Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park
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| Seattle |
Vancouver |
Stanley Park |
Lynn Canyon |
Victoria |
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| Kalaloch |
Ozette |
Hoh |
Hurricane Ridge |
Seattle |
The park brochure Olympic: Coast to Coast, 2003 does an excellent job of summarizing life in the forest:
The temperate rain forests in the valleys of the Quinalt, Queets, and Hoh rivers are protected and contain some of the most spectacular examples of the Sitka Spruce community. This ecosystem stretches along the coast from Oregon to Alaska; other temperate rainforests are found in several isolated areas throughout the world. What define a rainforest quite simply is rain - lots of it. Precipitation here ranges from 140 to 167 inches - 12 to 14 feet - every year. The mountains to the east also protect the coastal areas from severe weather extremes. Seldom does the temperature drop below freezing in the rainforest and summertime highs rarely exceed 80 degrees farenheight. The dominant species in the rainforest are Sitka spruce and western hemlock; some grow to tremendous size reaching 300 feet in height and 23 feet in circumference. Douglas-fir, western redcedar, bigleaf maple, red alder, vine maple, and black cottonwood are also found throughout the forest. Nearly every bit of space is taken up with a living plant. Some plants even live on others. These are epiphytes, plants that do not come into contact with the earth, but also are not parasites. They are partly responsible forgiving the rainforest its "jungly" appearance. Mosses, lichens, and ferns cover just about anything else. Sorrel is also a common ground cover. But because of this dense ground cover it is hard for seedlings to get a start. Many seedlings germinate on fallen, decaying trees. As they grow they send their roots down the log to the ground. Eventually the log rots completely away and a row of young trees is left, up on stiltlike roots all in a row. The thick and protective vegitation also provides excellent habitats for the animals of the rainforest. In turn, they contribute to the health of the forest by keeping the rampant vegitation under control by browsing.
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| moss-covered phone near the visitor's center
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The Olympic National Park is on the list of World Heritage Sites.
Others in the US include: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (Illinois), Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico), Chaco Culture National Historical Park (New Mexico), Everglades National Park (Florida), Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona), Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee and North Carolina), Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii), Independence Hall (Pennsylvania), Mammoth Cave (Kentucky), Mesa Verde National Park (Colorado), Monticello and the U. of Virginia (Virginia), Redwood National and State Parks (California), Statue of Liberty (New York), Pueblo de Taos (New Mexico), Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (Montana & Alberta, Canada), Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho), Yosemite National Park (California).
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The Hoh rainforest is the only rainforest in the US. Furthermore, it is one of only a few temperate rain forests in the world, and amongst those it is the largest. Besides plant life, we did come into cantact with a few animals while hiking. Below are two shots of a black-tailed deer, seen forraging near the campground.
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| Pileated Woodpecker, also photographed near camp. This species of woodpecker was used as the model for the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker, borrowing the bird's call (Woody's laugh) and the bird's foliage (Woody's blazing red crown).
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click to enlarge (1914 x 3077)
click to enlarge (800 x 1286)
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The image at left, taken on the Hall of Mosses Trail, was created by stitching together three horizontal photographs. Click on the links to see very hi-resolution copies of the photo. The Hall of Mosses Trail is an easy .8 mile loop in the Hoh Rainforest. This trail contains some of the oldest temperate trees, most covered in moss.
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| This 17.5 mile trail follows the Hoh River right up to Blue Glacier and Mount Olympus.
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| Angela and Taylor on the trail
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| Dane and Nicole in the rainforest
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| Carefully placed fallen giants do well to protect the path from nature. Likewise, they protest nature from people.
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| The Hoh River as seen from our campsite
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| Down the trail a bit, we found a secluded area along the river. There we spent several house skipping rocks, taking photos, and building a rock castle.
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| Our rock castle, which we later pillaged by hurling heavy rocks.
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| Our campsite at Hoh. This was my favorite camp in the park, mainly because of the proximity to the river and trails. That night, the eve of my 29th birthday, the rushing waters lulled me to sleep, and when I woke, it was to that same flowing drone.
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| Getting ready for dinner
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For dinner that night, we concoction two dishes: mustard with tuna and mac & cheese with tuna. We boiled the water with the jetboil, added it to the tuna/mac and cheese bag, and presto!
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| The moon over the Hoh river, almost midnight.
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| Coffee time! What we have here is a Jetboil Stove, complete with French press kit and a bag of Newman's grounds. The camp cups were purchased in Victoria. The coffe was strong but tasty - just what we needed to start the day.
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After coffee, we packed up and headed back into town for some grub. It was our last day in the park, and we would make one more stop after breakfast - Hurricane Ridge.
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| Seattle |
Vancouver |
Stanley Park |
Lynn Canyon |
Victoria |
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| Kalaloch |
Ozette |
Hoh |
Hurricane Ridge |
Seattle |
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