Author: Occidental

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A Loop of Washington’s National Parks | Mt. Rainier National Park

After picking up our tuna in Westport we spent the rest of the day moving east while avoiding Washington’s biggest cities. Making the loop from North Cascade to Olympic and then on to Rainer had the added bonus of creating a route that avoided the traffic and chaos of Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia. By late afternoon we were close enough to Mt. Rainier that we could get into the park and try and beat the big crowds we knew we’d find at Paradise. The next morning we arrived at Paradise fairly early, and just barely in time. The parking lot was filling with the hoardes.

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A Loop of Washington’s National Parks | Olympic National Park

Fresh off our overnight backpack out to the Olympic Coast we still had plenty of time in the day. The forecast was for clear-ish skies atop Hurricane Ridge so we left the low elevations of the coastal region and headed to the other end of the extremes found at Olympic National Park, the mountains. It was in the low 50’s when we arrived atop Hurricane Ridge, and just clear enough to offer a few glimpses of the impressive Olympic mountains between passing low cloud banks.

Fleeting views at Hurricane Ridge
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A Loop of Washington’s National Parks | Olympic Coast

After departing North Cascade National Park we headed toward Whidbey Island and hopped the ferry to the Olympic Peninsula. We swung through Port Angeles to pick up our backcountry permit at the Olympic National Park wilderness information center, and the next morning we hit the trail out to the Olympic Coast from Ozette. The “Ozette Triangle” makes for a nice overnight loop if you want to get a taste for the Olympic Coast. At just over 9 miles round trip it’s not too long, but far enough to leave a lot of the crowd behind and see a bit of wild coastline.

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