Olympic Peninsula Adventure Time

This weekend was the Lingcod Opener for Washington, with this in mind i set out with the intention of three days of ocean fishing at la push.  ocean conditions turned for the worse, so i adjusted fire to steelhead fish the coastal rivers.  the plan was to bank fish Saturday, then run a river Sunday and another on Monday.  Things....did not go well, which is why this is not a fishing report, its an adventure report.
 
Saturday morning I drove out to the Oxbow Campground on the Hoh River. when I arrived the river was in great shape, I took advantage of the opportunity and fished the upper river(took selfies so it looked like I was fishing) after I got tired of catching loads of fish(Taking pictures of myself) I decided to set up camp



as soon as I put the tarp up it decided to start raining. biblical amounts of rain. it rained harder than I have ever been in in my entire life, like 3 inches of rain in a few hours. I sat under my tarp drinking beer and shivering. As soon as I stepped out to tend the fire I would get soaked again. needless to say that much rain made the river rise about 4 feet. I went to bed soggy and cold, plans ruined.



Todd showed up late in the night, we check out a couple rivers in vain, everything was blown out. I headed out to la push to check out the 12-16ft surf. it was full gnarlz.



after la push I drove out to shipwreck point, along the strait near Neah bay. the thought was that the strait would be protected from the mayhem on the coast.  as I was cruising along, I saw this badass piece of America eating fish.



why is it that the side view of a bald eagle is so cool,



but as soon as they look at you they look retarded?



AHHH Wave!!



I got to shipwreck point and built a chill out lean to on the beach. Todd showed up after fishing lake pleasant for the day, he didn't catch anything.



and the rain finally stopped



so I built a fire to go with my alcohol



FIRE!!!!!



the fire was so big it brought on the dawn



conditions had not improved, even though it looks nice, further down the coast the ocean was still angry.



so I went home. stopped at lake crescent to take a picture. worst fishing trip ever, but a fairly decent adventuring trip.

Great adventures.  Being forced to leave must feel like a watered down version of the doctor telling you that you have 6 months to live.

Nice photos...hopefully this coming weekend will be better at La Push! 

Those are epic Bald Eagle photos!  What camera did you use?

My money is on this weekend.

Those are epic Bald Eagle photos!  What camera did you use?

Canon eos 70D and a really nice lense

Great adventures.  Being forced to leave must feel like a watered down version of the doctor telling you that you have 6 months to live.

Yeah,  I will miss this place immensely, there is no where else like it.  I feel I have to jam as much in as possible before I leave.  The end of one adventure is the start of another.

Wow, great pictures...going back this weekend?

Nice photos, just the wrong weekend. I'll probably be going out that way this coming weekend.

Great pictures.  Sometimes adventures can be just a memorable as good fishing. 

Thanks for sharing those cool pictures! Even though you couldn't fish those soggy memories will be fun to call back on in the middle of the summer when it's 80 out and you have your limit in the yak!! Bring on the SUN!!

Love the story-telling! Humor mixed with a fast narrative... good stuff. Great photos of the eagle. I enjoy wildlife photography and I know how challenging it can be to get a good shot in good light, so nice work on that one! We could all probably stand to enjoy our circumstances more when things don't go as planned... I know I could.

That's a successful trip by my standards.  In the words of Henry David Thoreau:
"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."

Thanks for the documenting and sharing the mood so succinctly!

-Spot-

Very nice. ......although I suspect it was a little cold and wet.

Wow, great pictures...going back this weekend?

Not this weekend, gotta start packing up the house.  I may hit american lake, or I may make a day trip to hoodsport.  I have a 4 day at the end of the month, so we will see.