Washington National Parks - Day 7 - August 15, 2014

Day 7: August 15, 2014

Today was one for the ages.  After waking up early, as usual, Nick went for a long run then I went for a glorious 5-mi run down to Mo’s then back up the beach.  We had to run a few loads of laundry and the laundry mat didn’t open until 9:00.  From 9-11 we ran two loads of clothes, then ate a quick lunch of sandwiches then drove into Ecola State Park.  

 It was our intention to take a very fun 1.25 mile one-way hike from the parking lot down to Crescent Beach, just like we did last year but we all forgot that the Crescent Beach hike started from the Ecola Point Lookout parking lot and not from the Indian Beach parking lot.  So after taking the trail to Ecola Point (about 1.5 miles), we realized that we were completely turned around. We ventured down to a “trail” that went behind the bathrooms but we quickly realized it wasn’t for hikers.  We did walk to a lookout and get a great close-up of a hawk.   

Nick wanted to keep going but I was getting nervous.  After getting to a point of sheer treachery, Nick stepping in a bunch of mud and doing some crazy ballet moves, we finally turned around and that’s when we realized that the trailhead of the trail we intended to take, was just in front of us.  So we said, “What the hell” and continued on the 1.25 mile trail down to Crescent Beach.  The hike was amazing.  We got down to it, literally after hiking for 2 hours. 


































We all took our shoes off and walked over to and up the waterfall that we drank from the previous year.  It was amazing.  

 

 Nick stripped down to his underwear and dove into the Pacific and 3 of the 4 of us peed on the beach.  

Then we had to go back the 1.25 miles, + the .25 miles across the parking lot, + the 1.5 miles, back to the car.  4.25 hours later, at 4:45, we made it back to the car.  We totally bribed the kids, telling them that if they did the, what turned into a 6 miles hike without complaining, we’d give them an extra $10 of vacation money, a 50% increase from the $20 they’d been given.  They were unbelievable.  Everyone’s legs were hurting but man those two kids were troopers. 

We got back to the room and I took a quick shower then fixed turkey sausage, cheese, fruit and Hawaiian rolls for dinner.  We all ate then walked back to Bruce’s so the kids could get a treat. They both bought these Icee candy spray things and I got a caramel apple.  Nick got taffy.  Then Nick and I both got coffee.  We went into one souvenir shop (next door to the Crepes store) where Grant bought a sling shot then we walked over to the playground and the kids played for a while.  They actually played all out and after Grant’s 10^th or 11^th fall off the monkey bars and Ryan’s bloody knee, we went home.  Both of those poor kids cried practically the whole way home.  They were both exhausted and who can blame them.  But what a day it was!!