Insider's Guide to Olympic National Park: Essential Rain Gear
By Lisa Han
GOPRO HD HERO 960 HELMET CAM
Waterproof polycarbonate housing surrounds a headlamp-style camera that goes anywhere, so you can preserve your cold-to-the-bone memories forever. $180, GoPro, gopro.com
MAGNESIUM FIRE-STARTING TOOL
Scrape off magnesium with a knife to get a reliable spark, making you feel like a triumphant caveman under even the dampest conditions. $6.95, REI, 222 Yale Ave N, 206-223-1944; rei.com
OUTBOUND GUIDE GAITER
Avid Olympic outdoorsmen call these lower-leg coverings the most absolute necessity in the rain—they’d sooner hike barefoot than without them. $25, Second Ascent, 5209 Ballard Ave NW, Ballard, 206-545-8810; secondascent.com
REI DUCK’S BACK RAIN COVER
A drain hole lets out trapped moisture underneath this backpack cover made with polyurethane coating and a reinforced bottom. $30, REI, 222 Yale Ave N, 206-223-1944; rei.com
MICROFIBER POCKET TOWELS
If you can’t find a use for cloth that soaks up to 10 times its weight and wrings out 85 percent of that…well, you’re not on the Olympic Peninsula.$14,
seattlesportsco.com
JETBOIL FLASH COOKING SYSTEM
An enclosed stove with no open flame can’t be soused in bad weather, and a two-minute boil time won’t prolong the precoffee misery. $100, Pro Mountain Sports, 5625 University Ave NE, University District, 206-522-1627; promountainsports.com
Published: August 2011
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