Day 7: Lake Ozette to Bogaschiel State Park

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Written by guest blogger, Craig Skiles. (Post 8 of 14)
Originally posted here.
Commentary [in green] provided by yours truly.
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Saturday June 13, 2015, 77 miles (124 km) - Total so far: 349 miles (562 km)

We started on time today (6:30) because I am now aware of Sarah's little trick of popping out of her tent fully ready to ride. I seem to muck around with coffee and breakfast and toilet duties for an hour, all while clanging pots and crinkling plastic wrappers. Sarah just silently pops out fully formed and ready to ride.

Today we are going to camp at Bogachiel State Park. But first we must backtrack the 25 miles to Clallam Bay and then head towards the city of Forks on Hwy 101.

Riding the Ozette-Hoko road during the cool of the morning was a delight. We even had a chance to see a herd of Elk peacefully grazing in a clear cut.

Although it's sad to see clear-cutting,
it's helpful to know that there's a plan for reharvesting.

Once in Clallam Bay we again stopped at the Sunsets West Co-op store, where I had to buy more sunglasses to replace the ones lost at Lake Ozette. Amazingly they had a serviceable pair for the incredible price of $2.50 (Chinese imports at their best).

Day 6: Hiking the Ozette Loop

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Written by guest blogger, Craig Skiles. (Post 7 of 14)
Originally posted here.
Commentary [in green] provided by yours truly.
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Friday June 12, 2015

We took a leisurely morning and slowly got ready to go hike the Lake Ozette Loop hiking trail. This trail is about nine miles long -- three miles to Cape Alava on a trail made of cedar planks, three miles on the beach to Sand Point, then another three miles of cedar from Sand Point back to the Lake Ozette Campground.

When I volunteered here so many years ago, I had hiked this loop dozens of times and was surprised to see that the trail had changed but little. Some of the planks looked to be old enough to have been installed by me in the 1980s.

Sarah hikes through the dry rain forest.

Day 5: Port Angeles to Ozette

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Written by guest blogger, Craig Skiles. (Post 6 of 14)
Originally posted here.
Commentary [in green] provided by yours truly.
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Thursday June 11, 2015, 81 miles (130 km) - Total so far: 272 miles (438 km)

I'm used to being the first person up and ready to ride. But Sarah would consistently be ready before me. I'm not sure how she was doing it because I wouldn't hear any movement in her tent. She would just pop out with her panniers packed, hook them to the bike, take down her tent, and wonder why I wasn't ready at the agreed upon time.

Craig has a stressful morning routine,
drugging up on coffee and PopTarts.

But I eventually did get ready, and we headed off to cross the northern leg of our Olympic Peninsula Loop.

Day 4: Hurricane Ridge

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Written by guest blogger, Craig Skiles. (Post 5 of 14)
Originally posted here.
Commentary [in green] provided by yours truly.
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Tuesday June 10, 2015, 41 miles (66 km) - Total so far: 191 miles (307 km)

Today's plan was to ride the Hurricane Ridge road. Hurricane Ridge road is eighteen miles of paved road with a steady 6-7% grade that shows off some of the best Olympic National Park vistas. The elevation change is 5300 feet, but when spread out over the eighteen miles, the climbing wasn't too bad. Most tourists drive up to the Visitors Center at the top of the ridge to take in the scenery and day hike.

Since we planned to stay with the same Warmshowers host tonight, we left our bags with them and climbed Hurricane Ridge with just a picnic lunch and some warm clothes.

Craig, Sheikh of Hurricane Ridge.

Sarah kept up a steady climbing pace, and I did my best to stay with her.

Day 3: Port Townsend to Port Angeles

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Written by guest blogger, Craig Skiles. (Post 4 of 14)
Originally posted here.
Commentary [in green] provided by yours truly.
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Monday June 9, 2015, 58 miles (93 km) - Total so far: 150 miles (241 km)

Fortunately, the other bike shop in Port Townsend opened at 9AM in the morning so the plan was to be waiting on their doorstep when they unlocked the door. The Broken Spoke, the other bike shop, was truly amazing. Pete let me into his store ten minutes before he opened, had a heli-coil to insert into the old crank arm, straightened my disc rotors, tightened my hubs, and adjusted my derailleurs. Fair prices and great service. I was back on the road in less than an hour. If in Port Townsend, don't hesitate to visit The Broken Spoke.

Sarah and I had found a helmet earlier in the morning at Fort Warden State Park and wondered if it was Gabbi's or maybe just one that was dropped by a kid at the park. We decided to bring it with us, and after finding Gabbi having a snack at a local coffee shop, we were able to reunite her with it.

Celebrating the recovery of Gabbi's helmet.