We are going to the hot springs at Sol Duc, towards the west corner of the park. I leave way ahead of Petr on my faithful Bianchi riding on the shoulder of Route 101. We will be meeting at some point along the way, before the ranger station. Hopefully I have enough time for a 30-mile ride.
Crescent Lake is on my way and it looks so marvelous early in the morning, I have to stop frequently to take pictures. They should rename it Emerald lake: it's early morning and the few rays of sun that make it through the thick of the woods dash into the water and color everything around in a green hue that I have only seen on the Emerald Coast in Sardinia before. The water is so clear you can see the bottom of the lake, several feet deep even close to the shore. It's hard to pay attention to the road when you have such a view to your right side...
I get to the junction with Sol Duc and I start my ascent when I hear a rolling turd approaching from behind. It passes me and I recognize our RV. Just in time, we need to enter the park with the annual visitor pass which is in my name. Petr goes ahead and stops frequently to take pictures of me on the bike. I feel like Ivan Basso on top of the Stelvio Pass, except I am no Ivan Basso and this is no Stelvio... At the 30 mile mark I pack the bike back into the RV and we continue to the top. What a perfect conclusion of a strenuous ride: a dip in hot springs! The resort is open and the 3 pools are of increasingly hotter water: 97, 101 and 105°F. I soak for about 1 hour entertaining a conversation with a backpacker who just got back from a 4-day lone hike in the backcountry.
Doing the entire circle around the Olympic peninsula would require an extra couple of days, and it would take us off our itinerary. We have to skip the coastal part of the park, knowing fully well that it's something we need to come back to. We need to hit Port Townsend before 6:00pm to catch the ferry to Keystone.
Crescent Lake.
Laura on her Bianchi.
Laura by Crescent Lake on our way back.
A view of the North Cascades from the ferry.
Port Townsend from the ferry.
The 2 of us on the ferry.