Mt Whitney – Part 3
I’m so behind on this. I feel terrible for not keeping up. Then I think: but no one will know what I left out. When I see you, I’ll recall something and that will make it new for you.
Sunday, 20 August 2017
Seemed like a great day to go hiking at Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park. From Eagle Tree I took stste highway 305 to state highway 104 across a drawbridge and on to US101 and Port Angeles. The Park Visitor Center is in Port Angeles and the Hurricane Ridge Welcome Center is 17 miles up the mountain where you gain over 5000 feet in elevation. (Hint: double click on the photo to open it. Double click again get another view.)
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- First of three tunnels.
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- It’s steeper than it looks.
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- Look ma, no guard rails!
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- From the highest point looking down to the Visitor Center.
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- It doesn’t look real does it?
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- They know they are safe here so you can get close.
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- A vagrant with no visible means of support.
If anything, this hike left me with doubts about Mt Whitney. There were times when the height was overwhelming.
Monday, 21 August 2017
Long before this trip started, I have wanted to drive the Pacific Coast Highway also known as US101. In the mid-seventies, I drove the part from San Francisco to Portland south to north. I wanted to see more. This morning I drove back to Port Angeles and then continued on 101 to Bay Center, Washington. Miles today: 276.
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- I talked to this lady for awhile. She showed me her catch which were 6″ fish. It was going to take a bunch to make a meal.
I stayed at a KOA; I had never stayed in a KOA before. Expensive for a campsite and the wifi didn’t work. Wal-Mart looks better every day.
Tuesday, 22 August 2017
It was hard to put down distance today. I wanted to stop everywhere for photos. This stretch was beautiful.
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- I like to look at the houses. This is Astoria, I think.
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- More Astoria?
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- Some small towns have not upgraded.
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- I bought laundry soap here.
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- The highway skirts along the ocean.
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- Yaquina Lighthouse
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- Seal rocks.
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- I don’t know what this is but there is quite a bit of it.
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- A sucker for sunsets.
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- The sunset does interesting things to the view.
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- A wildlife encounter. He let me get real close.
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- Also signs for elk.
Wednesday, 23 August 2017
I left Crescent City about 7:30am. Today I will leave the coast and go over the mountains.
As soon as I left Crescent City, I got into the Redwood Forest. I have no photos for this because of the fog and there was nothing to show how big these trees are. There was a tourist attraction about the trees. I guess they really did “take all the trees and put them in a tree museum.”
The fog stuck around. On the road, you could see it move from one side of the road to the other and up the mountain side. One of my stops included a walk on the beach. Further north, the beach is gravel, here it is really sand.
One of the hazards of traveling along the coast is that you see all these interesting views and you want to stop at every turnout. I wonder what it is about the ocean that is so hypnotizing. At one stop, I got out with my camera and met Josh and his pal who were riding motorcycles on their tour, think Easy Rider. Josh spoke, smiled and threw up a hand and that started a half-hour conversation about how good it is to be alive. We were on the same path down 101 but they were going to Los Angles and I wasn’t.
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- A wildlife encounter. He let me get real close.
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- Also signs for elk.
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- A sucker for sunsets.
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- Enough said.
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- The higher up you go, the thinner the vegetation.
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- Bigfoot is alive and well in Willow Creek.
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- Rugged is the only way to describe it.
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- Pulling the trailer I would not drive the speed limits. I used the turnouts and let everyone pass.
Weaverville deserves special attention. I want to buy the hotel there and retire.
Driving over the mountains is a rush. These pictures of the Lassen Mountains don’t do them justice. It can’t be captured in a photograph. Though I knew this view point was safe, I couldn’t help but feel dizzy.
Lassen Peak is volcanic and there is evidence all around–black lave rock. Last eruption was in early 1900’s.
Tomorrow I’ll be moving closer to Mt Whitney. Hope to find a campground with hookups. Need to clean up the trailer and get ready to boon-dock in the Whitney portal.
amazing photo’s Carter! really enjoying your adventure. Stay safe my friend!
I believe that you have the opportunity to be the next Ken Burns with your travel log. It pulls the reader ino the adventure as if traveling aong.
So excited for you. Luvin’ all of it!