A Shrimpy Peninsula Loop Part 2: Lake Ozette to Seattle
Our travel took place on the ancestral lands of the Queets, ChalAt’i’lo t’sikAti (Chalat’), Quileute, Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Quinalt, Sq’ʷayáiɬaqtmš (Chehalis), S’Klallam, Twana/Skokomish, Squaxin, Suquamish, Chimacum, and Tulalip peoples who have stewarded those lands since time immemorial.
Day Six: Lake Ozette to the Hoh
Our day of rest was much needed and well deserved. I felt supercharged and stronger than ever after having some time to recover, stretch, hydrate, and sleep. I was excited to motor up hills and tackle the day. I motored ahead of the pack, and unfortunately left Bisque by herself and a big dog chased her for about 100 feet. With the exception of the dog chase, most of the day was fairly uneventful as we made our way towards Forks. We made a longer stop in Forks at the big grocery store and I got really creeped out by how many people were in the store without masks. The whole energy of that town made me really uneasy, although it may have been in part that we had not been around any real concentration of people for nearly a week.
Most of the day was spent riding on the 101 which was not that scenic, but at least the hills were very gradual and easy. We were aiming to camp at the Hoh Ox Bow Campground which is first-come first-served, and we were definitely late to that game. We found a flat area by the boat launch, and I can say with certainty that it is the most beautiful place I have been able to camp. The river was crystal clear the way the sun moved through the mist and the trees was incredible. The photos will never do it justice. I started taking a bath (with biodegradable soap!) in the river after setting up my tent — I wanted to make the most of the sunshine we had left to dry myself and my clothes out. However, two pontoon boats full of tourists came floating by while I was sitting there, topless, scrubbing my disgusting sports bra. They stared as if they’d never seen nipples before…. and who knows, maybe they hadn’t. All my girlfriends were sitting about 30 feet away belly laughing at me.
We spent the last few hours of daylight dipping in the river and sunbathing, skipping rocks, and making dinner. The only sound was the sweet rush of the river and it was so peaceful. It started to sprinkle when we were packing up dinner, and continued to rain a bit until the morning.
Day 7: The Hoh to Lake Quinalt
At this point, we were a little over halfway and we all realized our chains needed some love. Before we packed up completely, we all took a little moment to show our chains some love. I am so enamored with this image of women doing maintenance on their bikes by a beautiful river.
We spent the whole day between the Hoh River campground and Lake Quinalt on US 101… It was pretty easy cycling, but spiritually draining. Most of the drivers were pretty considerate, but there were lots of RVs, campers, and logging trucks that went speeding by and threw us off balance. The flat and rolling nature of the highway also made the riding pretty monotonous, there were no geographic features to break up the day or make me feel as powerful as I had felt throughout the first few days of the tour. We did stop at Ruby Beach for a moment, which was truly gorgeous, and all of the tourists had a lot of questions for us.
However, the payoff was great. Lake Quinalt is gorgeous, and as we rolled through the woods on our way to the campsite the hair stood up on the back of my neck. The lake was peeking out from between gigantic trees, and the setting sun was making the lake glitter flirtatiously. We did not have a campsite reserved at Willaby, but we noticed that there were several vacant campsites. I advocated for squatting on one of the vacant sites since the site had been reserved for four days and it was the last day of the reservation — I assume the family left their reservation early. I was right! We had a beautiful waterfront site to ourselves and none of the rangers seemed to care. I am a big fan of squatting on vacant campsites. I have definitely reserved campsites and had life or other obstacles get in the way, and I would hope that some pathetic gaggle of dehydrated cyclists would have the benefit of using the space.
Day 8: Lake Quinalt to Lake Sylvia
Our second to last day was a fairly easy ride, so we took our time in the morning enjoying the sparkling lake and our beautiful campsite. I was starting to get really stressed out about going home. I simply did not want to. I felt to nourished by the rhythm of our days. It felt so natural to be moving on a bike all day with some of my best friends, helping one another make food, work through feelings, and tackle mechanical issues. It felt good to sleep under trees, pack up my bike bags every morning, and bathe in lakes and rivers. Eight days was all it took to adapt enough to a different type of life that I didn’t want it to change. Maybe I would get tired of this pace of life? If the weather was bad? If I couldn’t find good food? If it wasn’t as scenic? Whatever the case, I felt inspired to tour for longer, to keep going, to develop a new frame for cycling in the future.
We pedaled along US 101 for a few hours and around Humptulips had our first flat of the trip! Po’Boy ran over a staple and her tube deflated immediately. These are the types of flat I prefer… Slow leaks are really frustrating. She patched it up really quick, even with logging trucks whizzing by. We could have taken US 101 all the way to Lake Sylvia State Park, but the idea of doing another day on the 101 made me so depressed. We took some time to research other routes, and were finding forest roads that would add 3,000 feet of elevation over gravel roads. However, given that we were loaded for road touring, that wasn’t super appealing to the group. We found another turnoff, but there was a big orange sign that said the road was closed through September. We took a chance on the detour, and about ten miles down the road we ran into a road crew resurfacing part of the road. They let us roll through and we were so relieved. We found a little grocery store in Wishkah and assembled a pretty random lunch before coasting the rest of the way to Montesano and Lake Sylvia.
Lake Sylvia is a pretty popular family campground, and I would not recommend it for weary cyclists looking to relax near a lake. There will be near-constant barking and screeching, and the hand dryers in the bathrooms are so loud you can hear them throughout the park. There are two hiker-biker sites, and they’re both pretty small, uneven, and at the top of an awkward hill. HOWEVER, we were able to order Westside Pizza delivered to the campsite, just like our first night! So even though I was less-than-impressed with our campsite, the gluten-free garlic chicken pizza helped me feel better.
Day 9: Lake Sylvia to Seattle!
We had a long day ahead of us, over 80 miles, plus the distance from the ferry terminal to my apartment in North Seattle. I would have to say that this day of riding creeped me out the most… We went through so many tiny rural towns as we wound our way across the south end of the Olympic Peninsula. It was so interesting to see how rural so many places in Washington really are. I had never seen so many consecutive Trump signs in my life. Luckily, the people on the south end of the Peninsula were just as creeped out by us as we were of them; whereas in the north end there were more curious tourists eager to ask us about our trip so we would ask about theirs.
It was a grueling day. We thought we had 80 miles and 1,500 feet of elevation, but it turned out to be more than 3,000 feet of elevation. We made it to Bremerton after miles and miles on a really scary highway, and a flat tire I had to change in the middle of a huge hill. BUT WE MADE IT. We enjoyed some drinks and burgers at a restaurant near the ferry terminal before we hopped onto a late afternoon ferry. It felt surreal and bizarre to be ending the trip. I really really did not want to go home. I left my bike parked in my hallway with my bike bags on it for two days after we got back. I had no emotional energy to admit that the trip was over. I still daydream about the feeling of freedom and ease I had having nothing but cycling and camping to do each day. I’m not sure humans are meant to do much else beyond explore their surroundings, exchange ideas and feelings with friends, and make each other food. It felt so sustainable and natural. Even when it was really uncomfortable or physically trying, I drew comfort from the fact that I didn’t have anything else to do in that moment, or with my day.
This trip ignited and inspired so much in me, and I am excited to do even more. I am so grateful to the peoples of the Coast Salish, Suquamish, Klallam, Makah, Hoh, Quinalt, and Chehalis tribes and federations for their stewardship of these beautiful lands, and for the opportunity to experience these forests, lakes, and rivers. I am so grateful to the Shrimpies — Po’ Boy, Bisque, and Kentucky Fried — that planned this trip and made it so easy to join in.