I awoke this morning to a horrible nightmare that was so bad I actually woke up screaming. I wish I knew why I was having these nightmares and why I am having such difficulty sleeping lately. By this point, there was no way I was going to be able to go back to sleep. I got dressed in my sleeping bag from the clothes I had placed in it last night and by 05:45 I was stepping out into the darkness. First up was exercising, so I pulled up one of the core de force downloads and with what little battery life I had left on my phone I watched about 15 minutes or so upon which I gave up for it was all ground work. Ground work does not bother me but when my mat is not thick and I feel every little rock and stick on my knees it is not that comfortable nor I doubt good for my knees. I will just have to play around until I find something that works for me.
Since I was not able to finish the full workout I started to make breakfast that consisted of oatmeal with chia seeds, honey, cinnamon and a banana. I ate that along with my new jasmine pearl tea that was just divine. I had all of this while sitting in my vehicle where it was warm and where I could charge up my phone. Leaving where I was able to get away with camping for free I headed towards the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center.
On the drive to the visitor center it was still dark out but I pulled over to stare out at the ocean and watch the waves coming into the shore. It was peaceful and made me think of all the endless possibilities and dreams for one person in this vast world. As I drove on it got lighter but there was still no sun just an overcast sky; still the landscape was breathtaking. The fall colors lit up the drive like nothing I have seen in a long time and the Hoh river raced on nearby swallowing up everything in its path. This is exactly how Autumn should be minus a few rainy days. :) The colors were brilliant and then I entered an all green forest where all the trees were covered in moss and one could not tell where the earth ended and the trees began.
Pulling into the visitor center, I was the only one there (it was 08:10) and the RV parking was as far away as possible. I walked in the rain to the restrooms and checked out a map of the Hoh River Trail that I would take to 5 mile island. I wanted to take my day pack but I don't have a rain cover for it so instead I took my small camel-pack and put only some rope, water treatment tablets in it and hung my medical kit on the outside with a carabiners and placed my raincoat over all of it which barely fit. Then off to the trail! I would like to point out that after this hike I have found out that my "rain coat" does not do what it is supposed to which is stop the rain from getting to me. I was literally soaked by the time the hike was over. So now I need a new rain coat and a new day pack that has a rain cover.
The trail was five miles in and out and it rained all except the last mile or two of the hike. Like I mentioned above my raincoat is apparently not water proof but thankfully my brand new winter hiking pants are the bomb! They repelled water like it was nothing and kept me so warm and comfortable. The hike was so beautiful for the ground was littered in color from yellows, reds, oranges, tans and greens and then as ones gaze moved up bright green ferns covered the forest floor and flowed into the moss covered trees which were also dappled in yellows and reds. Many times the trail was flooded so I had to walk around the water and twice I had to balance on a log to cross the rushing streams that fed the roaring river. I even caught sight of a waterfall which was an unexpected surprise. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it the last mile for the trail was completely submersed and there was no way around unless I wanted to get my boots wet and that was the last thing I wanted to do since the only way I have to dry them is by placing them under the floor vent of my vehicle. All in all it was a mind blowing hike that looked to be something out of a fairy tale.
At my camper, I put on a clean and dry shirt and filled up some water bottles. Then it was lunch time which consisted of two hard boiled eggs, cooked spinach, toast with almond butter and a banana on top followed with a can of sparkling water. From the Hoh rain forest I traveled North to the Ozette campground approximately two hours away. The rain had stopped by this point and wait...oh my god, is that the sun??!?! It finally made an appearance for about an hour and helped create a solid rainbow whose one end landed in the forest and the other end went out to sea. When I pulled into the campground it was going on 16:00 and I was the only one there so I picked a spot over looking the lake and found out I didn't have to pay so that was a plus.
There were no restrooms around so I walked to the ranger station and found out that was closed for the season. I continued on to a parking area and used the restroom there and walk around some more looking for information on the hikes in the area since I had no cell phone service to use my All Trails app. At my camper once again I began doing dishes, cleaning and heating up my dinner. It was a tasty dinner and afterwards I treated myself with a spoonful of peanut butter. By 17:00, I was already in my camper exhausted and ready to go to bed; though, I worried about what dreams I would have and the cold I would face in the morning.
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