Deer Park

What a place to kick off your boots at the end of the day! Yesterday, I made the treck up to Deer Park Campground, a remote campground about an hour out of Port Angeles that can only be reached on a switchback gravel road up the mountain. Again, this is a first come first serve campground, so I knew I couldn't arrive too late in the day. As I inched by some vehicles making their way down the gravel road, we'd chat quickly about what it was like at the top. Yes, there were still plenty of sites, and yes they are awesome. Time to get excited! At the top, I scoured around for the best campsite with a mountain view, chatted with the neighbours about what I should get up to, and made some lunch before continuing on my day. A few minutes away, there was a ranger station and the trailhead to Obstruction Point. This is a 26km out and back hike along the mountain ridges, and although I didn't think I could do the whole thing today, I was planning to see how far I could go with time to get back before dark. At the trailhead, there were two other vehicles parked. I like knowing that others are on the trail with me and hoped these people were planning to be out all day as well. I packed my hiking essentials and got going! Well, before I had hiked 45 minutes, I had already passed the two groups hiking out. Okay, so I was alone on the trail now. Just me and mother nature. I've never done that before, but I was prepared and ready to do this.

Much of the first hour was climbing through trees with some glimpses of mountains around me, but about 5km in, it began to really open up. Now I was getting excited. I could start to really see the mountain range around me, and couldn't wait to continue the trail higher. Wildflowers were lovely to see up here!

The trail continued up, becoming more exposed and breathtaking. You can see some snow still covered the trail in places, but nothing too daunting here. I was equally infatuated with the near and far!

A little after this last photo was taken, I decided it was about time to turn around. It was 5:00 and I had been hiking for a few hours, so I thought I would be safe, although I dearly wanted to keep marching on forever! The hike back was a little easier, although beginning to turn shadowy in the valley. By the time I found my car again, my legs were feeling it, and I was glad I had turned around when I did. I took the vehicle up the road to take in the 360 view at the top of the mountain, then went back to the campsite.

The remainder of the evening was mostly spent by the campfire with neighbours. Everybody was very friendly up here, and I was happy to see some solo travellers like myself. Deer would march right up to us and it was a lot of fun to observe them. Around 9pm, a couple women came by because their car had broken down. To help them find cell service to call AAA, I took Robyn up the road to the summit. It ended up being a win win situation, as she managed to call for a tow, and I got to enjoy the sunset!

In the morning, I got to soak in the view a little more over breakfast, then begin to pack up again and head down. The people I had met were doing the same, and we said our goodbyes. My friend by the campfire passed me a book on hiking the area and contact info, and the woman I drove to the top packed my SUV full of firewood and invited me to come stay with her. What a rewarding trip! Next stop, lake Crescent and Sol Duc. The Sol Duc hotsprings have me excited, but more so because they have showers than anything else. After 5 days, I have become much more comfortable with my grimyness, but a nice shower just sounds wonderful. Thanks for reading! Amanda