Rem Reveal

After more than two years of going to the Seattle Public Library by Rem Koolhaas, I still find new spaces:

NWSS 2008

The Bowl at Horning's Hideout, North Plains, Oregon


Yonder Mountain String Band





Kinfolk in Bowl





Kid's Parade


Kinfolk and American Taxi


American Taxi with Keller Williams


American Taxi


Adam Aijala, Jeff Austin, Ben Kaufmann


Leftover Salmon with Danny Barnes


Kinfolk in Rogue Beer Garden


Adam Aijala, Dave Johnston, Danny Barnes, Bill Frisell, Jeff Austin,...


Kinfolk in Bowl


Kinfolk in Bowl


Kinfolk in Bowl


Dave Johnston, Danny Barnes, Adam Aijala


Kinfolk in Bowl


Keller Williams, Danny Barnes, Adam Aijala


Jeff Austin and Paster Tim in Bowl

Upper Queets River Trail

Olympic National Park
July 3 – July 6, 2008



Thursday, July 3, 2008

6:30 PM: Leaving the comforts of Seattle behind, I make my way downtown to take the Washington State Ferry to Bambridge Island and the Olympic Peninsula. The bus ride home foretells hardships, as holiday traffic has backed up Aurora Avenue from Downtown to Fremont. I quickly load the car and take alternate routes in hopes of descending on the pier from the east. This plan only slightly works, as I discover the vehicle line forms from the south, thus presenting a tangle of switchbacks beneath the Alaskan Way Viaduct.



9:10 PM: After waiting in the parking lot of the Ferry Terminal for a few hours, I am able to board the vessel. My poor luck of being the first car held from boarding the 8:10 PM ferry proves advantageous, as I am presented a front row view on the car deck. While I ride across Puget Sound, I think about my three consecutive days of REI trips for extra gear and realize the maxim: The more money spent at REI, the lighter the pack.



11:30 PM: Arrive at my friend Michael’s house on the Olympic Peninsula, and we plan to leave early in the morning for the Upper Queets River Trail.

Friday, July 4, 2008
Independence Day

12:30 PM: The morning doesn’t come as soon as planned, but it’s a holiday. One-hundred waffles later, we start towards the trailhead.

5:30 PM: Driving the newly established Route 21 access road, we arrive at the trailhead. In the past, the Upper Queets River Trail was accessible from the main road, by way of the Lower Queets River Trail, however, a landslide has severed this access. The trailhead must now be reached by fording / rafting the Queets River itself. It is usually suggested that hikers plan trips to this area in Fall and Early Winter, when the water level is low and fordable. We are not deterred by such advice and instead employ the assistance of an inflatable kayak to carry us across. A true adventure can’t begin without attempting the ridiculous. It takes five river crossings (including returns) to shuttle our packs and ourselves to the north side of the Queets River Valley.



7:30 PM: We are now squarely in the midst of the only legitimate rainforest in the continental United States. The forecast calls for rain, but it does not rain this first day of the hike. We contemplate setting up camp at the shore, but decide that we came here to hike and so we press onward. At about the 5-Mile mark is Spruce Bottoms Campsite and we make that our goal. The moss which covers everything is brown from the relative lack of summer rain, but still there is plenty of green for this trip.



9:00 PM: Reaching Spruce Bottoms, we quickly unload our packs and begin to erect the tent. We are just able to get everything settled before sunset. Not that we haven’t set up in the dark before, but the small amount of light gives us a chance to survey the area better. Spruce Bottoms is one site beneath a cluster of three enormous spruce trees. This proves helpful the following day when the rain comes for us. Although it rains continuously elsewhere, the camp is all but dry thanks to the sheltering canopy of the trees. The Queets River is a few steps down the slope from the site. We eat dinner and store our food on our bear wire.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

10:00 AM: This getting up late thing is pretty nice. We decide to keep our camp established at Spruce Bottoms and day hike with lighter packs to the next leg of the trail. But we first start with a hearty fire and some breakfast from a pouch, one of many such meals. Today brings rain, but what are you going to do, it’s the rainforest. The morning fog is thick on the Queets River and we imagine we will continue to be the lone travelers on the trail.



12:00 PM: After laying around and enjoying the fire, we decide its time for that day hike. We don our lighter packs and head east along the trail. We were told by some old folks at the trailhead that the trail maintenance only went as far as our current location, but we thought it was worth a shot. (They were staying at the campsite along the service road near the trailhead in an effort to avoid the fireworks, which their dogs disliked. Some more conversation revealed they also disliked Seattle and its necessary evil.) We were able to make progress for about a half mile, but soon began losing the trail. Most of our time was spent futilely searching for sawn trees and faded pink ribbons. Finding the trail was one problem, climbing over huge blown down trunks was another. We did wander threw an awesome swampy area with beautiful trees.



2:00 PM: As our progress slows to a halt, we decide to go no further. Obviously Lewis and Clark would not have let such a circumstance encumber them, but we had better things to do, like nothing. We stop atop a log for photo-ops and realize why this area was so hard to settle until modern times. The hand of man is no match for nature at this scale. Somewhere behind us is the trail, obscured by groundcover.



3:00 PM: Return to Spruce Bottom for some lunch. Left with nothing but time, we do what most people would, and set out to build the largest fire possible. Then I decide to take a short nap in the tent to catch up on the sleep I didn’t get preparing for this trip.



6:00 PM: So three hours later… I wake up from my nap and start to make dinner. This consists of filtering some water, boiling it on the camp stove and pouring it into a pouch. Tonight’s feast is Beef Stroganoff with Noodles, a Clif Bar, a Clif Shot, Water and Cheesecake for Two (for myself). One cup is eight ounces. I know that by heart now. It rains the rest of the night.



Sunday, July 6, 2008

9:00 AM: It is not raining this morning, but the whiskey is gone and the weekend is near its end. A second breakfast of eggs and bacon in a pouch starts me out, as does some strong coffee. Just because we are 20 miles from civilization (if you consider Forks, Washington to be such a place), doesn’t mean we don’t need our locally-roasted caffeine fix. We disassemble the campsite and ready our packs. The pack would presumably be lighter from use of supplies, but the added load of soaked clothes probably evens the weight. We take some detours to a second river crossing site to kill some time.



1:00 PM: Having reached the trailhead, we retrieve our stashed kayak and make our way back across the Queets River. Everything goes without disaster, except for dropping my camera at the last second on the beach rock and busting the screen. This, then, makes the battle of Olympic National Park vs. Sam’s Camera 2 for 2. This time was at least “better.” Last time was total destruction when we were forced to ford a river at a washed out bridge. Curse you Fate, leave my camera alone!!