I’VE BEEN WATCHING a lot of Seattle Mariners games the last month or two.
It has become a bit of a nightly routine for me: watch the game, read a book, then go to bed.
This is the high-pressure life of an outdoors columnist-slash-sportswriter.
Perhaps inspired by the Mariners victory over the Blue Jays Tuesday night — Seattle’s sixth straight win — I was feeling wild and decided to check out the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
I went to the station guide and checked the programming schedule. It said something like, “The women’s gymnastics and men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay gold medals will be awarded.”
“Will be?” I thought. “Those medals were awarded hours ago.”
I decided to tune in so I could see a couple of gold-medal moments for the United States, but knowing the outcome caused my interest to quickly wane and I soon found myself flipping the channel to ESPN, where I was given various updates of the New York Jets’ training camp.
I had to choose between tape-delay and Tebow.
It was a rough night for televised sports.
Olympic National Park has another way for you to experience the Olympics.
And the best part is you won’t need to wear a weird hat to an opening ceremony.
The park offers a variety of Olympic activities that allow world-class athletes and normal humans alike to get out and do rather than sit around and see a competition that happened hours earlier.
Here are some of the Olympic events you can try for yourself at Olympic National Park:
Row a boat
Kayak across Lake Crescent, as fast or as slow as you want, then down the opposite shore and to the scenic Devil’s Punchbowl.
If you’ve never been kayaking, or you don’t have a lot of experience, guided tours are offered that will teach participants about Lake Crescent’s formation, secrets and history.
You can also explore the lake with a canoe or rowboat.
Bike
There are miles of bike trails throughout the park that let you ride through a variety of landscapes.
For long-distance cyclists and those who crave speed, there is loop 101. (For those who prefer to travel by car, this is supposed to be a great way to see the park.)
Mountain bikers can choose between Boulder Creek and Spruce Railroad Trail, which goes along Lake Crescent.
Swim
Practice your butterfly (or dog paddle) form in the waters of Lake Crescent, or Lake Quinault should you find yourself on the south side of the park.
There aren’t many better ways to prepare yourself to challenge Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte, should you ever run into them in real life.
Park listed
Mother Nature Network, a website dedicated to creating healthier people and a cleaner planet, has named Olympic National Park one of the seven best national parks for fishing.
In the blurb that accompanied the selection, Olympic National Park is praised for the diversity of fish that can be caught in its streams, lakes and Pacific Coast shoreline.
Most national parks offer trout and bass, and Olympic has those too, including great steelhead.
But not many parks allow anglers to go after salmon and Pacific cod, too.
To see the entire list, visit the entry on Mother Nature Network at http://tinyurl.com/onpfishing.
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Outdoors columnist Lee Horton appears here Thursdays and Fridays. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lee.horton@peninsuladailynews.com.
