The western side of the Olympic Peninsula gets more rain than just about anywhere else on earth. Seriously...like 12 feet of precipitation annually. This, combined with the moderating effects of the Pacific Ocean on seasonal temperatures, makes for ideal growing conditions for several species of trees. Especially Sitka Spruce, Western Red Cedar and Vine Maple. The west trending valleys of the Bogachiel, Hoh, Queets and Quinault rivers represent the last truly great expanses of virgin old growth temperate rainforest in the Pacific Northwest.

We stayed on the 101 through Forks, then onto the Hoh River Road. We stopped at a little place called the Hard Rain Cafe. It's a family operation that serves great burgers and fries, typical diner stuff. We chatted with the owners (a young German/American couple) for a few minutes while we ate, then we moved further down the road.

We stopped again at a pullout just inside the Park boundary, looking for a restroom. There weren't any restrooms, but there was an enormous Sitka Spruce. I took a picture of it not knowing that it was the famous Preston Macy tree. The sixth largest Sitka Spruce on the planet.


Shauna and the Preston Macy Tree...

We expected large crowds at the Hoh ranger station, but we found ourselves nearly alone again. Once on the trail, we might as well have been the only people on earth. Early May is a great time to visit the Peninsula!

If shady Lane felt ancient, the Hoh seemed positively primordial. Moss hung from literally everything, and the trees (especially the old vine maples) took on massive, gnarled shapes. I snapped a few photos along the way.






The Hoh...

A few miles up the trail we bumped into an entire herd of Roosevelt Elk. It was hard getting pictures of them through the undergrowth without spooking them, but, I think a couple turned out alright.





After hanging out with the elk for a while, we turned around. It was already early evening and we hadn't made any sleeping arrangements for the night. We decided to head down the coast a few miles and check out the Kalaloch Lodge before it got too dark.

We arrived at the lodge at sunset...man it was ugly!



Fortunately, there were some vacancies and we checked into a bungalo overlooking the beach. We had only been there for a few minutes when this little bandit strolled onto our deck.



He came up to the sliding door, begging for food. We fed him a couple slices of bread and a few loose grapes for good measure. We're terrible.

In retrospect, this day lasted forever. We woke up freezing in the Sol Duc, hiked the morning away in the woods, burned the early afternoon near Sekiu and Cape Flattery, and spent the evening in the Hoh Rainforest.

This was a good day.