Something 'bout Mountains

Alrighty guys - we hit our ONE MONTH on the road mark earlier this week which is c-r-a-z-y! On this trip, we have visited 5 National Parks already, 4 of them which include beautiful mountain ranges and many other stops along the way, obviously. Lots of national forest camping and hiking in addition. What has been most impressive and interesting is that all of the mountains and parks we have been to have a different look and feel. Let me break it down for ya’ll per our experience :)

Stop 1: Glacier NP - vast & glorified

Obviously the most known, loved, and traveled of them all, Glacier takes anyone’s breath away. This was our first time in Glacier and we had some great friends who met us there and made the stop extra fun! Glacier is land of the crystal clear, blue lakes and walls of mountains. It’s brilliant and majestic. It’s also well-traveled and somewhat crowded. I felt we ran into a fare amount of “dumb tourists” (excuse my language) here who really were just in it for the pic (aka would hike in 200 ft, take a pic, and turn around). We were only in the park for a couple days though, so High-line trail (which is very well-traveled) was the most “remote” we got, so I’m sure that is part of it! I would love to go back and do some of the backcountry and really get deep into Glacier. It would take a full year to get through all of the trails here!

In summary, Glacier validated everything we love about the mountains. The vastness, the wow factor, the intimidation, the mystery, and the COOL, crisp mountain air. You get stunning views wherever you are in the park which is always a bonus. With COVID, the east side of the park was closed including the entrance which disabled some good hiking options on that side! I think this is partially why the trails felt pretty crowded, all tourists are now crowding the open areas.

LOVES: SO much hiking, variety of things to do (hit the beach, rent a kayak, take a hike, go on a scenic drive, etc), everything you need in a small area

Less than LOVES: so many people, area around Glacier is more expensive as it’s a tourist destination, vehicles more than 21ft are not allowed on Going on the Sun road (for good reason, but a disadvantage for big rigs for sure)

Trails we hiked: Avalanche Lake (6 miles), Highline Trail (13 miles) (Logan’s pass —> Granite Park Chalet —> Loop Pass parking lot, including Grinnelle Glacier)

Stop 2: North Cascades NP - ominous, yet majestic

Contrary to Glacier, this park is more of a “hidden gem” in the best way possible. If I was a bigger deal, I would be hesitant to even share because let’s keep untouched untouched #amIright?!? This park took our breath away and exceeded all expectations. On the way into the park, we started out with a BANGER hike and I saw my first bear IN THE WILD at the trailhead, so that all increased it’s ranking, of course. We actually had bear-run-ins twice in this park - one at each of the trails we did. The first was a black bear, mid-sized just trolling through the parking lot at the trailhead. The second encounter was a mother-baby cub pair that crossed the road really close to us - definitely an uncomfortable distance away. The baby was a black bear, but the Momma had some grizzly shag to her, so we aren’t really sure. They didn’t bother us and just walked through.

Back to the mountains - unbelievable. The steepness of the terrain and the jagged hooks and deep valleys are unreal. There is also a lot of snow/glaciers on these mountains which make them even more ominous appearing. The river and lakes running through N.Cascades and the rec areas in the middle are stunning. Bluest blue you will ever see! It's SO underrated making it incredible to travel. Not to say we didn't pass people on trailheads, we did, but the crowd factor of the big guys and screaming for parking was NILL. We pulled up to a HALF-full campground in the East side of the park at 8pm (Forest service campground). Tell me WHERE that happens in Glacier!! Coming from a crazy park like Glacier to the serene, stunning Cascades was a perfectly balanced plan!

LOVES: very untouched, saw 3 bears!!, intense, dramatic mountain tops - unique, bluest water I’ve ever seen

Less than LOVES: saw 3 bears!!, broken up goofy with recreational areas, somewhat built up due to late additional of NP (i.e. hydraulic dams)

Trails we tackled: Maple Loop Pass (9 miles), Cascade Loop Pass (10 miles)

Stop 3: Mount Rainier NP - dramatic

Another BANGER that I had no idea I would love so much. The ones you don’t expect to be SO GOOD always get a leg up. The most breathtaking mountain because it’s SO in your face. I mean, where else are you going to find a mountain that sits 6,000 ft HIGHER than all of it’s neighboring mountains?!? (all approximate) This thing is just crazy. Tell me how you don’t feel like a QUEEN B and the baddest bitch around when you hover over all the little fellas around you? You can see it from so far away and as you approach, it gets more and more majestic. Rainier is unbelievable, standing at 14,411ft.

We viewed the mountain from many sides as you can see it from so far away on clear days and every angle was as beautiful as the next. A true site to behold. And near Rainier, there is Mt St Helens’ and Mt Hood which both have a similar, but slightly less dramatic appearance. All are incredible to see and I’m sure INSANELY cool to summit. Any takers on ice picking / glacial climbing lessons for Jen??

LOVES: absolutely breathtaking, really great views everywhere - hiking or just in parking lots

Less than LOVES: small park built around a single peak

Trails we tackled: Tomlie Peak (6.5 miles)

Stop 4: Olympic NP - moist & mysterious

Sorry ya’ll, I had to do it. As expected in a rainforest, Olympic NP is a moist area. Seattle in general is a moist area, but the day we entered the Olympics was extra moist for the season. We attempted Hurricane Ridge (a famous scenic drive) and spotted a couple mountains in the lower elevation area, but got crowded by clouds and rain as we moved higher. Low visibility followed for the next few jours, but we had a blessed break in the rain mid-day and actually got amazing views from the top of a mountain hike near Lake Crescent (north side of the park)! The park is large and sort of confuses me - the whole rainforest and then sections of the coast that is included. The beach was nice and pretty and had cool rocks, but I guess I’m just not the biggest beach gal. What I did love about the Olympic area is how GREEN & luscious everything is - parts of it are actually classified as rainforest!

LOVES: feeling of ALIVEness, green beauty

Less than LOVES: HUGE park if you want to navigate the entire thing, no “best route” as everything is sort of detours that you have to go “out & back” with, common weather patterns

Trails we tackled: Mount Storm King & Marymere Falls (6.5 miles), attempted Hurricane Hill..but turned around due to low visibility, Rialto Beach to Hole-in-the-Wall (3 miles)

I’m feeling pretty lucky to have been able to see what we have seen in the past month. It’s not all butterflies and clear skies, we are humans doing something that we haven’t before, but we have had the chance to see SO much. You know it’s a good time when the limiting factor on great views is how tired our legs are from the day before. If I had to rate them in order of my favorites, it would probably go N.Cascades, Glacier, Mount Rainier, and Olympic, coming in last. I’m sure much of this depends on the hikes we did, some weather, pre-visit expectations, etc. 

We are currently staying on the Colombia River on the WA side and also love the views here! Still in the Cascade range (<3) but of course the mountains aren’t as tall here. Actually, a couple nights ago (maybe 20 miles away), we happened to stop for a Ruby cool-down (classic) and found an awesome viewpoint. It was in a National Forest and was overlooking Mount Saint Helens - we stopped for a picnic and couldn’t find any “no camping” signs, so we made a night of it! Right under the volcanic stars - really was an incredible experience. <3

Tata for now; peace & love, 

yo’ girl Jen 

PS) loads of pics are tough to upload when only on cell network, so i plan to share some albums once we get some wifi again!! :D