Staircase Rapids at Lake Cushman

Staircase Rapids is a beautiful 2.1 mile loop trail following the North Fork of the Skokomish River in Washington.  We get there by following the shore of Lake Cushman, a 4,015 acre (1625 hectare) reservoir providing power to the city of Tacoma from its dam.  The Staircase  is named from a cedar staircase built by Lt. O'Neil and his group of soldiers and scientists who in 1890 surveyed the watersheds of nine rivers by cutting a 5-foot wide trail across 93 miles of wilderness, including building the Staircase across a rock bluff that was a major obstacle.  The Staircase itself is long gone, but the name for the path remains.

The Staircase

Along the River

To the trail

Following the trail

First view of the rapids

Continuing along the trail

More rapids

Eventually, we reach a bridge over the rapids and get a few pictures of the flowing water.

Bridge

Rapids both ways

We follow the trail back and then wind along the shore of Lake Cushman back to civilization.

Along the trail back

Lake Cushman

People are starting to gather on the shore of the lake for evening/sunset swims, paddles, and parties.  We leave them to it and continue on our way home.

Striped Creek Trail in Washington

Striped Peak Trail is in Clallam County Park is located near Port Angeles, Washington on the grounds of a World War II-era US Army camp, Camp Hayden.  The trail offers panoramic views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca (and Canada across the water).  We park and head into the forest of towering cedar, fir, and hemlock trees.

The park

Views along the trail

Starting along the trail

First view of the water

Continuing along the trail

Hiking along the strait

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a channel extending east from the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island, British Columbia (Canada) and the Olympic Peninsula, Washington (USA) to Haro Strait, San Juan Channel, Rosario Strait, and Puget Sound.  The strait is about 96 miles (154 km) long and is the Salish Sea's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean.  The international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the center of the strait.

Digging deeper, we find that the Salish Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, located in British Columbia and Washington State, including the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and an intricate network of connecting channels and adjoining waterways.  The sea is partially separated from the open Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island in Canada and the Olympic Peninsula in the US and the region is anchored by Vancouver to the north and Seattle to the south.  Other principal cities on the Salish Sea include Bellingham, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Everett, Tacoma, Olympia, and Bremerton in Washington and Victoria and Nanaimo in British Columbia.

Returning to the reality of hiking along the strait, back at the trail head we note that a black bear and cubs have recently been sighted on the trail.  Luckily, we don't meet them today and move on.

Notice

This has been a brief exploration of a short piece of the shoreline of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, showing off its beauty (but, this time, not its bears).

Waterfalls (Sol Duc and Marymere) in the Olympic National Park

We drive from Port Angeles on the Strait of San Juan de Fuca (separating Washington State from Vancouver Island, British Columbia) into the Olympic National Forest to visit two waterfalls.  The first, Sol Duc Falls is 14 miles (23 km) off US Highway 101, the primary road through the park.  The waterfall splits into as many as four channels as it cascades 48 feet (15 meters) into a narrow, rocky canyon.

Trailhead parking lot

Along the trail

Reaching the falls

The trail back

Our next stop is Marymere Falls, near the shores of Lake Crescent.  The trail forms a loop, offering two spectacular viewpoints of the 90 foot (27 meter) high waterfall, one looking down on the falls as they plunge through a notch in the cliff; the other looking up from the base of the falls.

Trail and bridges to the falls

First glimpse of the falls

Views at the falls

We finish the loop around the two viewing sites and return to the shores of Lake Crescent, a deep lake located entirely within the Olympic National Park.  With an official maximum depth of 624 feet (190 meters), Lake Crescent is the second-deepest lake in Washington and is known for brilliant blue waters and exception clarity enabled by the low levels of nitrogen in the water that inhibit the growth of algae.

Lake Crescent

After our hikes up to the two falls, we return to Port Angeles to track down dinner.