John woke me up this morning to eat breakfast. I was annoyed because I had finally been sleeping well in a bed after camping the past two nights. We walked downstairs to the restaurant. Unfortunately, Lake Quinault Lodge is not vegan-friendly, so we only ate fruit and potatoes, but I was mesmerized by a hummingbird feeding right outside the window.
Check-out of the lodge is at 11 AM, but we couldn’t check into our next lodging down the street until 3 PM, so we asked the concierge where we could store our bags. She suggested our vehicle, so we said we came by bike. She did let us leave them in a utility closet, but I was surprised the lodge doesn’t have a designated area. I shouldn’t have been surprised considering there isn’t a bike rack on the property, so we had locked our bikes together in a garage full of maintenance items. Either the lodge doesn’t get many cyclists or they don’t care to improve their accommodations. I admired the architecture and grounds, but was saddened by the animal pelts and antlers.
We hiked four miles from the lodge through a cedar bog to a nature trail with educational signs. We continued along Lake Quinault and found a geocache near the ranger station. Back at the lodge, we ate leftover peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while sitting on Adirondack chairs on the lawn facing the lake.
We stopped at the Lake Quinault Museum to gaze at historical artifacts like logging tools and household appliances. Then we hiked another four miles on the Quinault and Gatton Creek Trails. We saw two woodpeckers and lots of big trees. We returned to the lodge to retrieve our bikes and bags. After a brief stop at the ranger station for a passport stamp, we rode about a mile along the lake to Rain Forest Resort Village. The motel is definitely not majestic like the lodge, but it’s also not as expensive.
After starting a load of laundry, we walked to a nearby Sitka Spruce tree that is considered the world’s largest. The motel’s restaurant has no vegan options, so we ate camp meals outside our room. We have two long days of cycling ahead.
Today’s Mileage = 1.06
Total Mileage = 246.07
