Elevation Gain: Approximately 1000 ft.
Time: 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Weather: Overcast, cool, rainy, and wet.
First things first, if you do not live in Washington state, and even if you do, the name of this state park is pronounced "DOH-si-wall-ups." I know I could not say it until I heard it pronounced for the first time. According to wikipedia, the name comes from a Twana Indian myth about a man who was turned into a mountain at the source of the Dosewallips River. The river runs east out of Olympic National Parkand drains into the Hood Canal. Where the river meets the ocean, Washington state has established a 425 acre park.
As with many of my hikes, I used the Washington Trails Association hike finder to discover this place. I was looking for a relatively short hike with minimal elevation gain because I was hiking with my mom and dad this weekend. I am on spring break, and my parents came up to visit. I was so happy to have them up here, since they live in Oklahoma and have not been to Tacoma for about 3 years. I was also excited that since they were here over the weekend, they were going on a hike with me.
We hit the road at 9:30 am and were at the park by 11:30 am. It was only about 20 minutes north of where I was the week before and it was right off Highway 101. We got geared up in the parking lot and hit the trail. We walked up the south side of the Dosewallips River for the first quarter mile. We walked past a creek or two then started slowly climbing in elevation. We took a little break near the top of the hill, then kept walking. My mom kept a good pace as the leader, and my dad wanted to stay in the back. This left me in the middle, enjoying the walk with my parents in the woods. We only took the one break, and before I knew it we were back in the parking lot.
The hike was a great length for my mom and dad, and they seemed to really enjoy it. I know I did. In the last 31 weeks, I have hiked with all four members of my immediate family, my sister-in-law, my two best friends from high school, my best friend from work, an old girlfriend from college, and countless other great people.
Orchid: Hiking with my mom and dad.
Onion: The non-stop rain.
Picture:
Google Map
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