Walks with Moss: Dosewallips, Fall colors. Miniature tour.

For this week’s hike I wanted to get out and see some fall colors and maybe get some mushrooms. The Dosewallips is a good place for fall colors, but no good for mushrooms. So it would be just fall colors and no mushrooms today.

Just past Hoodsport I realized that I had left my lunch in the fridge. I stopped at the Brinnon store to buy food. I walked out with a bag of sunflower seeds, two pepperoni sticks, an Uno bar and a bag of gummy bears for $9.05.

I was able to drive all the way to the washout in my little car. The spot one mile before the washout where the culvert washes out nearly every year was a little rough, but my car sits extremely low. Most people will be able to fly right over that spot. There were a few more potholes on the road than usual and I hit a couple of them a little bit too hard.

Hunters were cruising up and down the road looking for something to kill. Old men looking for one last kill before they die. I wish some of them would put more thought into their legacy and the planet they are leaving behind.

I started my hike at about 10am. The morning fog had just lifted and the weather was sunny. The air was warm for a late October day. The maple trees were showing lots of color but, not for much longer.

I took a lot of picture using the tilt shift setting on my new camera. I’m having so much fun playing with all of the silly settings on my new camera. I had intended to take my older lighter camera hiking and save my new camera for work in town, but that’s now how it’s working out at all.

I was feeling tired, so I ate my bag of gummy worms while I trudged up the hill next to Dosewallips falls.

At the old car campground I heated water for a cup of instant coffee with cocoa, Nido and sugar. I also ate half of my sunflower seeds. I wandered around taking pictures of old picnic tables and stuff before I headed back out.

The coffee and lunch break really energized me. I felt very good at the start of my hike out and I had more fun taking pictures. By the time I reached Elkhorn camp I was a bit tired again so I stopped there, wandered around a bit and had a second cup of coffee. The days are getting short, but I was not worried about having to hike out in the dark. I was having too much fun out in the woods. I did not get to hike nearly as much as I wanted to this year with my mother’s death and my husband’s failing health.

I finished my hike at about 6:30 pm, maybe a bit later.

11 miles with 1,100 feet elevation gain