PACIFIC NORTHWEST
DETAILS
When — June 6th, 2O22
Where — Seattle, WA - Port Angeles, WA
Mileage — 77 miles
Compliments on my motorcycle - 2
The airport, a ferry, and fog
Day 15 of the Double Nickel Ride started off with a bitter sweet ride down to the Seattle Tacoma airport to drop Steph off to fly home. We had an amazing weekend in Seattle and I feel very rested and ready for the next leg of the trip. Steph is going to write a blog about all the things that we saw and did on our visit to Seattle. Stay tuned!
Now turning my attention to Leg 3; The Pacific Coast Highway or PCH. This was an interesting trip after dropping Steph off at the airport. I returned the rental car that we used over the weekend and then took Uber back to our Airbnb. I loaded the motorcycle and then headed north in Seattle towards the Edmonds ferry.
I would use the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry to cross Puget Sound. As entered the ferry area I was told that after I purchased my ticket that motorcycles were to go to the front of the line. As I approached all lanes were blocked. A helpful man from the Navy, who was also riding a motorcycle, saw I was confused and showed what to do. He does this ferry every day as part of his daily commute. He showed me how to work around traffic to get to the front of the line. We were the first on the ferry and after a very chilly cruise the first to exit. I picked up WA 104, lunched at Port Gamble, and crossed the Hood Canal Floating Bridge. I then headed west on US 101. When I’m doing the Pacific Coast Highway I’ll be alternating between Highway one and US Highway 101, so today was the first time I was on US 101!
As I approached Port Angeles I could see storm clouds brewing above the mountains and I knew it was time to put on the rain gear. After suiting up I found the entrance to the Olympic National Park and then went into the Heart of the Hills campground. I found an open site and camp I quickly assembled camp. I decided to try to travel up Hurricane Ridge Road which climbs Mt Angeles and Hurricane Hill. This attempt failed, as I got higher and higher on hurricane Ridge visibility became very very low and the temperature was dropping quickly until it was about 43°. I began to see snow at that elevation I decided that I was not going to see anything and really wasn’t worth the risky all the way to the top. I’ll try tomorrow.
I went into town and provisioned wood for a campfire and then headed back to make dinner and warm up for the evening. So all in all it was only 114 miles today. I plan on spending two nights here and then a third night in Port Angeles at a hotel so I can rest up and gear up to head out to really begin to Pacific Coast Highway.
So the Pacific time zone is proving to be difficult and as well data signals are not very strong. So the blog might be a little spotty here and there. I appreciate everybody’s support.
