We leave early to drive 30 min. up Hurricane Ridge Road. Even though it is late in the season, trailhead parking lots fill up quickly in the morning. Hurricane Ridge is the jewel of the Olympic National Park. At 5,757 ft in elevation, the ridge sits above treeline and on a windy day, gusts can reach up to 70 mph. Lucky for us, it is a beautiful clear and crisp day.
Past the parking lot is a steep but paved 1.6 mi trail that winds up Hurricane Hill to the ridgetop, providing a 360 degree breathtaking view of the mountain chain to the south, Vancouver Island and Vancouver to the north, forests and the Elwha Valkey to the west and the Olympic Valley to the east. There are many short spurs which lead to beautiful overlooks. We spend most of the day up here, enjoying the incredible sight. The majority of hikers on the trail are very fit, smiling and friendly seniors; I think they are newly retired baby boomers, cruising around in rvs. There seem to be a lot of us these days!
Being out in the national park feels so perfectly normal until we are reminded of these unusual times in seeing everyone in the visitor center with masks on.
Traveling via trailer means we always have a home base with all our creature comforts to come back to, and not having to interact with others unless we choose to. These days, we appreciate our toilet and shower, tiny as they are, and are snug as a bug protected from the elements. Looking around, we realize that there are very few options for outdoor dining in these places where the weather is often wet, windy or cold. The Olympic National Park is also not known for fine cuisine and thus, most of our meals are home-cooked.
In ever rv park, we are by far the tiniest trailer and our unique design does attract attention. RVs seem to be getting bigger and bigger, so much so that they are a tight fit in these old rv park sites. I dream of a day when trailers run on electric motors, recharged overnight as we sleep.