Yesterday afternoon we drove up to Port Angeles, WA, in the far northern area of Washington. We have had wonderful weather since coming out west and our time in Olympic National Park was no different. Really nice. Olympic NP is actually three separate areas of Washington, all in the northern part of the state. We visited the Hurricane Ridge portion of the park on Wednesday morning May 22. We first visited the visitors center (of course). We got our maps and stamps before heading up the Ridge. The drive up the mountain was beautiful. It was short-sleeved weather at the bottom but at the top of Hurricane Ridge it was cold and quite windy. There was still snow on the ground and we were asked to walk only on asphalt or snow but, not to walk in the meadows where the snow had melted. That would cause damage to the fragile plants trying to peek their heads out for the summer. Beautiful scenery. Beautiful mountain view. Unfortunately, there were no hikes open unless you had the recommended snowshoes, which of course we did not. We wandered around on top for a while walking in the snow and then headed back down.
The drive up to Hurricane Ridge
Walking in the snow
On top of Hurricane Ridge. That snow pole tells us we don’t need to be anywhere around here in the winter.
From Hurricane Ridge we headed to Rialto Beach (also part of Olympic NP) on the recommendation of a volunteer at the visitor center. It is a pebble and rock beach, with a coastal forest and lots of driftwood. Rialto Beach is known for its sea stacks, rock formations and pounding waves. No swimming though. The rocks make for some difficult walking.
Not like our Alabama beaches
Some of the large driftwood on the beach
View from the beach
We had planned to walk along the beach to these sea stacks, but we came to a large creek across the beach and weren’t prepared for a water crossing.
Another sign we don’t usually see
The next day, May 23, we visited the third section of Olympic, the Hoh Rain Forest. Nice for us, it was not raining in the rainforest the day we visited but there was a lot of moisture. The yearly average rainfall in the Hoh is 140 inches. This results in lush green canopy of various trees. Ferns and mosses are everywhere. It is just an enchanting place. We were told that the Hoh Rain Forest is one of the finest remaining examples of temperate rainforest in the USA and is one of Olympic’s most popular destinations. It was definitely our favorite part of the park. We were able to hike two wonderful trails, enjoy all the lush greenery and the peaceful setting and see some large elk along the way. Great park. Would highly recommend. After our morning in the park, we turned BB to the south and drove through some additional beautiful areas of Washington.
Hall of Mosses trail
We stood and watched the elk for quite a while …
… and occasionally they watched us …
… but didn’t seem to be the least bit bothered.
The Spruce Trail leads down by the Hoh River.
Large root ball on the Spruce Trail
Both trails were beautiful, and we were there early enough that neither was crowded.
We didn’t see any four legged ones
Don’t know why people say Bigfoot is hard to find. We see him everywhere we go in this area.
We woke with excitement this morning, January 22. This morning was when we would finally walk on the continent of Antarctica – our first continental landing. You could almost feel the excitement at breakfast. By now we were much better at getting all the layers of gear on and faster at loading the zodiac. It was beautiful out on the water. Definitely a day we needed our polarized sunglasses and sunscreen – items that were highly recommended on our pre-departure literature. Overnight the Captain had positioned the ship in Orne Harbor, about a one-mile-wide cove on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. We landed on the beach near a chin strap penguin colony. From the shore it was quite a hike up to the top of the mountain. The view back down of the ship in the harbor and the other scenery made the hike worthwhile. Just stepping on the snow and starting the climb thinking about where we were standing was a tearful moment. It was all we had thought Antarctica would be and so much more. One of the “mores” was that we had a wedding while there. A couple wanted to be married in Antarctica so there was a little private service for them while we were exploring the Harbor. We wish them well.
Early morning whale viewing before heading out in the zodiacs.
Our first steps on the actual continent of Antarctica were on this rocky shore. Then we had to climb up the rocks to the snow for our hike up the hill.
The climb seemed longer in the heavy boots and winter gear.
Anne climbing the snowy hill
The crew set up this sign so we could each document our visit to the continent.
Our first group picture on the continent of Antarctica
We wondered if this sailing vessel had as much fun on the Drake Passage as we did.
Orne Harbor panorama
The penguins at Orne Harbor were again their playful and entertaining selves. We were sad when it was time to return to the ship for lunch.
Chinstraps in the snow
Chinstrap nests on the continent
Baby chinstrap penguins
After a quick lunch, we prepared for our afternoon kayaking journey in Wilhelmina Bay, an extra excursion we signed up for. We just thought it took a lot of time to dress for regular excursions. Today we had to get dressed in dry suits and more layers of clothes and socks. Talk about work! After we passed all the safety requirements for kayaking we loaded into a zodiac towing our kayaks. When we reached a point closer to shore we were assisted in entering our sea kayaks and paddled away. It was such a different feeling to be down in the water among all the ice and icebergs. It was like a dream, but we were actually in Antarctica. We paddled around a while and then stopped for a while to just listen to all the ice movements/crackles/splashes. So quiet yet so loud at times. So peaceful.
