Glamping in the Olympic National Park

The husband, dog, and I needed a getaway weekend on a budget. The weather was too cold for our backpacking tent and we preferred the outdoors over a hotel. We grabbed the centennial wall tent knowing exactly where to go! A few years back we took a drive through the Olympic National Park and came across Graves Creek Campground deep in the Quinault Rainforest. Originally thought it was abandoned because of the nonexistent crowds that we are used to in Washington State. Ever since then, we have talked about going back, and now we had a perfect opportunity to glamp in this beautiful Olympic National Park.

We arrived at the campground in the afternoon, with 30 sites, first come first serve, and no one else in sight. Needless to say, we were thrilled! We took our time finding the site with a perfectly flat spot for the wall tent, right on the Quinault River.

Setting up our canvas wall tent comes with no stress. All poles are labeled accordingly and broken down into shorter sections for easier packing (legs, rafters, tent lengths). Even so, having a method for your construction is so helpful.

• I like to lay out the poles and organize them by labels with the slip fits on both ends.
• Next, I pair up the Rafter double slip fits and the Rafter pole slip fits on one side only, left or right.
• Then I connect them to make a full-length Rafter.
• Repeat a similar step for the Tent Length poles.
• Next, we assemble the roof framework, Lengths for the 12’ side and Rafters for the 10’ width.
• Connect two leg poles on the length side to the roof frame. For now, leave the leg poles off the opposite side.
• Finally, the tent. The Army Duck tent fabric is sewn together in one large piece. Identify the door of the tent and unfold accordingly.
• Then drape the tent fabric over the roof frame.
• Now lift up the tent to insert the two missing legs.
• Stake the tent down into the ground.
• You are finished. Time to enjoy!

It took us around 15 minutes to set up, it won't take beginners more than 25 and then you'll be good to go.

Settling into our humbled abode, we busted out the Q Stove and new double cot.  I highly recommend upgrading from floor sleeping with a thin mat to a super easy cot setup, it was a game-changer. We chopped some wood rounds we brought from home, got a fire going, and cooked our dinner right on top. I will mention that Graves Creek does not have running water, because of this we packed our Gravity Bag Water Filter System. This easy-to-use system has become our favorite piece of camping equipment. Just fill it up with river water, hang it on a tree, and the filter is activated as gravity pushes water through the spout at the bottom of the bag.

On our first night, the sky was incredibly clear. With no people in sight, no airplanes, no buzzing phones, and the only obligation were to put another log on the fire. We were truly able to relax and enjoy our time together, knowing we would get a good, warm night’s sleep in our canvas wall tent. I cannot get over how great the Wall Tent and pellet stove pair together. We filled both hoppers with pellets and fired up the Q Stove. In 3 minutes we had a fire going for a full 7 hours of warm, cozy sleep that made the bears jealous. Thankfully we set up the rainfly the evening before because we did get a little rain throughout the night. Always bring your Wall Tent Rain fly, even if the forecast does not call for rain and especially when visiting the Olympic National Rainforest!

When it was time to pack up, it came easy. Of all the tents we have used, the Rainier Outdoor Centennial Canvas Tent is the fastest to take down and pack up. We just organized the poles and rolled them up to make it easy to set up for our next adventure. Our stay at Graves Creek was exactly what we needed to recharge for the weekend. Thankfully it is open all year round. I hope next time we set out to go Glamping in the Olympic National Park we can dive into one of the many hikes in the area!

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