LaPush to Fairholme

April 30 - 47 miles - 4.5 hours of seat time.

The Great American Rail Trail, here after referred to as GART, begins in La Push, Washington. La Push is a coastal community and the seat of the Quileute Indian Tribe. Due to logistical issues we couldn't stay in La Push and arrived there on April 30 after a ferry ride and a long drive.

Getting a view out of the front of a Washington Ferry never gets old.

The initial trail out of La Push is a gentle grade on paved surfaces going from the town to the local school. After the school the trail joins HWY 110 to HWY 101. The road isn't busy and shoulders are wide.

Eventually I made my way to Mary Clark Rd, which eventually gets to a paved path under a forested canopy.

The paved trail eventually terminates at a forest service road where you can see a hill side that was probably replanted 5 or 6 years ago. The trees in the distance are all the usual Christmas tree hieght of 6-8'.

Huge Xmas Tree farm on a hill.

On the way back to 101 I passed over this bridge with stunning aqua marine colors in the Sol Duc river.

The picture doesn't do the colors justice.

Bunny had selected Fairholme as the first stopping point. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I was going to make the distance, but in the end, I completed 47 miles in about 4.5 hours. This went a long way toward relieving the anxiety I was feeling about whether this trip was really going to work the way I had been hoping.

Poodle is suspicious of the concrete table.

Or perhaps it was just the view that relieved my anxiety.