Weird coincidence alert: we just heard from our friend Lynn, who checked in to inform us that she celebrated her birthday last night with a friend on the Oregon coast. They shared a bottle of wine - the same wine that we shared (shown in our photo yesterday): a Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc, from New Zealand. Scary.
Happy birthday, Lynn! I’m sorry we weren’t there to celebrate with you. See you next month!
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The Oregon Discovery Trail is very spotty. West of Port Angeles we got about five good miles of separated paths before it ended at unpleasant Piedmont Road, our companion for the next ten miles. After that, a great stretch south from the village of Joyce to the north shore of Lake Crescent. We left it there to skirt the eastern end of the lake and then ride on Highway 101 for a tense three miles until reaching the lodge, the only accommodations between Port Angeles and Forks. I have to say that if this were the only part of the route I was going to ride, I probably wouldn’t.
The ODT continues on west though, along the north shore of the lake on its way to the ocean. We’ll be back here tomorrow to pick it up again, preferring to backtrack the three miles on Highway 101 to continuing west on it along the lake for the next eight miles.
It’s overcast, almost misty, this morning; but there’s at least enough visability to see Ediz Spit before we leave town.
Once we escape Port Angeles we enjoy several more excellent miles on the ODT. The woods are getting darker and denser as we move west away from the rain shadow.
The new Elwha River Bridge replaces the old truss bridge that was in use from 1913 to 2007. I’m sorry to have missed seeing the old one, but it’s two tiered replacement is very nice with its non-motorized level below.
Piedmont Road, our least favorite road of the day until we came to our REAL least favorite road. It wasn’t too bad really - traffic was fast moving but moderate and respectful, and at times there was even a decent shoulder. After ten miles though we were ready to see the end of it.
We had thought there were no services along today’s route, but not so. Joyce has all the essentials. If we’d only known, I could have saved room for a Sasquatch Burger at the Blackberry Cafe.
Lars and Liese, a couple from Victoria biking the ODT in the opposite direction. We stopped to chat for a while, picking their brains about the state of the trail along the north shore of Lake Crescent.
I don’t know what this road is - on the map it’s called the Olympic Discovery Trail, but it’s really just a road. A very pleasant, quiet one that runs from Joyce to the north shore of Lake Crescent.
So here’s the REAL least favorite road of the day: Highway 101. It looks so innocent here - low traffic volume, broad shoulder. It doesn’t last though, and the shoulder will all but disappear around the bend, This road along the lake is notorious - narrow, winding, at times completely shoulderless. We’re just braving the first three miles, to the lodge. Tomorrow we’ll backtrack and ride the ODT on the north shore.
After dinner we went for a walk through the old growth forest that surrounds the lodge. It is an awe-inspiring experience walking beneath these huge trees towering to the sky - cedar, Douglas fir, hemlock, Sitka spruce, big leaf maple predominate and overwhelm your senses.
However, you don’t get to see any of them for now. As the title says, this is an interim report. The WiFi here is actually much better than I’d expected, but it’s still slow enough that I’m losing patience with the project. I’ll come back when I’ve got stronger WiFi juice and fill in some blanks.
The Crescent Lake Lodge began life in 1915 as Singer’s Tavern, with eight small rooms upstairs - one of which we’re staying in, I believe.
Well, I’ve changed my mind after spending ten minutes waiting for hat last photo to upload. I’m going to close this one out, and come back later with a separate photo gallery dedicated to the trees of the peninsula.
What an awesome place this is though! You forget what an old growth forest is really like until you’re actually in one again. Every giant centuries old, moss coated and fern hosting tree you pass beneath stuns you. Look up, as Kathleen Classen always reminds us.
