The Great Outdoors

(Not really the topic, but couldn't resist)

After a two-year hiatus I started playing golf again. The good, and bad, news is I am not far off of where I used to be talent wise. However, its cool because I am definitely not one of those guys you see who dress like Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods. I have been golfing since I was about 13 and have never paid for one set of clubs. I started using my grandfather's set and then my uncle's. Once a friend of mine got a new set he was gracious enough to pass along his old set to me, and the same happened a few weeks ago. Eighteen years of cheapness and counting!

I also think golf gets a bad rap some of the time. Granted it can require a good amount of money to get going, unless you want to be a cheapskate like myself. However, I grew up in Michigan, which has a lot of public golf courses, both nice and more "cost effective." Even out here in Oregon, I paid $10 for a 9-hole course on Sunday. It can be a nice hobby if you do it correctly.

However, this post is not strictly about golf, more so the outdoors in general. I realized when I was out playing this past Sunday how much I enjoy golf, but a majority of that joy comes from the simple act of being outside. Even when the conditions aren't the best, a bad day outside beats a good day inside almost every time. 

I think it's what draws me towards the hobbies and past times I choose: hiking, camping, golf, snowboarding, and even hockey. Its been awhile since I played hockey, but I always loved playing pond hockey or on an outdoor rink. Even if I just take a book outside, the fresh air and natural light helps a lot more than sitting inside, straining my eyes with artificial light. 

I think its something lost these days. I know I sound like an old man, but it seems like all anyone wants to talk about is TV shows these days. "Oh man have you seen Narcos?! Its sooooo good, I watched all 10 episodes in 2 days!" I have done things like this in the past, but I always felt like I had wasted a tremendous amount of time. 

When I got to Portland, Xfinity/Comcast wanted me to pay an absurd amount to have a technician come out to my apartment to "fix" something which I had nothing to do with. I immediately canceled my account, thinking I would find an alternative later. Although on occasion I miss it, I have not once missed it enough to call up Comcast. I will have plenty of time to watch TV shows when I am too old to do any of those activities I mentioned before. 

A Very Michigan Camping Trip

First off, every entry will not be centered around my trips to National Parks. However, these are the easiest for right now as I have a lot of pictures and they are fresh in my mind. My goal with this blog is to cover a wide variety of topics from food to sports to travel to whatever I feel like.

For Memorial Day Weekend 2015, I was able to do a camping trip with some friends from Michigan. There were five of us in total, but only one still lives in Michigan, with two coming from Portland and two from Sioux Falls, SD. Such is the modern day working professional I guess, go where you can find the best jobs!

I had heard good things from coworkers about Olympic. One coworker even lived in the region for a long time and would visit the park on a weekly basis, so we had some great local knowledge to help us out. While we had limited time, the overall experience was great. We started at Hurricane Ridge, which provided some amazing views in the heart of the park. We even got to experience a storm rolling across the horizon on our hike, and honestly, if we went to Olympic and didn't get rained on it would have been a disappointment.

(Hurricane Ridge)

We moved campsites every night, which was not ideal, but the campsites could not be secured in advance, so everyday we had our target campsite and then a few fall-back options. In the future, I am definitely finding a good spot and staying put, but I will admit we got a great feel for the entire park.

The second day we hit a trail near the Sol Duc Hotsprings, when we hiked up to Deer Lake. The hike wasn't long, but the vertical climb was a butt-kicker. It made its all the more satisfying when we made it to the top. We also hit some smaller trails in the area, one followed a river bed and was near an old dam, which had been removed.

(Elwha River)

After that trail we headed toward the coast to hike at Ruby Beach and camped at South Beach Campground. Our goal was Kalaloch Campground, which sits higher up from the water and provides some amazing views, but was full. South Beach was a lot better in my opinion. Its a smaller campground but that meant less people to deal with, so it felt more like camping. It was also easier to get to the beach, and no matter where your site was, you could see the Pacific.

(Ruby Beach)

On the last day we hit the Hoh Rainforest on the southwest side of the park. The hike we did was mainly wooded and flat, but it fed into a lot of other trails. Apparently it was a good place to spot elk, however, we were unlucky the day we were there. 

(Hoh Rainforest)

All in all I enjoyed Olympic a lot. The rangers and staff were very helpful and the facilities were well maintained. There were small towns just outside the park, which made it nice for getting supplies and even hitting a restaurant every now and then. It was not very crowded either, which always makes for a nice time since you're not fighting with too many people for space on the trail or in the campgrounds. However, when I return it will either be to do a hiking/camping trip through the park, or, as previously stated, set up camp in one spot and go on day hikes. I highly recommend the park, and while its not in the most accessible place, Its close to Seattle and you can rent gear from REI if you aren't fortunate enough to drive.