It rained again overnight, but let up early in the morning. Julie fried some eggs and bacon and made breakfast sandwiches with the crumpets. Then we showered and packed up, getting on the road around eleven.
We made it down I-5 and onto 101 when one of our trailer tires blew out. Fortunately it was close to an intersection with a little gravel area where I could pull off the road. The tire was thoroughly destroyed, and we could not figure out what led to the problem.
Oscar had a bottle jack which was much more convenient than the scissor/screw jack buried under the back seat of our truck. We got the tire changed, then stopped a few miles later to put a little more air into the spare tire.
Finally we arrived at Big Creek Campground in the Olympic National Forest around three. There was quite a bit of traffic on the side road leading to the Forest, then we found a bunch of cars parked along the road near the entrance. However, it turns out the campground is also a trailhead for what is apparently a very popular trail, and lots of campsites were available.
We got the tent trailers set up, had a beer to celebrate, then strolled around the large campground. Then we made paella for dinner and s’mores for dessert.
We slept pretty well in our new site. We had oatmeal for breakfast, then went hiking on the popular Big Creek loop trail that leaves directly from the campground. It is a well-maintained trail that climbs a fair amount and has some really neat bridges. I guess it’s all the trees, but you don’t realize how steep some of the hills and valleys are until you walk on them.
The trail is popular, but most people seem to do the loop in the same direction we did, so we did not have to cross paths with too many. A fair number wore masks or at least tried to social distance, but a few did not.
We took a little path to the “creek confluence”, which was a very pretty spot. Unfortunately Daisy jumped across the creek and could not figure out how to get back. Julie took off her boots and waded in so she could grab Daisy’s harness and help get her back. Hopefully Daisy learned a lesson from this!
Near the “top” of the loop, the Mount Ellinore trail sign said there was a viewpoint one mile up. We decided to go take a look. That trail really climbs, and the view we found was nice, but maybe not quite worth the climb. It turns out we may not have reached the official viewpoint, though, so maybe a reason to go back.
Going back down the Mount Ellinore trail went much quicker and, once back on the Big Creek loop trail, we began crossing a series of beautifully-crafted wooden bridges on a slope above the confluence of several creeks.
We used the pie irons to make grilled cheese sandwiches to accompany leftover stew and leftover paella, then we made blueberry pies for dessert.
We had egg and bacon sandwiches on crumpets again for breakfast, then headed four miles further up the road to the north-west end of Cushman Lake to hike the Dry Creek trail. This trail passes through a mile or so of private property and we saw a number of interesting cabins and lake houses, and a neat treehouse.
After that mile plus along the lake shore, the trail climbs fairly steeply, gaining eight hundred feet in about a mile on an old logging road. The old road (and the trail) level off for another mile or so before arriving at a ford on Dry Creek. This was our destination, and we sat and ate a number of snacks beside the creek before turning back.
It was a nice trail, other than the steepness, going through a fairly mature forest, and we only met a few other people.
We stopped along the lake on the way back to let Julie soak her feet.
Back at camp we made Five Can Chili and cheese sandwiches grilled in the pie irons.
The next morning we packed up and drove back home without incident.