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Trip Details:
Day 1 (5-25-2007):
It’s memorial day weekend and our family was
heading to Sol Duc Hot Springs as the do every year. The hot springs
are located in the SW corner of the Olympic National forest. I decided
to “kill two birds with one stone” and ride the Olympic Peninsula
loop. The plan was to leave early Friday morning and head SW up
towards the coast to hwy 101 and ride NW to the hot springs where the
family would meet mw later. My wife, kids and grandparents were coming
up in the RV. My wife’s brother and his family were coming up as well
in their car. I was going to make 3 days of riding out of it heading
back through Port Angeles Sunday. The weather was looking like Sunday
was going to be sunny Friday and cloudy Saturday and Sunday. I
decided last minute to invert my route. This way I would get the best
of weather for riding Hurricane Ridge in Port Angeles.
I had my bike packed and ready to go the night
before so I made a quick departure at 11:20 AM Friday. To avoid a
boring ride down hwy 16 I went through Purdy onto hwy 302 and made my
way to Hood Canal. I road around Hood Canal and the view was awesome.
This area is one of my favorites with allot of little towns and places
to stop. The road around the Canal is loaded with twisties paralleling
the water. State patrol is known to patrol this area so be careful. I
was on a strait road and was able to see a white Tahoe with lights on
top waiting down the road. He pulled out and followed me a bit so I
took it as an opportunity to pull over and snap some pictures. After a
short break I was on to my next stop Discovery Bay. Discovery Bay is
home to Fat Smitty’s know for the Smitty Burger. This burger is a
thing of beauty. It’s like a Big Mac on steroids with real beef
Patty’s, 3 bun sections, tomato, bacon, lettuce and Onion hanging out
of the sides. It stands about 5 ½ inches tall and you have smash it
down to get it into your mouth. I have to say it was very tasty. And
to know surprise, the cook is a large man named Smitty. Burgers joints
like this are slowly slipping away into history over taken by fast
food chains.
After a filling meal I was back on the road
heading to Port Angeles and Hurricane Ridge. Once in Port Angeles I
soon turned on to Hurricane Ridge Road heading up onto the hills. This
road turns on to Heart of The Hills road. This was my first ride up to
Hurricane Ridge and it was nothing short of pure delight. Allot of
twisties with many great view points and ample opportunity to
photograph deer. The first deer sighting I counted 5. This ride
produced more deer sightings then an ride I have ridden around Rainier
National Forest. As I came with in a mile of the visitors center the
ground became intermittently covered in large patches of snow. Once
at the visitors center is was photo time. This was a great opportunity
to snap some photos of the gorgeous scenery. Hurricane Ridge is a 34
mile must do, if your in this area. It's approximately 17 miles up and
17 miles down. If you have the time, try not to
miss out on this section of road.
The ride down was just as pleasant as the ride
up. Once I was down into Port Angeles I made a brief fuel stop. From
here I made my way back onto SW bound hwy 101. This stretch of road
brings through Port Angeles and towards Crescent Lake where I got the
pleasure of riding through some great twisties that parallel the lake
and provide ample opportunity to pull off and enjoy the view. The
roads through here are rough and in some cases were grooved for some
road work. Watch out for these areas as grooves tend to cause a bit of
a stability concern from time to time. It was getting around 5:20 PM
and the hot springs were not far away. Near the end of the lake hwy
101 turns South bound. A short ride from here and I saw my first sign
informing me I was to take the next left to Sol Duc Hot Springs. My
GPS was right on the money! The park entrance is approximately ¼
mile from the road. I stopped and purchased a yearly pass for $30.00
and headed up the road. I’m going to guess and say the hot springs
were about 4 miles into the Olympic National Forrest. This was 4 miles
of slightly banked twisties paralleling the river with countless road
side stream fed falls. The best way to sum this short section up is
just gorgeous. I’ll take this opportunity to warn you to watch your
speed. The twisties scream 60 mph but the speed limit is 35 mph. A
firm 35 mph! I will elaborate within day 2. After a brief check in, I
was handed a key (the only one) to a kozzy little 500 square foot
cabin. 2 beds a small love seat, table and bathroom. The cabins are
heated with electricity, hair dryer and coffee pot. They do not come
with phone or TV. If you plan on making a cell phone call you can plan
on heading down out of the park and down towards Lake Crescent. I’m
not sure when the cellular signals come in again but they do work back
up the road about 10 miles. Since I arrived a hour or so before my
family I took the opportunity to take a short nap. Our cabin’s front
door was about 20 yards from the river bank. This and an open door mad
for a great nap. This was brief as I was awakened by my family and it
was time to get everyone situated.
Day 2 (5-26-2007):
After breakfast with the family and a hour long
soak in the hot springs pools I was ready to hit the road with my step
son Matt. But first we had to hit the showers and get ride of the
rotten egg smell that come with the sulfur from the hot springs. We
showered and got our gear together and headed down through the park to hwy 101. The plan was to ride SW on 101 to hwy 113 to hwy 112
and Back to US 101 where we would end up back at the hot springs.
