Tag Archives: Olympic Peninsula

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lung pizazz

The tent in the center is mine. I took this two days ago as soon as I had it set up. The big deal is that pulmonary rehabilitation is WORKING.

My friend B from the east coast invited me to hike with him and two other friends. They were going up the Hoh River trail. The initial hike was five miles and then camp. They will go up to Glacier Meadows.

I looked the hike over. The first five miles starts at around 500 feet and stays near the river and fairly level. I bought a pass for the campsite and loaded my pack. I took the pack to pulmonary rehab on Monday and carried it on the treadmill. I went for 25 minutes at 3mph, loaded. My heart rate went to 110 (normal at rest is 60 to 100, though mostly cardiologists don’t care if it’s below 60 unless bad symptoms or heart block) and above, but I held my oxygen sats. I decided I could GO! We met in Port Angeles and then drove up. We didn’t start hiking until 3:30pm but got to the campsite, ate and set up tents.

The next day I hiked back alone. A couple coming in stopped me and said, “There is a bear. It went up a tree when we saw it.” The next trio said that the bear was on the ground and seemed undisturbed. I had my whistle out and kept hiking, a little cautious. I did not see a bear.

As I reached the parking lot, I reread the signs. “Cougar area, hiking alone not recommended.” Oh. Well, but I really was rarely alone. I counted the people hiking up and there were 147 in that 5 mile stretch. Some out for day hikes, some with packs headed to Glacier Meadows or beyond, some with almost no equipment.

Anyhow, I am so delighted that my lungs have recovered enough to hike! I don’t think they are ready for altitude and the climb to Glacier Meadows. Maybe by next summer. Hooray for lung pizazz!

https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/hoh-river-trail.htm

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: pizazz!

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Surreal surroundings

It was so gorgeous up on Hurricane Ridge yesterday! I think the wildflowers are surreal: whole mountainsides of wildflowers and the more you look, the more different ones you see. I am just starting to learn their names.

https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-hurricane-ridge.htm

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: surreal.

I think the orange flower is a paintbrush, but it is not showing up here, on the wildflower identification site.

Another site: https://www.intangibility.com/inw/Wildflowers/Indian-Paintbrush.html

If anyone can identify it more closely, let me know!

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Hurricane Ridge

Yesterday I woke to low clouds and slight sky spitting. A friend and I drove up to Hurricane Ridge and climbed Hurricane Hill. I am delighted that I can do it without oxygen! I get short of breath if I climb AND try to talk. He had to do most of the talking.

We drove out of the cloud as we got to Port Angeles and it was just gorgeous on top of Hurricane Ridge. There were lots of people up there. Tons of wildflowers, too and views of the Olympic Mountains. At the top we were looking at Vancouver Island and Canada to the north across the strait. A beautiful climb and a beautiful day.

For Cee’s Flower of the Day.

https://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-hurricane-ridge.htm

I think this is Oregon Sunshine, Eriophyllum lanatum, or else it’s an arnica. There are a lot of yellow wildflowers, here.

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louche lips sink ships

At Fort Worden, the lighthouse was open on Sunday! I went up. A kind docent took the photograph of me with my camera. The lighthouse has a Fresnel lens.

Here is the information on Fresnel Lenses:

And views from the top, towards the southwest:

View west:

I think the view DOWN was the scariest!

https://www.pointwilsonlighthouse.org/

You can visit too!

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: louche!

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cold water

The first picture is two swimmers on December 21, 2021. I declined to join them!

A male wigeon at Kai Tai Lagoon, March 2022.

More ducks at Kai Tai Lagoon, March 2022.

Some really expert swimmers having a rest, off East Beach, Marrowstone Island, March 2022.

And a video of another expert swimmer hanging out by the Port Townsend Ferry Dock, June 2022.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: SWIM.