Richard Olmer

There are a lot of walks in "my" park.

Most recently I took Candy up to Hurricane Ridge and we walked out toward Mount Angeles. There is a point along this trail where often I have been stopped early in the year by deep snow. This year even in mid July, the snow still was here.

Candy does not much care for walking through snowfields, and so we turned around.

Even on this short trek, the views were magnificent. So much so, that I kind of felt guilty that I didn't have to work harder to see such wonders. It's a little like earning an advanced degree or the next belt in martial arts, you need to feel that you've earned the reward you are given.

I sometimes feel that some of the folks I've hiked with have gotten to me ... folks who measure the value of a hike in miles, not in the magic encountered. The truth is that here in Olympic National Park, the magic is never too far away.

You can drive out Obstruction Point Road to the P.J. Lake trailhead and walk a few feet further up the road and see more avalanche lilies than you ever could count. The lilies tumble down the mountain slope like a waterfall ready to sweep you away.

There are innumerable places where you and God can sit down together and have an intimate conversation, no matter what your religious preference happens to be.

I like waterfalls. My problem is most of the waterfalls I've seen since I came here have been long, wistful things that fell a long, long way but were not noisy, thunderous things that seemed to shake the earth. Most were like the falls at Falls View Campground, tall, but hard to see very well and way too easy to ignore. Others like Sol Duc Falls ... are a little, dare I say, wimpy.

It's a little ironic that the two of the best waterfalls that I've seen since I moved here were unmarked and very short walks from a road. One was, in fact, right beside the highway. Beaver Falls at least deserves a sign and some respect. It's a fine waterfall. It's literally steps away from Route 113 just north of Sappho.

The other is just off the road from Brinnon following the Dosewallips River. It, too, is unmarked and a very short walk off the road. Rocky Brook Falls is spectacular, and the falling water creates an almost impenetrable din as you stand and look up at the cascading currents.

Please understand that waterfalls are one of the things that I learned about in a different time and place. I expect waterfalls to be noisy, wide and high. A waterfall usually grabs my attention because it tells me that it is there ... it roars and screams at me that I am small and insignificant.

A waterfall is one of God's creations. It is put there to question my power and my influence on the Earth. I am supposed to know that it is special. It is part of the natural environment ... and yet rare and unique.



Richard Olmer's column appears in the Sequim Gazette the first Wednesday of each month. He can be reached via e-mail at columnists@sequimgazette.com.