We had to get up early today, as we had a to be at Portland International Airport at 15:00 latest to return our beloved car. The alarm was set to 07:30, and with the help of a motivational song, i.e. “Eye of the Tiger”, we quickly left our sleeping bags and started the day. Just in that moment, two park rangers drove by checking the sites. After having checked in ourselves late yesterday, we could pay the site fee directly saving us the way to the office later. They also gave us a map of the park, as we were going to have breakfast somewhere more scenic than our RV site.

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Marius started the day by pushing the panorama button on the car key. The door opened the view on the Ocean.

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Yesterday, we fell asleep to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof of our car. The sound got lighter in the morning, but it was still rainy, and when we finally decided to get up, it started to rain heavily again. The forecast didn’t look well either. I little lake had formed around our car and I had to apply my bouldering skills to retrieve my boots from the front. However, the coastal rain forest we woke up in was worth any struggles.

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It’s always interesting to see how your campsite looks like in broad daylight after having arrived late the day before. It was a nice forest setting.

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We had a plan when we parked the car next to the River in front of the Squaw Rock yesterday. Our car – which we named Pikuni, assuming it was the name of Miss Blackfeet from a photograph, but later realised it actually means Blackfeet – opens its rear at the push of a button. What a view to start the day with.

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The basic plan for today is driving West. We start from Greenwood Village Campground and had multiple options in mind where exactly to go. The definite goal is Olympic National Park. Ideally we’ll have quick look at Seattle along the way. Since we decided to leave Glacier National Park one day ahead of the last version of the master plan, we figured we could visit Mount Rainier National Park southeast of Seattle as well. But first things first.

The morning began with the usual routine. The night and morning got colder than expected, so we gave the sun some extra time to appear.

Menu A, aka Porridge, was today’s breakfast choice.

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You know it’s cold when you can see your breath. Today was the first time we started the car for heating in the morning. Clouds were hanging low in the mountains, but it didn’t rain. We started the day relaxed with a diverse breakfast.

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We got up 08:30. The night was cold but the sun was already out and it looked like the good forecast would become reality. From our two breakfast options – porridge being the quick and pancakes the slow one – we chose the prior to maximise hiking time.

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Problem solved. The blankets boosted our sleeping setup into the comfort zone. At prior cold mornings, I would just get up and start moving before losing too much body temperature. Today I didn’t feel like leaving my blanket-wrapped sleeping bag, knowing the cold that would await me. Marius was already working towards breakfast tea, but he usually falls asleep before me, while I still sort the day’s pictures and write a bit. I eventually got up as well – porridge duty.

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Good night – almost too warm with a thermal layer at 1100 m altitude.

We got up around 07:30. I had another shower since you never know when the next opportunity will present itself here. Compared with European campsites, where showers are almost guaranteed, the one thing you can count on here is a fireplace at every single tent site.

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