In September of 1971 my then-husband and I, along with my brother, backpacked up the Elwah for a quick weekend trip. Sitting around the campfire, we joked about maybe we should string our backpacks high up between two trees, the way we did when backpacking in Canada, in order to keep the bears away. “HaHa….as if we needed to, down here in the 48,” was the general attitude. Well, the last laugh was on us. Rising early the next morning, I stepped out of my tent to come face to face with a young black bear, ransacking the pack that had been carrying all the food. He/she looked at me as if to say, “Thanks for being so accommodating.” The bear then ambled off about 100 ft., sat down, and watched the humans reaction. The pack was a total loss; the only thing not eaten and/or shredded, was a small shaker of pepper. Although the bear watched for a few minutes and then departed, with no signs of any aggression (only curiosity, if anything), we proceeded to pack up and hike out. At the ranger’s station we reported the sighting. The ranger remarked that the bear was “down early from the high country….must be going to have an early, severe winter.” True to this prediction, the winter of ‘71-'72 included a blizzard in Seattle and over 1000 inches of snow in the Olympics. (This thrilling encounter as well as other wildlife “meetings’ on other hikes up the Elwah, make the Olympics one of my fondest places in memory).
Sincerely,
Olympic National Park
Exploring Olympic’s dynamic landscape is like visiting three parks in one. The high mountains offer snow, glaciers, wilderness and — if you time it right — acres of wildflowers. The lush, verdant Hoh Rainforest is unlike anything else in the Lower 48, and home to Roosevelt elk, black bears and other charismatic wildlife. And the park’s stunning coast offers some of the country's wildest and most spectacular beaches, dotted with tide pools and sea stacks. Visitors can now see where park staff recently removed two large dams, letting the Elwha River flow freely again for the first time in more than 100 years.
State(s): Washington
Established: 1938
“They offer some of the few places still wild and (fairly) natural in our country, and/or historical.”
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Greetings from Olympic National Park
I spent a day hiking in Olympic National Park with my family this summer. We were greeted by snow-capped mountains and miles of evergreens, both of which were familiar characteristics of Washington State. Throughout the year, the mountains are always dotted with wildflowers frequented by fat bees and skittish butterflies.…
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Greetings from Olympic National Park
On top of Hurricane Ridge I came across this deer who seemed to be enjoying the view as much as I did.
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Greetings from Olympic National Park
In 1993 I was 16 years old and had just come out in my small town. There was no one else I knew, no support groups, no gay characters in TV or movies. Fortunately, I had very supportive friends. I spent that summer volunteering in the backcountry of Olympic National…
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