Hoh River Trail 2-19-2012

Sunday morning found us gearing up for hiking in the Hoh Rainforest.  Surprisingly we didn’t get rained on there!  We stopped at the Big Sitka Spruce on the way.  It was huge and impressive.  We wanted to see the Big Cedar as well, but that was further south and after our hike we ran out of light and energy.

Outside the ranger station stood this old phone booth.  No longer holding a phone, it has found a job as a moss-holder.

The Hoh River Trail was beautiful, winding through mossy trees… huge ancient conifers, and lichen laden maples. 

Most parts of the trail were just damp, but there were a few muddy spots. 

The Hoh River was a pretty river, with a wide meandering valley of stones.  It was calmer than I thought it would be, but huge trees piled along it and laying across it attested to its strength when full.

Along the way were some pretty waterfalls.

This mossy tree was hugging another.  Dave decided it was a tree hugger.  : )

At about 4 miles in we came to the Cedar Grove.  It has had a couple recent casualties, and the one we found blocking our path was about 6 ft in diameter. 

We hiked in the full 5 miles which was our original plan, to Five Mile Island and enjoyed our lunch with a lovely view of the mist rising off the forest, the snowy trees of the surrounding hills, and this beautiful icy mountain.  I don’t know which mountain it is, so if you do please leave a comment with the answer!

Wildlife was abundant. Mostly we heard birds and squirrels, but at the end of our 10 mi journey, we found a deer along the trail, and as we drove out of Olympic National Park, we found a couple fields of elk.

What an awesome day!