Wonderful sleep last night, almost 10 hours, and lots of dreaming. It seems that everyone in these camps sleeps similarly. Only difference is that i am usually one of the first to get up. The fresh air, human silence, and sounds of nature contribute to a restful night.
A rutting 10-pointer bull elk is supposed to be in the area, but Erde probabky scared him off.
Talked for a bit with my neighbor, Judy, an acupuncturist, What an outdoors woman she is. She tented for years but now tools around with a cozy little T@G camper (see photo). (Please add one of those to your gift list for me.) Every now and then, she leaves the comfort of her T@G and goes off backcountry camping with a bivy sack. I need one of those, too, and one for Erde. How pleasant it is on these trips to meet like-minded people.
Got on the road at 10, later than planned, for the 50 mile drive to Kalaloch camp on the Pacific, the crown jewel of the Olympic National Park system. It is so popular that during the summer it is by reservation only, and they are now taking reservations for next summer. The draw is the ocean, just feet away down a 40 foot bluff. Of the 100 or so sites, only a few have ocean views. With the weekend coming and the RVs still very much out for a good time, my plan is to get there by 11, check out time, with the hope that one camper with an ocean view is leaving just then.
The drive through the park on highway 101 is rather pleasant. You get the feeling you are driving through a tall green tunnel, with lots of twists and turns thrown in for laughs. Very sparsely populated, so i gassed and coffeed up at every opportunity, one.
I pulled into Kalaloch ar 11:15 and quickly surveyed the place. Loops B and C were closed, so i drive through loop A first. All the ocean view sites were taken, you guessed it, by RVs and some mobile mansions. The few poor tenters i saw were relegated to the non-view sites, which were quite nice, but without the coveted view. My rule was that since it was still early if i don't get an ocean view, i move down the road.
I then drove over to loop D and the first six ocean view sites i came to were all taken, you guessed it, by RVs and a few mobile mansions. But the next one was empty, so without inspecting the site since it had the view i wanted, i quickly dropped off a gear bag and moved on to register. The rule here is that you find a site, drop some gear off at it to reserve it, and then go register within 30 minutes. But before i registered, i wanted to see if there were any more ocean view sites in the rest if D loop or in E and F loops. Nope, all taken, you guessed it, by RVs and a few mobile mansions. (Where have all the tenters gone?)
Happy -and lucky as well- to have one ocean view site, i registered for it for two days once i discovered that with my Golden Pass the fee was only $7 a night. I then returned to the site to see what kind of site i ended up with. When i did, i could not believe my eyes. Before tell you why, let me tell you about my criteria for a campsite.
The view, it setting, is tops in my book. But the setting includes being able to watch the surprise or sunset, maybe both as some sites have offered, but that's not needed.
The second criterion to earn five gold stars from me is the setting for my tent - a top site would be grass, slightly sloped head to foot, but otherwise flat, free if any rocks, roots and the like to disturb a good night's sleep, shaded, protected from the wind, in a direct line to the fire pit, and nearby the picnic table and where the Defender could be parked.
The third criterion is the picnic table - a decent one at a minimum, in the right place or moveable to a flat surface, tarpable from the Defender or nearby trees, and with space underneath one end for a dog bed if it rains.
The fourth criterion is where the Defender can be parked on no more than a gentle slope and nearby the picnic table and/or tent, and parked in such a way so that it can be efficiently tarped.
The final criterion is other, that is, privacy from neighbors if not an isolated area, shaded areas and sunny areas, grass for Erde to rest in instead of dirt, and the abundant presence of wildlife, bears, wolves, foxes, lynx, loons, ducks and geese and other birds, cougars, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks, etc., but not mosquitoes or black flies.
Notice how other conveniences others look for are not among my criteria, eg, amphitheater, proximity to comfort stations or even any at all, potable water, showers, laundry, bars, fancy restaurants, casino, movie theatre, Starbucks, Whole Foods, 7-11, MacDonalds, Walmart, etc.
I give stars to each of the five criteria, starting with red, at the bottom, and then working up to blue, green, silver, and the coveted gold star. This site, which i shall identify as only DXX, earned the following: gold, gold, gold, gold, and gold. It is so nice, i think i will stat for four nights.
Later, i discovered that the site had been occupied by, you guessed it, an RV, until 20 minutes before i arrived. I also later toured the entire camp with Erde and found no other site that for a tenter such as myself would have earned five golds. And no more than 10 minutes after i got back to the site, other new arrivals started to come by looking for an ocean view site. So had i arrived yesterday, or 10 minutes on either side of when i did, i, like Tom Dooley, would still be on the road hung up in all my rules looking for the perfect site. As it is, i am sitting here in my comfortable easy chair in my cozy tent, with Erde sleeping at my side, the rain falling lightly on the tent fly, the ocean roaring perhaps just 100 feet away, and am about to break open a 187ml bottle of cheap Sutter Home Merlot, and listen to some Wagner on my iPad What more could a guy ask for?
The only negative about this site is, you guessed it, the RV parked next door, occupied by a hefty couple a dozen years my junior. Sparing my readers my real feelings, it wouldn't be that bad except for their running their generator so they can have electricity to power their home comforts, destroying for others the real reason people come here, to listen to the sounds of nature and the ocean crashing on the shore. These are the people who give RVers a bad reputation. Why people like this even go out on the street at home, i don't know.
Photos for the day.
My neighbor Judy's little T@G camper. Maybe some day I'll get one, or it's bigger brother. However, it wound take just as long to set up camp as it does now, now that i have my system down pat and love camping in my tent in the rain, wind, cold and snow.
A scene from the Olympic Highway... For thise who have not seen my Defender, that tire you keep seeing in all my photos taken from inside while driving is my 6th tire. I carry two spares, one on the rear door and the other on the bonnet, or hood as we say in the US.
Erde resting (again) just before we pulled into Kalaloch. She can sleep anywhere she wants in the Defender.
Our magnificent camp at Kalaloch. Clearly a 10.
Our first visitor at Kalaloch. I think he or she is following us, or perhaps hitching a ride from Jasper.
If i get cabin fever staying in the tent if it rains, i just move my comfortable easy chair to the rear of the Defender and hang out there with the view of the ocean. Erde gets to snuggle down in her bed under the concrete picnic table which is covered by the canopy. Cozy.
Erde inspecting an interesting tree near us.
Ed and Erde, On The Road
P.S. Sorry for any errors in this message or posting. The iPad spellcheck is not known for its attention to detail.
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