It takes some effort to get into a drysuit.
What we look like in drysuits
Headed out to kayak
Moving from the zodiac to the kayaks
Our kayaking group
Kayaking in the ice
Donna and Barry in kayak
One of the crew members measuring the density of phytoplankton in the water as part of the Citizen Science Program
We were able to kayak near this seal
Another odd iceberg we saw from the kayak
After returning to the ship, it was time for the Polar Plunge. For the last 18 months we said that we were NOT going to do the plunge. We are too old! Well, the brisk Antarctica air must have removed some of those years or maybe some more of our brain cells, because we did the plunge along with Barry and Donna. Polar Latitudes provided us with great, warm bathrobes for the entire trip. They were also for us to wear over our bathing suits while we were waiting our turn for the plunge. When it was our turn, we were secured to the ship by a rope and after receiving encouragement from our shipmates, we made the big jump into the Antarctic Ocean. We then QUICKLY got out of the water and were given warm towels, our bathrobes and some hot chocolate. How was it you ask? COLD! A stinging cold. But we all agreed that it wasn’t as bad as we expected it to be. It was appropriate for the four of us to do this together. Donna had wanted us to do the plunge when we were all in Alaska in 2014 at Prudhoe Bay. Prudhoe Bay was still covered in ice in June when we were there so the best we could do that day was stand in snow up to our knees on the ice covering Prudhoe Bay. Today makes up for what we missed in 2014.
First in was Max …
… then Anne …
… then Donna …
… and finally Barry (followed by dozens of other otherwise intellegent passengers).
Our award for …?
After we all had hot showers, the next item on the agenda was a big barbeque dinner on the back deck of our ship. So much good food! It was another amazing day. We were so blessed to be in this incredibly beautiful place.
That evening we had more whale sightings, such as this humpback right beside the ship.
We even saw a few humbacks with their flukes out of the water.
Then after dinner the captain maneuvered the ship close so we could watch these gentoos on an iceberg.
A shot of another interesting iceberg after dinner.
As you remember from the last post, we left Ushuaia at 6:15 pm on January 18th headed out into the Beagle Channel traveling east for about 60 miles toward the Drake passage. We had another briefing and were prepared for the weather to deteriorate as we neared the Drake. The Drake was forecast to be swells below 5 meters and winds below 30 knots. We had another wonderful dinner, made sure we all continued to take our meclizine to prevent sea sickness and went to sleep.
So, what’s the big deal about the Drake. The Drake Passage, usually a two day journey, is considered one of the roughest and some would say, THE ROUGHEST waterway on Earth. This reputation comes primarily because of the powerful currents created by the collision of cold Antarctic waters with warmer northern waters, combined with strong, unimpeded winds from the Southern Ocean that encounter no landmass to disrupt their flow, resulting in large waves and turbulent seas. More than 800 ships are believed to have sunk in the Drake Passage. This has resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 sailors. The crossing of the Drake is a whole adventure of its own.
All expedition cruise ships must cross the Drake to reach the 7th Continent and modern expedition cruise ships are well equipped to tackle the crossing . Almost all have underwater stabilizers to reduce the rocking and rolling on heavy seas and have the latest technology to follow the weather. Depending on the weather, you might encounter the “Drake Lake” (very smooth) or the “Drake Shake” (what we encountered.) Our ship was equipped with stabilizers, but we still felt the waves – a lot. We did go to sleep as usual after making sure everything in our state room was secured. This was not much different from securing things for a travel day in the RV. We were both awakened shortly before midnight feeling the ship being tossed around but we didn’t fall out of bed and went back to sleep. By morning there really was no improvement. We were having 20 foot waves at times. We were holding to railings as we went to breakfast. At breakfast we were holding onto our plates so our food wouldn’t end up on the floor. At afternoon tea and treats there was a big crash when a stack of dishes hit the floor. Over the next 24 hours there were those who fell out of bed and out of chairs when we would have a larger wave. We finally completed our crossing on the 20th and thankfully the meclizine worked and we were not sick. At 7:10pm we first spotted land. Not yet Antarctica, but the South Shetland Islands and they were a beautiful site! We survived the Drake and it’s fury, no worse for the experience.
As we left the protection of the Beagle Channel “the weather started getting rough and our (not-so-tiny) ship was tossed.” Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
Our GPS Track across Drake Passage shows where the captain changed course from due south to southeast to put the large waves on our starboard aft (hitting the ship at a 45 degree angle instead of broadside.) This reduced the the waves effect on the ship, but it was still rough.
Eating on the Drake Passage was challenging – but we managed.
To keep us busy during the crossing, the staff held educational presentations like Penguins 101 …
… and HappyWhale.com.
Part of the Citizen Science program on the ship was counting birds and reporting the count. It was still a little rough the first time we tried it.
As we approached land (and calmer waters) the outside walkways and decks were opened in time for us to see the first iceberg of the trip.
RVing With a Purpose 