September, 2024
The elk sure were exciting and wonderful to see on my very first day here. But on the second day that I was here, they didn’t come back. Hmm, what’s with that?
So today I went for a walk to explore more of the campground than I had explored seven years ago on my first visit here in 2017. In the map image below, I had already explored the area to the right, campsites out along the Dosewallips River. Today I explored areas I hadn’t been to before … the two areas to the left of the main campground (A and B), and then I went for a walk under highway 101 (area marked with a red C) to explore the Dosewallips River there. [Note … ok, so I have to stop calling it the “Dosewallips River” … no one here calls it that … they all simply say “the Dosey”. Also … on the map image below, my campsite is marked with a big red DOT].
Area A (below) was interesting. The far end of it was a storage area used by park employees for outdoor storage of all manner of stuff. In the image below, there’s a pile of large rock gravel on the left, then a small pile of sandy gravel in the middle, then some large tree trunk chunks and some large concrete slabs off to the right.
Behind the gravel in the photo above were a good number of picnic tables in need of repair, and one 10-12 foot long metal bridge with green railings … all of this was piled back here for future use.
Then further to the right there were more chunks of tree trunks and branches. The state park sells firewood, so I bet this wood will be cut up for sale. Lots of it is from trees and branches that are blown down in winds/storms, but some from of it results from clearing land for campsites and trails.
Further to the right yet, was a pile of LARGE rocks/boulders. I noticed one access road that had been shut off by placement of large boulders across the road. You could still hike back in, but could no longer drive back in.
At the very far left end of area A was this sign below. Well, ok, let’s go see some of the Maple Valley Trail.
Not only was this the time of year for elk to be in the area, but it was close to the time when bear would return occasionally to the area. I had my bear spray with me, but still I didn’t continue further on that trail, especially since I hadn’t seen another human being anywhere in this area. So I headed back.
After passing back through area A, I found area B that I hadn’t known existed! It’s a walk-in tent-only camping area. No electrical hookups, just a large area for tents, including a few spots in among the trees for tents as well.
There was a gravel road that led into that tent area, but there was no room for parking. As I walked out of the tent area and then back towards the main campground, I came upon three or four cabins … that is why there’s a road into this area (and I suppose for campground employees to get trucks into the area to clean and maintain the area, empty garbage cans, etc.
The location of each cabin, nestled in among the trees, was wonderful. Each cabin had parking for two vehicles, or one vehicle and one small RV/trailer (you’ll notice the electrical pedestal in the photo below). There was also room right next to each cabin to pitch a tent.
That first cabin was obviously empty, so I walked up onto the porch and peered in the windows. Sleeping accommodations for 5 … but no bathroom, and no cooking facilities, and no water inside. Each cabin had a fire pit outside. There were restrooms/showers not far away (they were used by the tent-only folks too). You will notice, however, that there is a heat pump outside this cabin for heat and cooling/air-conditioning. And there were electrical outlets inside the cabins as well.
Then I really did walk back to the main campground, but I still had time before lunch so I walked over to the area with the red C in the map image above … which meant I walked under highway 101.
Below, looking to the left, up river.
Below, looking to the right, down river.
My camping trip here back in 2017 just happened to be during the salmon spawning season. I had hoped to see more of the same during this trip. Perfect timing. 🙂 Here are three short videos that I took while walking along the Dosey. Feel free to click on YouTube and watch the videos there; I think the clarity is a bit better than with WordPress. And click on the square-sort-of-thing on the lower right to enlarge it to full screen. If you do watch them on YouTube, you’ll have to come back here after each one in order to watch the next one.
The road noise is from highway 101.
And then it was time for lunch, so I walked back to Towhee the Trailer and the big white truck. Both were waiting patiently for my return.
That was a nice, easy morning. No excitement, just interesting places to explore and things to see. I like that. 🙂