Hiking Striped Peak with Friends!

Last week I got a text from my friend Helene in Port Angeles seeing if I had any interest in joining her for an evening hike at Striped Peak. I tend to accept any and all invitations that involve outdoor activities with friends—particularly if they drive! What a treat it is to be a passenger and simply observe everything between 'here' and 'there'! I gladly accepted.

Striped Peak is a gorgeous climb with a stunning vista. I tend to wear tired tennis shoes for the hike, so it's not technical. Even so, the path is generally empty, and we get the whole peak to ourselves. I tend to view the hike as a '3-1/2 mile up and back—no sense in carrying anthing with me' kind of hike. Helene sees it as an opportunity to practice Girl Scout levels of preparedness. She has a wonderful waist pack from Arc'teryx (discontinued unfortunately) that can hold 2x beverages and a range of snacks and first aid items. When we get to the top, she is prepared with a mini picnic to share. I marvelled the first time, the second time I soaked in what had happened, and I have now purchased a waist pack of my own (thanks, eBay!).

In other news, we did not see any bears, eagles, or whales (which either live in these woods or within the Strait of San Juan de Fuca). We did, however, see several banana slugs along the path. We saw lots of greenery (evergreens, underbrush, and moss), but we most enjoyed the thimbleberry bush we saw—and we each had a few berries. Tastes like raspberry. For the rest of the story, take a look at the post below!