishes in a dijon vinaigrette. For dessert, Richard made me a cheater s’more using the microwave to poof the marshmallow. Using Ghirardelli chocolate definitely ups the s’more sophistication rating.

We had a great time, even though I didn’t venture into the lake that was literally right there. Our site was nice and set apart from other campers, but lots of the sites are not that way. If we had been more inside the loop, we would have felt a bit crowded and close to huge rigs and their accompanying huge families. Site 1 was great though. Expensive, but great.

Total miles from Fort Ebey: 85.0, 16.4 mpg, 3 hours 35 min including ferry time. Full hookups, but the sewer outlet was raised and awkward. Used the dump when we left and that was much better. 1 bar of LTE sometimes, but excellent campground wifi. Not sure how many sites can hit the wifi, but ours did. Day use area with boat launch. Campground store with snacks and hot dogs and ice cream coffin.