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!

Port Angeles and Rialto Beach 2-18-2012

Saturday morning dawned gray and windy.  A perfect start to a trip to the ocean, and Dave & I anticipated booming waves and frothy surf.  We were not disappointed.  Poor Adventure Dog didn’t get to come along, so after our ferry ride from Edmonds to Kingston, we dropped Cedar with his “Grandma” for a weekend of play.   After that our first stop was my home town, Port Angeles.

We drove past my old home, depressing with all its lovely trees gone, and then downtown to Ediz Hook.  We enjoyed the waves coming in from the Straight on the wild side, and skipped some stones on the tame side.  A couple scruffy eagles were hanging out there too.

Leaving Port Angeles on 101, we meandered out through forest and farm to the coast, where we were staying in La Push.  The hotel ground floor said “partial view” of the ocean only because there was a rise like dunes in between, but we could still see the swell of the waves over the top of the sand and driftwood, and the sound of the surf was heavenly.  We kept our window open the whole time we were there.  After a bite to eat we headed out to Rialto Beach. 

Dave took a picture of a group of people and they returned the favor for us.  As he lined up a good shot we were reminded to never turn your back on the ocean… it sneaked in with its foamy waves right up over our ankles and sent us and our photographer scrambling up the beach.  Pretty funny!

The wind was so strong you could almost lean into it without falling over and the foam from the churning waves was blowing about like snow.

The beach was fun and gorgeous.  Sea stacks and rocks drew the eyes out into the gray where waves were breaking, the thick expanses of pebbles and sometimes sand were strewn with interesting rocks, bright lost fishing floats, and beautiful pieces of driftwood.

We ended up walking the full mile and half to Hole-In-The-Wall, passing many other wind-blown hikers.  We all matched… we were all grinning from ear to ear.  : )

It was a lovely stormy day, a lovely beach, and I can't wait to go back!