Olympic National Park - Hoh River Trail

Saturday morning, I woke up,  brushed my teeth, changed clothes and started driving to Forks, WA.  It was raining.   My original plan was to hike the Ozette Loop trail, along the Pacific Ocean, first.

On the way to Forks, I got a voicemail from Robert to let me know that my dear friend and WWII Vet, Bill had passed away.  He had missed his 100th birthday by a single month.  I called back immediately to talk with Robert and his wife Betty Ann. Stricken by grief, I had to pull over and cried as I spoke with Betty Ann, Jimmy, and Tom.  I emailed and texted some of Bill's friends, David N and others, and after pulling my self together, continued on through the rain to Forks.

I stopped in at the coffee shop attached to the Thriftway and sipped and read the local paper while waiting for the grocery store to open so I could buy a big jug of water to fill my pack bladder.

When the Thriftway opened, I bought my water, used the bathroom, and then started back to the Route 113 turn off for Ozette.  On the way, I contemplated the weather report I read in the paper at the coffee shop - light rain for the day, and then partly cloudy for Sunday and sunny for Monday.  I decided to turn around again and spend the rainy day in the rainforest and save the partly cloudy day for the beach and the clear skies for the mountain top hikes.

I retraced my course, back through Forks, and south of Route 101, past Bogacheil State Park, and then made the right on Upper Hoh Road.  

The temperatures were pleasant, but the skies were steely and unwelcoming.  I stopped to take some pictures of the Hoh River that flowed along the road.

I arrived at the Hoh Rain Forest Visitor Center, cruised the ranger station, and then geared up for a day hike.  On my way to the trialhead, I listened to an animated ranger talk on fungus.  By the time I started hiking in earnest, it was around 11:00.  

Because this was my first time hiking with my broken elbow injury (and still in recovery therapy), my plan was to just head up the trail until I wanted to turn around.  I didn't have any target destinations.  

The trial was flat and easy and a light rain fell.

The deep green of this primeval forest was a welcome change from the grey open skies.  Goatsbeard hung from the tree limbs like a shaggy carpet.  

 I lolly gagged along, taking pictures of what ever struck my fancy. 

 The trial was popular and well traveled so I only saw a few birds, banana slugs and squirrels along the way.

I veered off the main path and took several side trails that led to the river trying to get off the beaten path at least a little.  Mosses, ferns, and seedlings carpet the ground.

"Hoh" means white water.  I wonder if that refers to the swift, strong, and violet flows that must occur in the spring during snow melt.   

 I was enamored with the landscape and took lots of pictures as I ambled along - using the swing of the trekking poles to straighten and stretch the range of motion on my recovering right arm.

 

 

 The path was very flat and easy.

 I always try to remind my self to look up!

 

 

 I struggled to capture the height and breadth of the forest canopy so I tried a few iPhone photos using the panorama setting.

 I kept taking advantage of the little spur trails to explore the river bank.

 After a while,  I made it to the little waterfall just before Tom Creek at 2.9 miles OW.  See it barely in the middle of this photo?

 A little spur trail leads up the hill to get a closer look.

I considered using the falls as my turnaround point, but decided to go a little further as I assumed most casual dayhikers would turn around here and I'd get to see a little more untrammeled rainforest.  I decided to go at least 15 minutes more.  

Rather quickly, I came across the trail marker for the Tom Creek campground spur trail and had to check it out.  The river did not disappoint! 

Returning to the main trail, up ahead, I ran into a couple that I had taken a picture of before and they told me of some huge ancient trees about another mile up the trail.  It would take me at least 20-30 minutes both ways to cover that ground, but I'm a sucker for ancient trees.   I committed to go, stowed the iPhone camera and quickened my pace.

After about 20 more minutes, I started to encounter significantly larger, single trees.
 But these didn't match the description of the "grove" I was told about.  I carried on knowing it would take me about 2.5 to 3 hours to get back to the trialhead (if I could resist taking the pictures I had noted on the way in).  Finally, I came across a grouping of large cedars.

Could this be the spot?!  I was told I couldn't mistake it.  As I walked among these majestic trees, I knew I was here!

  To get a sense of the scale, I took a selfie among two massive trunks!

I turned around and headed to the Hoh River Visitor's Center with a renewed sense of purpose!  As I huffed it, I encouraged other hikers to keep going and gave them time estimates to reach the must-see trees.  

I did a solid 3 mph pace the whole way and made it back in about an hour and a half.  I toyed with the idea of going to the "Hall of Mosses" and started down the trail, but when I found out it would add miles to my day, I left it for another time.  I stowed my gear and pointed the car towards the Sol Duc campground. I snapped a picture at the Forks Timber Museum,

and eventually made it back to the Sol Duc resort where I popped in to their restaurant for dinner. 
I paid 2 to 3 times what I should’ve for a burger and fries and a beer. I did not inquire about the showers (which I later learned were free to campers).  After the meal, I drove past the campground to check out the trail heads that leave from Sol Duc (you could actually connect to the Hoh River Trail with a long hike or overnight backpack trip) and snapped some pictures of the beautiful sky as dusk fell.  It made me think of Kathi

As I sat in the car for a sunset that never came,   I read my Falcon Guide and formulated a plan to hike the Ozette Loop Trail and visit Cape Flattery the next morning.  I made it back to camp around dark, brushed my teeth, put on my elbow brace and chronicled the day's events and worked on my flexion ROM. After an hour of stretching, I set the alarm for 6 AM and drifted off to sleep.