Rain Forest - Olympic National Park

Rain Forest - Olympic National Park

The Hoh Rain Forest section of the Olympic National Park is a 220 mile round trip from our campground, but it was definitely worth the drive! As the sun popped in and out of the clouds we drove through heavily forested areas, to areas of clear cut trees to a stretch along the ocean which was hidden tantalizing behind trees for the most part. There was little traffic on the road so our pace was leisurely as we enjoyed the scenery along a route that was new to us.

We made a quick stop at the Visitor's Center to see the displays and read some of the information about the park. To show how much rain the Hoh Rain Forest receives, the park had sketched a picture of the Visitor's Center and then marked a level on the rooftop to show how the annual rainfall would cover the building almost to the peak of the roof if the rains didn't drain into the ground. The annual average is about 151 inches of rain, compared to Seattle's 34 inches. That made it a lot easier to visualize the amount of rain they receive in the park each year.

We wandered down the Spruce tree trail, which was a round trip loop of 1.25 miles showcasing the tall Sitka spruces, Douglas firs and hemlocks. The interpretive signs along the path discussed the various trees, the mosses and forest undergrowth as you walked around the path. They mentioned to look for signs of elk feeding on the lush undergrowth, but I think they were staying away from the area as the cow elk had given birth to calves recently according to a warning sign placed out front. I would have loved to have seen elk calves, but I assume you have to trek a lot further into the rain forest than we were prepared to go. The second of three paths near the Visitor Center is the Hall of Mosses which leads you through a section of forest that has maple trees draped heavily with moss. This path is 3/4 of a mile long with a slight uphill tilt near the beginning of the path. It was raining during our visit, but the canopy of trees keeps you pretty dry for the most part and the sounds of rain falling on the tree tops is the only sound you hear as you walk.

The Hoh River runs through the park and its waters are a beautiful opaque shade of blue-green-gray caused by the glaciers in the Olympic mountains grinding stone into silt and carrying it into the river. Spring melt of the snows and glaciers causes the river to change its course within the park which you can see now that the waters have gone down quite a bit.

As we were returning to our campground we stopped at a pull off along US 101 between Ruby Beach and Beach 4 (there are four beach access stops along the way, numbered consecutively) to eat our picnic lunch, watch the ocean and take pictures of the rock formation below. As I was getting out of the truck to focus on the rocks, I noticed a golden eagle hovering above the rocks with his talons extended as he was either preparing to land or to snatch something off the rocks. As I was starting to focus the camera on him-wham! he was attacked by a bald eagle who obviously didn't want the golden eagle in his territory. Before I could snap the shot, both of them flew off in opposite directions. Wow! Not only had I just seen my first golden eagle in the wild, but a bald eagle at the same time. The bald eagle did return, flying across the roadway about two hundred feet from us, but he returned to the forest so quickly I couldn't get a zoomed-in shot of him. So that picture will be in our memories only. It was a neat finish to a great day-trip.