Day 5 - 6. Portland to the Olympic National Forest.

DAY 5_

It rained lightly overnight, thought I slept indoors in a comfy downtown Portland apartment. I awoke early, cause today was crunch-day. I had several things to do before traveling the 260 miles north. My goal was to cross into Washington and head to the Olympic National Forest in the north-westernmost part of the US.

First things first, I focused on sorting out the stalling issue on my truck. I had been running through many possibilities as I drove, but I had settled on the fuel filter. I realized that it’s the one thing I didn’t replace when I bought my truck earlier in the year, since the bolts were seized tight and I then forgot about it. So there was no knowing how old the filter was. Hell, it may have been the original filter from 30 years ago for all I knew. And if this filter was plugged full of dirt and grime, then it may have been preventing the right fuel pressure from getting to the fuel rail, thus creating a stalling issue. I picked up a filter and had the guys at a small oil change shop put it in for me. The old one was just that. OLD. And when i dumped it out, mud and sludge poured out. I left the shop and the stalling issue behind. That was fixed!

Next I had to pick up a new laptop (mine died on the third day in) and replenish my supplies. Water, food, etc. So after all this, I finally hit the road going north. It rained most of the way up the I-5 freeway, but by the time I made it to the western coast of Washington it began to let up. I stopped by the ocean overlook at Kalaloch Beach and watch the sun sinking lower in the sky. I kept driving north, and I was nearly all the way around the tip of the state when I found a little dirt trail that lead off into the National Forest land that surrounded the park. I was astounded at how rich and beautiful everything was! So green, and wet and lush. The smell of damp earth and green leaf permeated the air. I’d be happy to see the landscape in the light of the morning when I head back down, as it was getting dark. I passed a lone tent way up in the middle of nowhere, which kind of made me think back to all the stories I’d been told about escaped convicts finding shelter in the forests of the pacific northwest. I found a good spot to park and set up camp, but I had to cut my dinner of grilled chicken short when it began to rain (of course). By 8pm I was in my tent, working on photos and reading.

DAY 6_

I awoke several times throughout the night, as it rained all night long. This was my first night sleeping in the tent in the rain. The first of many. It was a very uncomfortable night, as I began to learn that my sent wasn’t as waterproof as I had hoped it was. I awoke to a wet mattress, bedding, and found several areas where water seamed to be ‘sweating’ through the seams. I tried to sleep off the rain, but at 10:30am I decided to finally get up and get moving. I began to check the damage, removing my wet electronics and soaked bedding from the tent while the rain still poured down.

My discomfort began to lead to frustration and then anger. My things were wet. I was wet. I began to consider the long road ahead of me and the thought was discouraging. However, I decided to change my attitude and look at the situation with different eyes. I need to endure this affliction, as there would surely be many more. It was just a little water, after all. I decided to accept these things as part of what I had agreed and decided to do when I left Los Angeles. My wet tent, wet things, wet self. This was all part of the deal. All part of this adventure. This journey. Besides, if I maintained a positive and optimistic attitude, i might learn how to better prepare myself in the future as to avoid such calamities. After nearly an hour, the rain began to lighten up and I hopped back in my truck with my wet gear and began to head down the mountain.

As I headed down the mountain, I found several dirt roads that shot off the one I was one. Enticed by the spirit of exploration, I decided to randomly take one of these paths and see where it led to. This one led me deep into a lush, green wood. As the rain ceased and the mists lifted, tall trees and muddy puddle patched trails were revealed to me. I was having a blast taking photos of this epic location, going deeper and deeper into an unknown forest. At one point, I nearly got myself stuck in a soft muddy bog with no way to turn around.

After some off-road fun in that beautiful forest, I hopped back onto the main road and began to continue my journey to the quaint town of Port Angeles. I drove by the large and beautiful Lake Crescent, and then stopped at a little motel diner I spotted on the side of the road. I wanted to take advantage of the break in the rain to dry my tent/things out and catch a meal and some wi-fi. Just my luck, it began to rain again and I had to run outside, mid-breakfast, and pack up my, now more wet, tent. The diner’s wi-fi was broken as well, adding to the general overall feeling of failure.

I ran a couple errands while in town, including stopping by a hardware store to grab some waterproofing supplies. I purchased some tent/canvass water repellent, waterproofing spray and seam sealer, as well as some anti-fogging agent for my windshield and windows (they really fogged up in the rain that morning). While on my way out, I met a nice man who told me about a secret road that led out into the mountains a little more north/east from where I was. As it was getting late in the day anyway, and since I needed to head north/east anyhow, I decided to try and find this hidden path that the old man told me about.

After an hour or so of searching around, I found the road he had spoken about, and again I left the pavement and drove up into the forest mountains. These roads led into a beautiful, serene landscape where I made the first campfire of this trip. I went to sleep that night considering my path for the next day. Would I take a ferry across the sound, or would I head up into Seattle and cross over into Canada that way?