Today we left North Cascades and headed towards the Olympic Peninsula to visit Olympic National Park. One of Lea’s favorite things in the world is a ferry boat, so we made sure to arrange our path to utilize the Washington State Ferry System. We had a 2-hour drive to the ferry and based on some loose information we could gather while driving, there was a ferry boat at 1:30pm. We pulled into the ferry dock just before noon and there was a boat loading. We didn’t make that boat, we were two cars shy, but the next boat left at 12:30 so we didn’t have to wait long.
While on the ferry we caught glimpses of Harbor Porpoises and lots of Pigeon Guillemots. We pulled into Port Townsend and followed signage directing us to Port Angeles and eventually to Olympic National Park. Our first stop when in Olympic was Hurricane Ridge Road. This road drives up the side of a mountain to an overlook of the Olympic Mountain Range and has amazing views of the snow-capped peaks. When descending it is possible to see the Straight of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound.
We again had campsite reservations in Olympic at the Sol Duc Campground. Olympic, like North Cascades and Yellowstone, is extremely spread out and time between points of interest is measured in hours of driving. Olympic is also unique in that it one of the few temperate rainforests on the planet. The different habitats in Olympic allow a visitor to experience such great variety; for our trip, we narrowed our visiting locations to the Ozette and Hoh Rainforest regions.
Ozette is in the absolute northwest of the park and was an hour and a half drive from Sol Duc. At this location, there was a nine-mile hike which took us through older growth forests and eventually a three-mile stretch on the beach. We had planned this hike to occur close to low tide which happened at 8:30 in the morning so we were on the road by 7:00 to get there. When we eventually reached the trailhead and hiked the three miles into the forest to reach the beach we were able to inspect the rocky intertidal zones which is home to many different species of crab, starfish, and sea urchin.
Another very interesting site, along these beach region, is petroglyphs. These ancient carvings in the rocks were left behind by American Indian civilizations to tell stories and identify unique happenings. We found multiple different carvings but my favorite was the one of the orcas.
One of the discouraging sights along the hike is the litter left behind, not by visitors but by the commercial fishing industry. Many buoys and pounds of fishing line and rope are all washed up on the shoreline. There are also larger pieces of debris like metal doors and destroyed boats. With concerted efforts, the shoreline could get a nice make-over but for the time being it is a reminder of how potentially destructive some practices are.
We finished our hike along the beach under cloudy conditions and then proceeded back on a 3-mile trail where we hiked through sunny skies. We arrived back at our car around 2:00 and really wanted to see the Hoh Rainforest so we immediately headed down there. We had to backtrack an hour’s drive from Ozette to the 101, then drive an hour down the 101 to the Hoh. In driving to Hoh Rainforest we passed through Forks, WA, of Twilight fame. In pulling into Hoh it is remarkable how big some of the Sitka Spruce and Red Cedar trees can get. Some of the trunks measured an easy ten feet in diameter. The largest tree in the area was marked on the map and as we were driving in we planned to stop to view it. We pulled off the road and saw the remnants of the trunk as the tree had fallen within the past year.
Hoh is a magical place of bountiful mosses, ferns, and lichens. It is remarkable what an abundant amount of precipitation can do to stimulate vegetative growth. The trees all grow straight and they are lush and full of chlorophyll. The ground is alive and every inch that isn’t trampled by humans is covered by some plant. It is no wonder the myths of Bigfoot spawn from these regions. It is difficult, if not impossible to see more than 30 yards off into the forest.
We drove back to the campsite and arrived pretty late. One quick stop at an aspen grove for some pictures and then into the campground to make some dinner. Aspens are an interesting plant in that when they grow in clusters they are often the same plant connected with a root system. The largest singular organism (as far as biomass is concerned) is an aspen tree or grove of trees.
Our next adventure will be to Mt. Rainier National Park, which is about four and a half hours away.
No comments:
Post a Comment