Sweethearts on the Hill

We left Rainier and headed further northwest to Olympic Peninsula and National Park.  I'm not gonna lie... our first 36 hours of Olympic Peninsula were by far the most challenging of the entire 11 day trip. The 3.5 hour drive there turned into a 5.5 hour trip with a traffic jam and all the joy that brings. We were hungry when we arrived - and were left with mediocre options for dinner. Richie and Sam's long-awaited fishing trip, with a 5:45am arrival time, one hour away (you do the math) was cancelled at 5:30am after the 3 of us got up way too early and drove to the other side of the peninsula to get there on time.   This led to a complete shift of plans, which required us to drive all the way back to get Charlie and Luke just to turn back around to make the long trek back across the peninsula to go to the Hoh Rainforest. By 10am, we had already clocked 4 hours in the car. On top of all this, I was convinced the owner of our rental was a serial killer. Anyway... lemo...

There was a magical day I lived back in 2016 with my friend Marie. We went up to hike Mt. LeConte on a 70 degree day in January just to find the entire trail covered in more than a foot of snow. The skies were blue, the air was crisp, and we were shedding layers of clothes with each mile we climbed.  I have forever coveted that day, knowing it isn't likely I would stumble upon another snowy hike that was warm enough for me tolerate. Enter Rainier National Park in late June. Mag-ic-al!  At least for me it was. We drove to the Paradise corridor of the park with plans to hike the Skyline Loop Trail.  While we maybe expected some snow, I think we were all surprised by how much ... and by how non-existent the trail would be. We followed a narrow path of footprints for a while, which led us to a beautiful waterfall...  Beyond that point, it was each man for himself.  There was no trail to be found! Just a giant mountain standing at 14,000 feet high and some slippery s...