2020. Making the most of what we are dealt. Rather than focusing on what’s been taken away, we’ve had to turn attention towards the DIY, make your own adventure, sort of year.
I love the Olympics. I remember binge watching the 1996 summer Olympics (before ‘binge watching’ was a thing). I’d search out every NBC affiliate channel in the TV Guide and map out what to watch, when. The 2020 cancellation was the nail in the coffin for the hope of any sort of event happening this year. The NHL bubble was a nice surprise and a small gift for this hockey fan. I won’t comment on the NFL. Anyway… The next best thing to watching “The Olympics” is visiting The Olympic Peninsula in western Washington. The Peninsula has a certain aura around it. Every trip I’ve taken there I’ve had quite the magical experience. This past adventure did not disappoint.
Kyle and I headed to Port Angeles and the base of the Olympics. We had our adventure planned, you know, a day in advance in typical #willsdynasty lack of forward planning fashion. The targets were the Olympic Hot Springs and the Olympic Discovery Trail Adventure Route.
Olympic Hot Springs
2020 won’t have any race start lines, which is a first in 30 years for me. I’ve come to terms with this, and am satiated by my year filled with DIY adventures. However, I also realized I almost made it through 2020 without entering a body of water. And that would’ve been a first in my life. I started swimming as a six month old in the water babies class with my parents and the thought of only touching water for the two baths and 250(?) showers I took this year was not okay. I live on an island for gosh sakes!
A weather window opened up. The rain and wind subsided. So, over the (Elwha) river, and through the (rainforested) woods, to the Olympic Hot Springs we went. For a little background:
The Olympic Peninsula is the wettest place in the continental US, creating a dense concentration of rivers. The creation story of the Lower Elwha Klallam people originates in the river’s fertile valley just east of Mt. Olympus, despite building a pair of dams a century ago. The Elwha Dam stood 108 feet tall when it was built in 1913 just five miles from the river’s mouth in Puget Sound. It completely blocked robust runs of five different species of Pacific salmon from their native spawning habitat, stressing the ecosystem and obliterating tribal sustenance fishing. The 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam, built 14 years later, further obstructed the river and fish passage in what is now Olympic National Park.
But, after decades of work, sparked by a challenge to the relicensing of a hydropower dam within a national park, a coalition including the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, American Rivers and other partners finally succeeded in authorizing dam removal and securing federal funding for the Elwha River restoration project in 1992. Elwha Dam removal began in September 2011, and the river was fully reconnected with the final blast to the Glines Canyon Dam in August 2014.
American Rivers
The Olympic Hot Springs are accessed by riding 8 miles on the old road to the former dams, and beyond, and then hiking 2.5 miles of the Boulder Creek trail to reach the hot springs. A lower bridge was washed out years ago, so there is no vehicle traffic.
We trudged our way up, locked the bikes, and hiked in. We were a bit taken aback by the lack of rule followers and these two e-bikers who drug their bikes on the hiking trail; over logs, through stream crossings and just dumped them on the trail accessing the hot springs. Once we finally reached the upper hot springs, we vowed to enjoy it. Breathe. Relax. Soak it up, literally.
We soaked for around an hour, pushing back our planned exit time slightly. Hiked back to the bikes, and then froze my fingers on the descent. Absolutely worth it. Magical experience, ‘suffering’ in the cold, to enjoy nature’s warmth.
Olympic Adventure Trail
My first experience on the trail was during the last 40 miles of my 400 mile Gravel Circumnavigation of the Olympic Peninsula experience this summer. The sun had finally started to show herself, I was nearing the end, and the giddiness ensued as I hooted and hollered at the rollercoaster ride I was powering. I vowed to come back and show #wontstopwills the magic.
We stayed in Port Angeles with my cousin Hannah. Started with a lazy morning filled with coffee and french toast as we allowed the day to warm up a bit. Headed out to the trail with our gravel bikes and we were off.
We started on the east end of the trail, riding west, and did about 10 miles before turning back and experiencing it in reverse. We were greeted with panoramic views while the sunshine attempted to peek out from the clouds every once in a while. Kyle gleefully smiled, proclaiming “you didn’t tell me how awesome this was going to be!” {eye roll; I can’t stop proclaiming how amazing this trail is.}
Safe to say, we will be back for the full out and back on our mountain bikes as a big training day for an {even bigger} event we have coming up this summer.
Our little last minute trip to the Olympic Peninsula ended up being one of our favorite little adventures of the year. Something about that olmypic magic…
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