Hoh Rainforest and Coastal Beaches in the Northwest (Washington state) — 2019-06-24 – 2019-06-29

The Hoh Rainforest was definitely on my bucket list, and it was one place each of us wanted to see and photograph. Because of the dappled light on the day we visited, it was a challenge to come up with decent images.

Here is a bit of history and information about this national treasure.

According to www.nps.gov:

Throughout the winter season, rain falls frequently in the Hoh Rainforest, contributing to the yearly total of 140 to 170 inches (or 12 to 14 feet!) [355-430 cm] of precipitation each year. The result is a lush, green canopy of both coniferous and deciduous species. Mosses and ferns that blanket the surfaces add another dimension to the enchantment of the rainforest.

The Hoh Rainforest is located in the stretch of the Pacific Northwest rainforest which once spanned the Pacific coast from southeastern Alaska to the central coast of California. The Hoh is one of the finest remaining examples of temperate rainforest in the United States and is one of the park’s most popular destinations.

The Hoh lies on the west side of Olympic National Park, about a two-hour drive from Port Angeles and under an hour from Forks. The Hoh Rainforest is accessed by the Upper Hoh Road, off of Highway 101.

The website, www.mountaineers.org states:

The Hoh Rainforest is a prime example of a temperate rainforest. It is one of four rain forests located on the Olympic Peninsula, and it is has been awarded the distinction of being both a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. Its unique ecosystem has remained unchanged for thousands of years and it is now the most carefully preserved rain forest in the northern hemisphere.

The most common types of trees that grow in the Hoh Rain Forest are Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir, and Western Hemlock (Washington’s official state tree), which can reach over 300 feet high and seven feet in diameter. Most of the trees are covered with huge clumps of hanging moss and ferns. Moss is an epiphyte, which is a plant that grows on another plant without harming it (as opposed to a parasite). Epiphytes get their moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, fog, and debris that accumulates around them.

Hoh Rainforest

We arrived at the Visitor Center and took the indoor, information “tour”. We discovered that there are two short, wide and well-maintained nature trails which loop through the forest near the Visitor Center — the Hall of Mosses Trail (.8 miles or 1.3 km), and the Spruce Nature Trail (1.2 miles or 1.9 km). The Hoh Rainforest’s major hiking trail is the Hoh River trail, which leads 17.3 miles (27.8 km) to Glacier Meadows, on the shoulder of Mount Olympus. We did not take this trail, but my son, Dylan, did when he summited Mt. Olympus later in the week.

We began on the Hall of Mosses Trail, and what a sight it was. Trees draped with mosses and lichen of all sorts. Old, old trees, bent and draped with thick strands of gray and green. Then we did the Spruce Nature Trail. It was loaded with many huge trees as you will see; impossible to get into a single image.

It has been said that the sight is “mysterious”, “otherworldly”, “fantastical”, and other words to try to describe the surreal nature of the place. I hope that some of the images I took will be able to convey this in some way…

And, there are some big trees! Here is Dylan standing at the base of one of them:

Here he is again, standing at the sprawling base of a fallen tree. Notice the trees that have sprouted at the top of the exposed roots:

Speaking of trees sprouting on fallen trees: There is a name for this. It’s called a “Nurse Log”. The fallen tree has allowed sunlight to penetrate the dense forest canopy, and seeds have fallen on the old log, providing a great habitat for new trees. The Nurse Logs are easy to spot, because the new trees are all growing in a straight line:

At one point, Walter noticed an unusual creature next to where I was sitting on a fallen log. Lucky for me that I had not plopped down on it – I thought it was a fallen leaf. We began to see them everywhere — Ariolimax columbianus or Banana Slug. This one was about 5 inches (12 cm) long!

I was also totally impressed with the size of the native ferns which were growing in the open woods. Some of them were up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall. I had seen images of these ferns, but seeing them “in person” was another thing. Truly remarkable!

When we visit a place, each of us sees things differently and in our own way. Here are a few of shots that Walter took in the Hoh Rainforest:

At one point, the trail leaves the dense forest and opens up beside the Hoh River. What a wonderful place to be!

We finally arrived back at the Visitor Center parking lot, musing to ourselves about what we had just experienced. Walter remarked to me that he immersed himself in “forest bathing”, inspired by the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. This is where we build on those therapeutic benefits and look beyond to what happens when people remember that we are a part of nature, not separate from it, and are related to all other beings in fundamental ways.

On this trip, we also visited some coastal beaches, which are very different than the sandy beaches I’m used to on the east coast. The first beach we visited was Ruby Beach, part of the Olympic National Forest. I had seen images of this remarkable beach that were taken by my brother, John, and my friend, Lee Casebere. They both had visited during foggy or stormy days, and they took some remarkable and powerful images. The day we visited was an almost clear day complete with tourists bathing in the waves. Here are a couple of shots showing the sea stacks from my perspective on the beach:

I had wished to photograph without tourists in my images, but it is what it is…

On day 2 of our Northwest adventure, we made a side trip to First Beach near La Push, Washington. We arrived late in the day, but early enough to get a shot of Walter and Dylan standing in front of a large piece of driftwood. It was strange to me to see all of the tons of fallen trees that had washed up on the west coast beaches. It was nothing like I had ever experienced before:

I had expressed the desire to get at least one sunset shot out over the ocean. Here are the results:

This holiday was originally designed by my son, Dylan, so that he could familiarize himself with the area before he summited Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Olympus. He had asked if we would like to join him, and I agreed if we could have some time for orchid and wildflower hunting. I believe he met his part of the bargain quite well. He even became quite adept at locating orchids, himself, and he managed to photograph a few on his trip up to the summit of Mt. Olympus. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I guess…

This is it for our Washington state trip. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the experience. I had visited Seattle about 20 years ago and didn’t remember much about that trip. This trip, however, will be with me for quite some time. I hope you have gotten a bit of pleasure from my images and musings. More adventures to come.

Until next time…

–Jim