Growing up with the Olympic National Park in my backyard meant that I spent my childhood getting to know all the local rivers and their hiking trails. The Dungeness, the Greywolf, the Elwha, the Soleduc, the Bogachiel, the Hoh, and the Queets became these living, breathing places that I regard as fondly as old friends. Since having children of my own, I think we’ve done too much moving around for them to get to really know a place like that. We have now lived in this area for a few years, and are beginning to put down roots a little more deeply, so they may still develop that kind of connection with our local area. After hearing all my tales of the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula, my kids were very intrigued by the idea of giant ancient trees, so I decided it was high time they saw the Hoh Rainforest and the Hall of Mosses.
In June, we travelled up to visit my parents and spend a weekend backpacking up the Hoh. This was a real treat, since I realized I hadn’t been backpacking with my parents in years! If you’re ever visiting the peninsula, it’s a great trail to take children backpacking on. It’s very flat, with little elevation gain for the first ten miles or so, and the trail follows the river with numerous gravel bars where you can stop to camp or just splash around and rest. Before we set out, we had to take the kids on the little Hall of Mosses loop trail. They were not disappointed by those giant old trees. When I was younger, I would have passed it by, writing it off as the place all the tourists go, but to my kids, it was absolutely magical. Really, with a name like the Hall of Mosses, how could it not be?
It’s pretty amazing, when you think about it, how these forests grow. The trees start out as the tiniest seedlings and grow into these towering giants. My kids, being the little naturalists they are, were very interested in the forest ecology of the Hoh Rainforest. What a great first-hand teaching opportunity!
The temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest coast are populated with abundant nurse logs. This occurs when an old tree falls over and begins to decay, sharing nutrients with tiny tree seedlings that take hold and grow on them among the mosses. As the new trees grow and send their roots downward to the soil, the old nurse log eventually rots away, leaving strange looking trees with legs growing all in a straight row.
The trees take on these amazing forms and look very much alive, like Ents walking along through the forest.
Sometimes you just have to stop and contemplate the life of a tree.
It’s a bit humbling to hike amongst all those enormous old hemlock, maple and spruce. You can’t help but notice how tiny we are in comparison.
As I hiked along, I caught a beautiful glimpse of Mt. Tom through the trees.
Listening to grandpa tell his famous trail stories is always a good time.
One can’t help but notice all the fungus among us!
We were excited to spy a herd of elk munching grass on this river bar. They seemed used to people with all the hiking traffic that trail gets, so they didn’t pay us much mind and kept right on grazing.
Elk sausages roasted over the open campfire made a delicious meal at the end of the day. ( Not to be associated with the elk herd spied a few hours before. We’re not that impressive of survivalists, plus that would break numerous laws and regulations in the park. These sausages are from my dad’s annual Idaho elk hunting trip.)
We camped out on a sandy river bar by a quiet side channel where the kids could splash around. I remember hiking trips from my childhood wading along those gravel bars, and playing with my little brother. It feels really good to hike up a river in the direction of its source, and fall asleep at night lulled by the music of the river flowing by. To me it is a comforting sound. It’s a sound of home. I’m sure if one listened closely enough, they could distinguish the sound of one river from another. I hope that when my kids are grown they will be able to go back to some rivers and streams they consider old friends, and hear sounds of home in the water flowing by.
Beautiful photos, is not Mother Nature wonderful, I love trees and the whispers of the wind through them. cheers Marie
I've always wanted to visit the Olympic Rainforest. This just inspired me again.
I love what you wrote about the sounds of the river. The sound of the Siuslaw is the sound of home for me.