Dosewallips

Snail on digitalis, not eating it.

This turned out to be my very last hike in the Olympics with Patches. She had one trip to the beach after this and a bunch of in town dog walks and one camping trip.


I started my hike at about ten.  Rain was in the forecast so I packed all of my rain gear.  My hike last week left me nearly incapacitated.  I had a very strange inflammatory reaction that left me with severe hip pain in my lower back.  I’ve never had that happen before.  This was well beyond normal post hike soreness.  It took several days of bed rest before I could even walk around town again.

I am training for a hike up Mount Adams so I have been increasing my hike difficulty each week.  After last week’s problems though, I decided to take it easy this week.  I gentle walk down an old road with very little elevation gain seems just the ticket.  This is a good hike for Patches too.  She’s not too likely to find something to impale herself on and she’s less likely to lose me and get lost on this old road.

I've decided that Patches is too old and blind to take off trail anymore and I even worry about her on trails the way she tends to lose me and run back to the car.  One time she even tried to cross a huge dangerous river because she thought I had crossed it.  She’s too blind to know where I am half the time it seems.

The drive to the trail head was a little bit sketchy for my car.  The route over the perpetual washout before the washout was quite rough and I had to get out and move some rocks that would have hit my oil pan.

This hike want well.  No hip pain and a nice lunch break at the end.  Only one other person was on the trail with me.  No sign of creepy stalker guy on a fat bike.  There were no bike tracks at all.   I normally see his fat bike tracks on the route.  Maybe he has moved away?  I can only hope.

Rain was in the forecast but it really only sprinkled.  We finished our hike around 5pm.  I stopped a couple of times on the drive home and got out to stretch so I would not be so sore by the time I got home.  That worked out well.

There were so many berries on the trail.  I think our soggy start to summer is good for the berries.

I stopped for overpriced Hoodsport Coffee on the way home.  They don't have a public restroom inside anymore, instead they have an outhouse in the back somewhere.   No thanks, I held it until I got home.  Also the coffee was not hot.  I asked if I was getting the dregs, I was told I was not, but clearly I did get the dregs.  16 ounces of cold dregs and a stinky outhouse for $2.00, what a killer deal.  I only stopped because I was afraid that I would fall asleep on the drive home without coffee.

They generally do have the best coffee there, but the snobby attitude that I sometimes get there and the crazy prices really turn me off.  Now add a stinky outhouse to the equation. I don't know if it was stinky, I did not care to walk all the way out back to find out.  The woman there says it gets cleaned twice a day.  I hope they can get their bathrooms up to code without going broke, I kind of doubt it though.

Poor slugs left in a crumpled up heap after mating

 I could go to  IGA for coffee from now on, but I hate  their nasty styrofoam cups and gross powered creamer, at least they have nice bathrooms.  Just can't win getting coffee in most places these days.  I hate paying over $2.00 for a cup of drip.  Mcdonalds seems the best deal, just need 3 sugar and 3 cream to drown the burnt tastes.

11 miles with 1,100 feet elevation gain

Patches

Rhytidiadelphus loreus moss

Thimble berry

black cap

blackberry

strawberry

black caps

super sour currants

They really hate dogs at ONP, but Patches is not a pet.