As a born and raised New Yorker, I often experience a wanderlust for the west coast. Trees that stretch upward to touch the clouds, mountains laced in fog, churning grey-green shorelines…truly, how could one not desire a long road trip out there? I particularly love the scenery in the Pacific Northwest region, which is full of dense forests and stormy seas (and that blue tint Catherine Hardwick popularized when filming Twilight if you use the filter HB2 on the VSCO app). This past weekend I ventured back to Seattle and drove with a few friends to Olympic National Park. It rained on and off, as it usually does, although we had some uncharacteristically sunny weather towards our final days of the adventure. It was an incredibly spontaneous trip—built on only two weeks of planning. As someone who strives to stay organized, I mapped out a few hikes I had been eyeing for a long time by other explorers on Instagram. Using the website all-trails, I searched for the best hikes in the area while taking into account difficulty ratings and roundtrip miles. The last time I had visited the park was during a blizzard, which meant that many of the trails were closed due to inclement weather. This time around I was determined to climb the social media famous Mount Storm King. Reaching over 4,500ft above sea level, this hike is rated “hard” and contains three ropes sections where hikers must pull themselves up the slippery cliffside after an exhausting three mile trek through the woods. I honestly don’t know how we made it. The day of our hike proved to be incredibly windy, making the trek all the more traitorous. What social media won’t show you is how dicey the peak actually is. After the rope section I thought the worst was over, but upon nearing the summit we quickly realized that we would need to scramble over a narrow rock pass with sheer drops on either side. I’m not too ashamed to admit that I wound up crawling to the finish line, especially because the wind kept trying to push us over the edge. It truly felt like a Cheryl Strayed moment when we took in the view, accompanied by a double rainbow. After our rental cary dying a few times, little to no sleep, evenings spent drinking in bed wearing face masks while watching the entire Twilight saga, and many long road trips…this was a short but eventful journey that will live rent free in my mind forever.
Anthology of V. 