I learned all about the Elwha River in the documentary DamNation, so I was really looking forward to seeing it in real life. They left part of the dam standing, and you could stand there high above the river and see where they'd blown up the dam so the salmon could swim through and the river could flow freely. 
My hike for the day was Geyser Valley. It started out mostly flat, then dropped 500 feet in half a mile. Once I was down by the river, I hiked downstream a little to see Goblin's Gates, which I'd seen on Pinterest and added to my list of things to do. It was hard to get a good picture, and I'd love to see it from a better perspective. Goblins are purported to live here, and I found myself wondering about how to lure a goblin out of hiding. Or where they even live.
I headed upstream, flying along the flat easy trail until I tripped over a branch and went flying. It was probably a pretty funny sight. There was this moment where I was in the air where I knew this was not going to end well. I hit the ground so hard my sunglasses flew off my face. My left knee hurt pretty bad, so instead of doing the whole 7.8 miles, I cut the hike short and did 5.5. So annoying! I do not have time for injuries.
I had reservations to camp near Port Townsend, which was far out of my way but had already been paid for and I really wanted that shower. I am so glad that I drove out there, because I met Jace, a musician who is riding his bike from Bellingham to San Francisco. This was on his bucket list, along with the mohawk mullet haircut he was sporting. He called his vape pen a "douche flute" and told me about the girl he has a "soul crush" on and how he finally kissed her the night before he left. He said, "I don't know why I'm telling you all this stuff!" and then we continued our conversation about hope and possibility and being your very best self. After several hours, we ended things with a long hug and told each other how wonderful we thought the other person was. I have met two really amazing people so far on this trip, and I hope this continues.
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