We have returned from the wilderness.

After 3 days of some of the most amazing scenery and most extreme conditions, we've made it to Portland where it was a pleasant 20 degress earlier.

Our latest adventure began on Friday morning when we left Seattle and caught the ferry over to Bainbridge Island. From there we drove up to Highway 101 which loops round the whole Olympic Peninsula. Our first stop was at Port Angeles, the main town on the peninsula. Here, we saw the ferries coming and going from Canada, just across the water, and enjoyed the bright sunshine tempered only by a cool breeze. We shared a Dungeness crab sandwich for lunch before making our way to the Olympic National Park Visitor Centre, just a bit out of town.

The centre was situated at the bottom of the road to Hurricane Ridge, which I'd heard was home to the best views of the Olympic mountain range. We had initially planned on skipping the 17 mile drive up to the ridge as we'd heard there had been a lot of snow, but after talking to the helpful lady at the centre and hearing her reassurances that the road was fine to drive, we set off up to the ridge, and boy was it worth it. Ascending 5,200 ft over the 17 mile drive, we passed from lush evergreen forest into rocky mountain scenery, and the patches of snow at the side of the road soon built up into banks 6 or more feet high, with the road just a canyon carved out by snowploughs. Finally reaching the ridge, we were treated to a breathtaking overview of the Olympic range, with the snowy peaks stretching as far as the eye could see. We got plenty of photos and mucked about in the giant snow banks before making our way back down the road, passing some very tame deer at the side of the road.

Once back on Highway 101, we made our way west, passing clear blue lakes in deep tree-lined valleys, including the huge Crescent Lake, in a massive glacial valley. The winding highway was smooth and a pleasure to drive, with the towering evergreens lining the way and blue sky above us.

Eventually we reached the turnoff to Sol Duc, our first planned camping spot. The road headed South from the 101 and climbed gently through the woods. After a few miles we saw patches of snow at the side of the road and began to wonder just how good an idea camping would be. However, we pressed on, stopping to watch steelhead salmon leaping up some rapids, passing the Sol Duc Lodge and hot springs, before eventually reaching the campsite. The campsite was fairly well covered in snow, with some of the pitches cleared and only one other one occupied. The air was very cold, but without any other option, we found a pitch down near some water and set about pitching the tent.

By the time we got the camp set up we were both pretty much freezing, so we decided to head the quarter of a mile down the road to the hot springs, and get the cheap rate for the last hour or so before they closed. It was lovely to climb into the hot pools and warm our chilly bones for an hour, with the misty wooded valley all around us. After a hot shower we headed back to camp and had a pretty measly dinner of broccoli soup and hot dogs, which was quite a hassle to cook with our limited equipment, involving numerous trips to and from the car to keep the food secure after warnings of bears, racoons and other animals being attracted by food and other smells. Eventually we got settled for the night and somehow survived the chilly conditions until morning.

After quickly packing up the tent and having a cup of tea and almost-frozen banana for breakfast, we drove the last part of the Sol Duc road, parked and set out on the walk to the Sol Duc falls. The path through still had some snow lying on it, but the walk through the forest was amazing, surrounded by towering spruce, douglas fir and hemlock trees hanging with moss, the sunlight sneaking through the canopy to the snowy forest floor, and the path winding over creeks and between ancient tree stumps. Eventually we reached the falls which were awesome to see, and could be crossed by a bridge over the deep gorge the water had cut. After some more photos we headed back to the car and once again back down to the 101.

Our spirits lifted after our rather miserable night by the walk through the woods to the falls and the lovely sunny weather, our second day in the peninsula only got better. Our next stop was out on the Pacific coast on Rialto beach, where we had to clamber over giant driftwood logs - the smoothed and bleached remains of the huge evergreens we had seen so much of - to reach the dark, stony beach. Here, the waves rolled in past large sea stacks topped with trees to pound against the shore, and the beach was backed by the vast piles of giant driftwood, piled up against the skeletal trunks of dead trees at the edge of the shore. I had never been on a beach like it before. We gathered some driftwood for our fire that night before continuing down the road.

Our next stop may make some of you jealous, but was only a source of amusement for us, as we continued down the 101 to the town of Forks, the setting for the Twilight books and films. The town is rightly cashing in on its fame with Twilight EVERYTHING available here. However, my highlight was the sign outside a motel as we came into town reading 'Forks Motel. Edward Cullen DIDN'T stay here.'

The best thing in Forks was the Forks Outfitters, a combined supermarket, garden centre, hardware store, clothing shop and outdoor store. Here, we managed to pick up some more supplies we only realised we needed after our miserable night the night before. After that we grabbed some tasty sandwiches at 'The In Place' before heading south on the 101.

As evening approached, we got to Ruby Beach, another beach on the Pacific coast. As it was such a lovely evening we stopped for another quick walk and were treated to more seastacks and giant driftwood, but a wide sandy shore instead of the dark stones of Rialto.

Then it was on to our final stop for the day, Kalaloch campground, set in woods on a clifftop just behind the long sandy beach running up the Pacific coast. Immediately on arriving we knew we were in for a much more pleasant night. The campground was teeming with RVs and other campers enjoying the sun making its way down over the ocean. With this as a backdrop we got our camp set up in our personal grove of old trees and went for a walk on the beach to gather firewood. With the sun setting we got a fire going and sat drinking beer and eating chilli, before retiring for a much warmer and more comfortable sleep.

This morning, we got up nice and early, had some bacon and eggs and got packed up before backtracking to see a spot we'd had to pass the day before. We made our way up the road from Highway 101 to the Hoh Rainforest, an amazing example of a temperate rainforest. One the western side of the Olympic mountain range, the rainforest gets 12 to 14 FEET of rain a year, and the place is practically bursting with life. Huge trees hundreds of feet tall are everywhere, completely covered in moss hanging from every branch. Ferns cover the forest floor and some of the trunks of the trees and where old trees have fallen, new ones are shooting out of their trunks. We took the 'Hall of Mosses' walk through the amazing ancient groves, enjoying them in glorious sunshine which obviously wasn't common based on the rainfall statistics. After that it was back to the car before the last leg of the journey.

Continuing on the 101, we headed south, eventually ending up in Aberdeen which looked a bit more rubbish than the real one, but was the town where the bands Nirvana and The Melvins originated. Only stopping to fuel up the car, we continued on to Interstate 5, and down to Portland, Oregon where we arrived in glorious sunshine and welcome warm temperatures.

After settling in at the hostel we headed out on a tour of some of the brewpubs in town, where we had some great beers and got chatting to some of the other hostel residents.

So far Portland seems very similar to Seattle in its laid back, progressive 'vibe' and seems like a really interesting city. Hopefully we'll have some time to explore tomorrow.