Washington wilderness a pure delight
Jo Travis leaves the city of Seattle for the wilds of Washington State.
Seattle markets itself as Metronatural and it is easy to see why. The Washington countryside can be seen wherever you are in the city and it is easily accessible.
After a couple of days of city life we decided to change down a gear and head to the north of the state, to the Olympic Peninsula.
Our chosen method of transport for this leg of the journey was the ferry. It’s the same ferry that often features on Grey’s Anatomy and, in point of fact, crashed the other week almost killing the eponymous heroine.
Our trip was (thankfully) less eventful, but the view of the downtown area as seen from the Puget Sound is worth it in itself.
Washington State has the most amazing climate. Next to the Pacific Ocean and littered with mountains, the weather can be Alpine, Mediterranean or rainforest.
Our first stop was Port Townsend, which gained prominence as a seaport and logging town. Originally slated as the state capital, Port Townsend’s wealthy residents started building homes and businesses befitting this status.
Unfortunately the promised railroad only made it as far as Seattle and Port Townsend started to look like a white elephant. Several of these grand homes, including the Rothschild house, are open to the public.
The seaside town is one of only three Victorian seaports in the US and it was neglected for years only to be rediscovered by the flower children of the 60s and transformed into a creative hub. It is now a haven for artisans and the gentle climate makes the whole of Jefferson County a popular place to retire.
Hurricane Ridge is another revelation. Once we reached the top we found snow on the ground and a view of the Olympic Mountains that stretched for miles.
It’s hard to imagine a more remote part of the world but Seattleites routinely hike for days in this wilderness.
The first expedition to the area took nearly nine months to cut a trail across the mountains. It can now be walked in a week.
After the rain of Port Townsend and the snow of Hurricane Ridge the dry heat of Sequim came as quite a surprise.
Nestling in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, Sequim’s dry climate has earned it the accolade of lavender capital of America.
A few miles away from the rainforest – this land is so dry it has to be irrigated for cultivation. Port Angeles is the best base for this part of the Olympic Peninsula.
We stayed in the recently-refurbished Best Western Olympic Lodge, which was far grander than our initial impressions had led us to believe. Behind the hotel is an immaculate golf course with the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop.
Before dinner we stopped at the Camaraderie Cellars for a wine tasting and then on to Michael’s Divine Dining, a quirky restaurant with an impressive cocktail menu. Most of the people we met on our travels were only three or four generations away from the original settlers.
The government told pioneers that if they had cleared land, built a homestead and put their children into school within five years then they could have the land they settled.
It seemed like a good deal until you consider that the trees are so large and so densely packed that it would take two weeks just to fell and process one.
It took months to clear enough land to build on and everything had to be transported down the rivers. This lifestyle bred tough people.
Diane, our host on this leg of the trip, told us how her grandfather had four daughters and no sons so the girls had to do all the work around the farm.
Her great aunt Maria was courted by a local lad who paid her a visit just as she was carrying in two baskets of firewood.
In a fit of chivalry he offered to take the baskets from her – and found he could not lift them.
Maria’s homestead is still standing and she pointed it out to us on the way to the Hoh rainforest. The Hoh is one of the world’s few temperate rainforests and it is an unreal experience.
The trees are so tall you cannot see the canopy and so tightly packed it is hard to find a path between them. One of the highlights of the Hoh is the hall of mosses where the giant cedar, fir and spruce trees are strewn with green cobwebs of moss.
When the itinerary mentioned a "scenic float down the Hoh River" I pictured myself on the back of a boat admiring the scenery with a gin and tonic in hand.
The reality was less glamorous.
I knew I was in trouble when they started breaking out the helmets and life jackets and made us sign a disclaimer at the Hard Rain Café.
We were dropped off on the riverbank next to a huge inflatable raft. Some of the group opted for kayaks but I decided the raft would be the lesser of the two evils.
All decked out in waterproofs I feared the worst and after sliding down the muddy bank and ending up thigh-deep in icy water I felt my fears had been realised.
The Hoh is a glacial run-off river, which makes it chilly to say the least, and it runs through a rainforest.
In case you had not guessed, I am not the outdoor type and after five minutes rafting my middle was the only bit of me that was dry.
Poised on the brink of a severe sense of humour failure I decided that as I could not get any wetter or colder I may as well just enjoy myself.
I grabbed a paddle and teamed up with fellow traveller Lisa at the front of the raft. Our guide steered the raft and shouted out instructions to take us through the safest part of the channel, avoiding dangers.
The Hoh is not a particularly fast, white water river but it is fraught with dangers in the shape of treacherous logs that slip down from the rainforest.
In the end this was one of the most surprising and exhilarating parts of my trip. If I had known what it would entail I might have tried to back out of it but I am glad I did not. It’s a good thing to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while.
After we had dried off our driver made one last stop before we reached our hotel.
He stopped at Ruby Beach – a breathtakingly dramatic stretch of Pacific coastline that managed to be beautiful despite the grey weather.
Miles of deserted sand, littered with massive sun-bleached tree trunks – it was well worth the detour.
I finally got to soak my chilled and aching bones in a bath at Lake Quinault Lodge.
Built in the 1930s as a showpiece for Roosevelt’s tour of the state, the lodge is nestled in the edge of the rainforest on the shores of a lake.
It is a real getaway – at night there are no other lights to be seen and many of the rooms deliberately do not have telephones or televisions.
You can kayak, fish, swim, hike or just slump in the leather sofas in front of a roaring fire with a glass of wine after a gorgeous meal.
Our final taste of the Washington countryside was a trip out to the San Juan Islands.
We flew out on a Kenmore Air seaplane from their base on Lake Union in Seattle – a five-minute drive from the centre of town.
I have wanted to travel on a seaplane ever since I saw one on Raiders of the Lost Ark and this trip was no disappointment.
The views are spectacular and Seattleites use the planes almost like trains to take them away for a weekend or just out for dinner.
The San Juan Islands are exclusive resorts and they doubled for an idyllic New England in the Sandra Bullock film, Practical Magic.
It was also the scene of the last battle between the British and the Americans, which was inexplicably waged over a pig.
The British Camp is still maintained on the island, but now it consists of a wooden tower and formal garden. We came, we saw, we planted privet. Very British, indeed.
It is one of the few places in America that is permitted to fly the flag of another country.
Nearby Roche Harbour is littered with the yachts of wealthy weekending urbanites.
Sometimes they like the lifestyle so much that they decide to move there, but it can come as a shock living somewhere where there are no traffic lights and every commodity has to be shipped in.
The San Juan Islands were renowned for their part in the whaling industry. Nowadays the object is to keep the whales alive and watch them.
We sailed out from Friday Harbour to see a pod of Orca whales in waters that were nearer Canada than America.
We were not disappointed. Expecting just a couple of sightings we were treated to many glimpses of the whales for a couple of hours.
Given the choice between seeing killer whales performing in captivity up close and distant glimpses of wild whales I would choose the latter every time.
I was in the Pacific Northwest for a week but in that time I saw the very best of town and country in a part of the world that can still claim to be undiscovered by European tourists.
I absolutely cannot wait to return.
- FACTBOX
For details on Best Western Olympic Lodge, visit www.portangeleshotelmotel.com
For information on Lake Quinault Lodge, go to www.visitlakequinault.com
San Juan Islands information can be found at www.visitsanjuans.com
For details on Washington state, visit www.experiencewashington.com
