Olympic Rain Forest, WA

After leaving Port Angeles we head west on 101 toward the Pacific coast. The weather prediction for the next few days is for sunshine. Even though we anxious to go home, we decide to see the rain forest in sunny weather since this is a rare opportunity.

We stop that night at the Klahowya National Forest campground. At $15 a night - you gotta love the National Forest. Even though it's relatively late for us, 7pm, we get a lovely site right on the Sol Duc River. That evening we're treated to one of the most spectacular sunsets we've seen on this trip.

Setting sun baths the Sol Duc River in red light

The sky is burning with brilliant colors

The campground hosts tell us the best place for camping in the National Park is at the Hoh River Campground, but with the upcoming Labor Day weekend, we should secure our campsite by 12 noon. So we are up early and on the road to find our next site.

Campsite at Klahowya

Hwy 101 headed west @ top of Olympic Peninsula

By the time we reach the boundary of the Hoh Rain Forest, the sun is shinning brightly and we congratulate ourselves on deciding to take the detour.

Entry sign to How Rain Forest

The Hoh River

We get settled and celebrate over lunch of sandwiches made from the last of our Alaskan reindeer sausage. We joke about ordering more of these sausages as Christmas presents. Humm... on second thought, maybe the grand kids won't see the humor in this gift.

Camp robber jays are everywhere as we sit down at our picnic table to eat.

Hey that's my sandwich - not yours!

Grumble - these jays won't go away

Two birds in the hand is better than all those in the bush

It's such a nice day we go for a hike up the Hoh River Trail. It's a pretty long trail going all the way to the Olympic Mountains and the Sol Duc River Ranger Station.  We'll just go to Tom Creek and back to check it out.

Ahhh ... so nice to know where we're going.

Wow - these trees are amazing

What a great afternoon for a hike

The large trees are truly amazing. We are awed by the size of these monsters.

Big

Bigger

Biggest

Next, we notice the incredible play of sunlight filtering through the trees giving the forest a magical quality.

The Enchanted Forest

Ferns storing up photons

Then there's the mosses... everywhere. Later we learn from our forest ranger guide there's literally hundreds of different kinds of mosses in this rain forest.

Mosses hanging from tree branches

almost touching the ground at times

and even blanketing the phone booth

Fungi are also happy living in this forest. Some are surprisingly large.
Although we don't see too many critters on the forest floor, we do see evidence of their existence. The local banana slugs in these northern forests are black rather than the brilliant yellows we are used to seeing at home.

A rodent home

Black Banana Slug

and of course fish.

The most spectacular of the local fauna is the Roosevelt Elk, named for Teddy Roosevelt who is said to have created this National Park to protect their habitat. Peter captured these magnificent large elk napping along the Hoh River with his telephoto lens.

Nap time along the Hoh for the stag and his harem

Some hikers across the river put the herd on alert

Danger past - back to the business of feeding the calves

Life abounds everywhere. Even in death, there is life. Fallen giant trees become the homes of other plants and even becoming "nurse logs" nurturing the growth of the next generation of trees. In this temperate rain forest it can take two to three hundred years for large logs to fully decompose, while in the tropics this process only takes two to three years.

Ferns and mosses are the first to colonize a fallen tree

The roots of this tree still embrace it's nurse

This row of trees mark where they grew up on a nurse log

We thoroughly enjoy our hikes through the rain forest and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to explore this part of the world under such pleasant circumstances.

Fallen logs along the Hoh River Trail

Water fall along trail

Foot bridge over creek

Back at the Visitors' Center we are surprised at the ring comparisons of the same species of tree. With the ideal conditions of the rain forest, the trees grow very quickly compared to the same species living farther north.

28 years of growth in the Hoh Rain Forest

In Alaska, the same tree grows much slower

We end up spending a wonderful 3 days wandering around the rain forest and getting to know the area and the other campers. As tired we are of travelling, this Labor Day weekend on the Olympic Peninsula was well worth the stop.

Our campsite along the Hoh River

Hey - some of these cords are hard!

Autumn colors start to show on the Hoh River

We meet a remarkable couple while camping - Rick and Amy. They are full time RVers. They both retired early over 10 years ago and spent their first eight years sailing around the Caribbean hoping from island to island. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed their boat and they switched to an land yacht - an RV about the size of ours, in which they've been living for the last two years.  We are amazed at how well they handle living in such a small space and are thankful for their many tips for organizing our own RV. They are "distributed campers"... ie camping in unorganized campsites for free... sometimes known as "boondocking."

Rich is also an avid amateur photographer and he has some great shots.  Hummm... maybe I should start using a tripod and shooting raw.

Since we are all leaving on the same day, we decide to take advantage of the minus tide to explore the local beaches and tide pools.

Rick and Amy stand by their home.

Trail down to Second Beach is classic Northwest

Creative cairn balancing

Colorful starfish

Green sea anemones

Although the mood is more somber along the foggy beaches, it's still beautiful. We can easily see why the area around Forks WA was chosen for the Twilight movie set