Travel Blog:

From the "Pitts" to the "Peaks"

by Robert Aldrich Photos by Robert Aldrich

Mellen, WI

"A what?” A pandemic? But our trip....can we still go?....but all that planning, and reservations, and tickets.....

Yes, a pandemic. Of a horrible disease that has taken many lives, and has made many very, very sick.

So when, in retirement, after long careers, a major trip was finally planned in March of 2020, to have to cancel everything was, well...the “pitts”.

All that Trudy had planned, to visit Japan, during cherry blossom season, including plane tickets, train passes, show venues, and accommodations, all had to be cancelled.

The airlines of course, would give us credit, that would have to be used in the near future. That got us thinking about Iceland ...somewhere we’ve been talking about visiting. Through the summer, it seemed that perhaps Iceland might be possible by the fall of 2020. Again, reservations, accommodations, and trip plan in place. But no. Iceland was closed, and it was the round of cancellations again.

There was a deadline closing in on airline credit, so we thought....where in the U.S. ??

We both liked the idea of Washington State. Trudy was living on Whidbey Island in 1980, and heard the blast, as her house shook. She has great memories of the grandeur of western Washington State. There are mountains, rain forests, the Pacific Ocean, Puget Sound, and National Parks, with historic lodges. And it’s in the “good ol’ U.S.A.”.

We flew to Seattle, rented a car, and drove to Mt. St. Helen’s. I was in the Midwest when the mountain

erupted, but remember the pictures. Trudy felt the blast nearly 250 miles away, on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound.

What we think of as grandeur, or spectacular beauty and awesome scenery in the west, came about from catastrophic changes in the earth, millions of years ago. The subduction of tectonic plates drove the west coast of the U.S. upward, and upward, and upward to form Mt. St. Helen’s, Mt. Ranier, Mt. Baker, the whole Cascade range, and we know about the San Andreas fault in California....still part of that geology.

I must say, as a bit of a music head.

The effects of the blast from Mt. St. Helen’s, that are still visible today, stretch one’s ability to comprehend. The initial shock wave exploded at about 500 miles per hour. This splintered old growth trees in excess of 500 years old into toothpicks. It threw boulders the size of apartments miles away.

In Spirit Lake, some miles from the crater, a tidal wave resulted, that raced 850 feet up the north shore of the lake, then sweeping all the splintered and ground debris back into the lake. Many acres of logs still float, and are submerged in the lake.

The geology of the area is endlessly intriguing. There were lava flows from volcanos millions of years ago, that created lava tubes. What?? Lava TUBES? Well, yes. When lava flows down from volcanic mountains, it follows the path of least resistance, like water. As it flows, the upper portion begins to cool, but the center of the flow is still molten.

Naturalists describe this as akin to a pie crust that cools on top, but the pie filling is still very hot. When the lava flow ceases, there is a hardened roof, and a tube where the lava emptied. It is eerie, but awesome to walk through where very hot, liquid rock flowed like a river. Next, we headed to Mt. Ranier, and the Paradise Lodge, a National Park Lodge, built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps). As is often the case, we were shrouded in mist at that altitude, but in the morning, the mist had lifted and we were dwarfed by the immensity of Mt. Ranier.

Trudy had planned this trip. All the arrangements, the hikes, all the reservations. It was time for our first major hike: The Skyline Trail at Paradise. Sounds dreamy, right?? Well, buckle up! The lodge is at 5,400 ft. of elevation, and we were heading on a trail that will reach 7,100 ft. OK, let’s go! We started well below the trails you can see winding up to our vantage point.

There were a few others out, as it was a beautiful day, and everyone was looking for some “safe escape” from the pandemic.

Trudy’s goal was to pack it all in, so when we left Mt. Ranier, we headed for the Olympic Peninsula. Did I mention rain forests?

I am well familiar with forests...I live in northern Wisconsin, and there are National Forests all around me. The massive white pines that stood here, fell to produce houses all across this country in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The forests here, still produce lumber. But I was not prepared to see the forests of western Washington. Douglas Fir, and Sitka Spruce that are alive and hundreds of years old are a wonderland through which to walk. We walked in a little way to see the “World’s Largest Spruce”.

The true rain forests offer a stark glimpse of the life cycle over a much longer span than human experience. Trees that were here many hundreds of years ago die, fall, begin to decompose, and new life springs from them. Straight rows of cedars, now hundreds of years old rise from these “nurse logs”, and can be seen. Moss hangs from trees in this humid environment, and you find yourself wondering, “did I just see Sasquatch move behind that massive Douglas Fir?”

Emerge from the forests, head west a bit....and there’s this ocean....it has a name....the Pacific. It’s latin name means “gentle”, passive. Well, it is immense, as you know. The coastline is so incredibly varied: beaches, tidal pools in volcanic rock, sheer cliffs, “hole in the wall” rocks. And always what the tides roll in.

From the Olympic Peninsula, we took a ferry out to the San Juan Islands, and stayed at Orcas Island. This archipelago out in the Straight of San Juan de Fuca, is again, geologically, part of the upheaval of land from the subduction of tectal plates, and has fascinating topography. If you said, “ORCAS” ?? You mean, like WHALES?? Well, yes. And while we call Orcas “Killer Whales”, indeed they are not true whales, but members of the dolphin family.

We boarded Maya's Legacy Whale Watching tours, and saw a number of a well known pod of orcas, and learned much of their family’s story. There were some sea lions as well, and a fascinating tour.

Back on the mainland, Trudy was intent on climbing to Winchester mountain. Since that is the name of her home town growing up, she was focused. There is a “road” part way up. Well, “‘part way up”, before the “part way up”, I decided I would not attempt to get a rental vehicle up the “part way”.

We left it about a mile below the parking area, but then began our ascent up Winchester. While we did not make summit, it was an incredible hike, and with mist closing in, and turning to rain, and maybe snow, we headed back down.

When one sees the world, or at least a spectacular glimpse of one part here in our own country, with such expansive views, and natural grandeur all around, one gains some perspective, or at least one SHOULD gain some perspective.

And the history of a culture here thousands of years before white Europeans were here, should be acknowledged, and appreciated. And indeed, native culture is still here and exists today. There are at least 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington today, and their cultures go back thousands of years.

Their relationship with salmon, and their harmony with the natural environment are evident in carvings, totems, and symbols in their culture. I personally respect very highly how they have lived in this wondrous state.