Hurricane Ridge
For the first time, with my new knees, I was able to hike the very steep hill to Sunrise Point and another up Hurricane Hill while visiting the Olympic National Park. Beautiful flowers and lots of deer running around, including a fawn. It had gotten separated from its mother and was crying for her. So many stupid people were putting their camera phones in its face and blocking its path. I had to actuall say something, asking them to back up to let the fawn cross over the path. Stupid idiots!
The following morning, I led a hike to the top of Hurricane Hill at the other end of Hurricane Ridge. The variety of flowers was fantastic and it was the perfect time to do this hike (if you loved flowers). The downside was that the mosquitoes were biting me like crazy. I got so many bites grouped together on my forearm, that it swelled up (a lot) and even got bruises around the area! I’ve never had that happen before, but as I get older, I’m finding that things that hardly bothered my body when I was younger, cause bigger reactions now.
I didn’t make it quite to the top of Hurricane Hill. I hadn’t slept well the night before…it had rained, so rather than put up my tent and sleep in it, I kept the tent in the trunk and slept in the back seat of my car. It was not comfortable and I woke every 30 minutes or so! So, I opted to wait for the others as they pushed on to the top. I didn’t mind…I found a bench and enjoyed the solitude and communed with nature.