THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST – When the World Shuts Down, We Road Trip!

THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST – When the World Shuts Down, We Road Trip!

August 2020

Who said you couldn’t travel during a global pandemic? Even with COVID, we decided to make the most of our break from work. So, we flew to the west, grabbed a rental car, and drove to 7 states in 11 days! In this post, you’ll journey with us around the first state we visited, Washington.

 

First thing’s first… Where did we live?

Photos by Alex Barrientos

Photos by Alex Barrientos

That’s right! For less than a week, we lived in a Yakima Roof Tent on top of a Kia car. We rented the whole setup from the app, “Outdoorsy” and it came complete with camping supplies such as an extra tent, sleeping bags, pillows, portable cooking gear, and more. Although we got A LOT of materials, the price was still more expensive than we anticipated. In the future, I would find cheaper deals elsewhere.

 

Day 1 – LAKE CRESCENT (Olympic National Park)

Expenses:
– $80.00: “America the Beautiful” US National Park Pass
This allows the pass holder and his/her entire vehicle to enter US National Parks for free. Without this pass, single-day entrance fees are normally $25.00. If you go to more than 3 national parks a year, this is definitely the pass for you, as it will save you a lot of money!
– $20.00 Per Vehicle: One night in Fairholme Camground

We set up shop at Fairholme Campground. It was right on Lake Crescent which was one of the bluest, clearest, and cleanest waters I had ever seen. It was so clean, that we took our “showers” and did our laundry there. By that, I mean: we went in with our bathing suits, shampooed our hair, scrub-a-dub-dubbed our bodies, and hand-washed our clothes. We were glad to get a taste of simple living again!

 

Day 1 (Cont’d) – MOUNT STORM KING

Don’t be fooled by our joyful faces. Mount Storm King was INTENSE. It was a 4,534-feet mountain that we thought was a 2,000-feet mountain. We obviously came into it without a clue of what we were getting ourselves into. 3 hours later, we finished hiking off the edge of cliffs, belaying on thin ropes, slipping on some rocks, drawing blood, and more. There were actually times we were so scared, we trembled.

But, we felt the Lord reminding us to live a high-adventure life because it leads to high faith. Then, there we were. By the grace of God, we took care of each other, trusted in Him, and accomplished one of the most difficult and scary hikes of my life. To say the least, WE ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.

If you’re going on this hike, be prepared. Bring a hiking stick to support your body and hiking gloves to protect your hands from rope burn. Also, bring lots of water and snacks because when you reach the summit, you might want to feed the birds. (:

 

Day 2 – HOH RAINFOREST (Forks)

These pictures will never do it justice. In this rainforest, it actually seemed like we were in the scene of a fairytale. We climbed trees and were truly one with nature. We also went to…

 

LA PUSH BEACH

If you’re a Twilight fan, you know. (:

 

Day 3 – VANCE CREEK BRIDGE (Shelton)

I present to you, my favorite part of the trip, Vance Creek Bridge! This is the second highest railway bridge in the United States of America, standing at 347 feet.

Getting here was quite the journey, as we hiked 7 miles for 2.5 hours. We walked up steep hills, squeezed through narrow and dark tree tunnels, and dodged thorn bushes. We followed pink trail markers and trespassed on about 4 private properties. The level of difficulty is in-between moderately strenuous to strenuous. See specific hiking directions on this blog.

Then, we arrived at the west side of the bridge. Let’s call this… the “safe” side. Although the hike was challenging, entering the bridge from here was a piece of cake. As you can see, all you have to do is stroll in between trees and you’re there!

Photo by Alex Barrientos

Photo by Alex Barrientos

Exiting the bridge from the east was not much of a piece of cake. So, lets call this the “dangerous” side. Part of this side was torn apart. From looking at it, it seemed impossible to get all the way across.

Luckily, we found some strangers that became our friends quickly. They helped us make it through! We realized that you can simply walk or booty scoot on the thickest metal part of the bridge; whatever is most comfortable for you!

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Photos by Alex Barrientos

Photos by Alex Barrientos

At the end, there was surrounding barbed wire. And to get back onto the ground, there was a drop-off. I didn’t know exactly how high it was. All I knew was: as a 5’1 feet individual, if I jumped off, I would’ve definitely sprained my ankles. However, there was a rope against the wall we could belay down with. Unfortunately, I knew that my upper body strength wouldn’t be able to do so successfully. Thank God our new friends continued to help us by carrying us down until our feet touched their personal ladder!

 

Day 4 – MOUNT RAINIER

“If you could only do one hike at Mount Rainier National Park, it has to be the Skyline Trail.” Whoever said this was so right. Hiking for 2.25 hours to 7,100 feet above the ground was a breathtaking experience. It was like all 4 seasons were encapsulated in one day. We saw summer through the beautiful waterfalls, fall through the evergreen trees, winter through the snowcaps, and spring through the flowery meadows. Here are images of when we finally got to the highest point of the trail!

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The Skyline Trail is a huge loop that takes a total of 4.5 hours to complete. Once we reached this top, we hiked back down for another beautiful hike where everything was picture-perfect!

 

And just like that… our trip to some of the national parks of the Pacific Northwest is complete!

ALASKA – Spontaneity at Best

ALASKA – Spontaneity at Best

THE PHILIPPINES – Back to the Motherland

THE PHILIPPINES – Back to the Motherland