Elbo Creek by new car

A hike and a  geocache.  My friend was eager to drive his brand new car and get a geocache on Buck Mountain.  The plan was for him to drop me off at the Elbo Creek trail while he drove up to get the Buck Mountain Cache.  He would pick me up at the top of the Elbo Creek trail after he found the cache.

Our plans were changed when we found the road up Buck Mountain was washed out just 2 miles from highway 101. 

We decided to go for a geocache on the Elbo Creek trail instead.  The cache was just a little ways from the trail head.  Once we found the cache my friend hiked with me for a bit but then he turned around.  He was tired after hiking up tick bite hill the day before.

He’s not really into hiking and I’m not really into caching but we somehow make it work anyway, well most of the time anyway.  He decided to turn around and wait for me in his car while I hiked up to my usual lunch spot.

So I did my little hike.  I was a little bit sick but I went pretty fast since I was fresh after not getting in much hiking the week before.  My knee felt good too.  My knee has been really frightening me lately but it felt good all during this hike.

I was shocked to find a Morel mushroom on this trail.  Morels just don’t grow in undisturbed Olympic forests.  This was my first ever find of a morel in the Olympics.

When I got back down to the trail head I found my friend sleeping in his car.  I wish I felt safe to sleep like that with my feet hanging out of a car parked on the side of the road.  My PTSD would never allow me to do such a thing.

I’m still sick today.  I really want to plant my garden but I’m too ill to get it done.  I won’t be doing much if any traveling this summer as my husband is very ill and he cannot be left alone for long anymore.

4 miles with 1,800 feet elevation gain.