First stop was a little café called the Hungry Bear Café near mile
post 206 on US 101. I heard they have a 1 pound hamburger and Matt
loves a good burger. And I might as well say it... I do too!
The cafe was just as I pictured it. Small and
quaint with allot of history. As we approached the cafe we took notice
of 3 Harley's parked out front. In the window I could see a group of
riders sitting in the corner window table. As we entered the cafe I
noticed some hunters trophy mounts on the walls as well as many old
pictures. I really enjoy these small cafe's and
 even more when the
food is good. We sat at a table just a few feet from the other bikers.
The waitress came by and took our orders. That was 2 1 pound burgers.
It wasn't long and the mammoth burgers were delivered to our table.
All we could do is laugh due to the size of the things. The burgers
were 3/4 the size of the plate and was the best tasting burger I have
eaten. The other riders got a kick out of them as well. It wasn't long
and one of the riders came over and sat down with us to chat. He
introduced himself as Clive (hope I spelled it right). He was curious
how the ST1300 handled and asked about the camera. I explained
to him my little hobby about riding around Washington and collecting
ride video to share with others on this site. He was interested in
some other Washington rides as well. We talked for a bit as we ate.
Once the food was put away we all settled up our bills with the
waitress and shuffled out the door to our bikes. We spent some time
talking and comparing gear and stuff along with taking a few photo's.
Matt thought it was pretty cool getting his picture taken with Clive
and friends. It turns out 2 of the riders rode up from Mexico and blew
a tire tube in the middle of the Baja desert. Luck would have it, some
folks came along in a van and drove them 400 miles to a nearby town.
The local police called in their mechanic to help get them back on the
road. These folks were a great bunch of people. It goes to show you
Karma does go around.
Soon we were on the road and I made it a point to
get some video of Clive and friend riding off on US 101. Within 2
miles we turned of on to hwy 113 to go on with our ride. I was very
impressed with the road conditions and the endless string of twisties.
As I rode through them enjoying the countryside I kept thinking to
myself, it just doesn't get any better. If your going to ride the
Olympic loop you have to ride this small loop around Crescent lake. It
is a spectacular ride that is approximately 80 miles. There is a short
area where you cut through the forest on some patchy and bump roads
but it's brief. It wasn't long and we turned South on US 101
paralleling Crescent lake. This meant we were nearing the end of our
ride. Several miles of lake side twisties were the icing on the cake.
All was good, that is until the Park Ranger pulled me over for 48 in a
35. I wasn't watching the speedometer and he didn't waste time turning
around and pulling me over. He asked me if I was trying to catch the
bike that entered the park ahead of me. I told him I was simply
not paying attention to my speed. In the end honesty paid of as he let
me off the hook with a verbal. That was a close one. A few more miles
and we got back to the camp ground where my father in laws RV was parked
just in time to roast smores over the camp fire. Grandma tried to feed
me but there was no way I could eat another thing for some time. A
Camp fire and family time was a great end to the day.
Day 3 (5-27-2007)
Breakfast came and went and I started getting my gear ready for the
days ride. Today's route would take me South
bound US 101 through Forks and on past the Ocean Beaches. I planned on
fueling up in Aberdeen and riding hwy 12 to I-5 near Olympia. There I
would make a slight detour and stop in at Stewart's Meats in McKenna.
I planned on picking up some jerky and Jalapeño pepperoni. As luck
would have it as soon as I started my departure the rain started up.
No worries, I had the appropriate gear for the conditions. US 101 kept
dishing out the twisties all the way and past the ocean beaches.
It was very cool to ride this stretch of road with the Ocean to your
side. The views were magnificent. The weather was very fickle as one
moment I was in a down pour and the next partly sunny skies. I must
have mounted and dismounted my camera gear 6 times. I included a
picture of my rear tire that demonstrates I was using every inch of my
tires navigating the twisties. After all, I wouldn't want them to wear
flat. :-) It wasn't long and
I was approaching Aberdeen and the Shell station where I stopped for
fuel. Soon I was riding hwy 12 towards Tacoma. This isn't a bad
stretch of road but doesn't come close to the last couple days worth
of roads and scenery. I was glad to approach Olympia where I turned on
to I-5, simply because I was tired and ready for some rest. Another 30
minutes or so I was placing my order for 2 pounds of pep and 2 pounds
of cubed jerky. As I was placing the meat in my rear trunk I had to do
a bit of sampling. I was still full from that hamburger the day before
but it smelt too good! From this point on it I road through McKenna
and Roy on 507 until it dumped me off in to Spanaway. The rest of the
ride home doesn't warrant any mention other then I made it home in one
piece. Looking back I would have to say this has been one of the best
rides right up there with the time I rode Windy Ridge and Sunrise in
the same day.
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