Lake Quinault

I have this urge to drive to Lake Quinault this weekend. I wouldn't mind going by myself but it would be nice to have someone along who relishes it's breathtaking beauty. Lake Quinault is a very spiritual place for me. I feel like I can take a deep cleansing breath there. When I look across the lake and it is calm and glassy I feel such a peace inside. You can hear an eagle call from miles away. The walk thru the rainforest is cold and dreary at first but once you get further in and hear the stream and the wind in the trees it suddenly becomes a magical place. I can walk for 3 miles thru the forest and never feel like I have made any effort at all. I have taken hundreds of pictures there. Close ups of the red veined leaves, white lilies just sprouting, massive tree girth and height and endless view up the stream to more of the same. They never capture what I am really feeling at that moment. I'm usually disappointed when I develop the photos.

When I am in the boat on the lake and have a pole in my hand and my line is carefree in the water, the sun on my face, I think of nothing else. My mind is totally blank. It always happens that when I am settled like this I typically catch a fish. If I am anxious to catch a fish I rarely do. Not that it matters, it is the being there that is the point. I fell in love with Lake Quinault when I was 7 months pregnant with Katie and Mikes family rented a cabin there. I was taken. Mikes brother Chris is an exceptional fisherman and he and Mike and I went out in the boat fishing. Chris and Mike were anxious to catch a fish and I was happy to be there. Of course I got a bite and could hardly reel it in. Mike and Chris were spouting out instructions and I wanted them to relax. Finally I got the fish by the boat and it was truly big! It was a Dolly Varden and probably 2 pounds. Mike and Chris were so excited. I was too. I hoped at that moment that my love for fishing would be ingrained into Katie but I am afraid she has Mikes patience for fishing.

It is really nice to think about those wonderful times. Feels like a vacation already.