Hoh Rain Forest. Olympic Peninsula
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The earlier you get up for a comfortable walk in the forest - the better. We got up at 7, came to breakfast at 8 and at 9 left for the temperate rain forest Hoh (an hour by car from Forks). This is one of the largest forests of this type in the States. As you might guess, the Hoh River flows nearby. It originates from the Hoh Glacier on the Olympus peak. This glacier is by the way the longest on this mountain - 5 km, although not the most voluminous.
From the parking lot, 3 trails depart - 2 small circular and one long, along which you can eventually get to Sol Duc Falls. The first circular - “The Hall of Mosses” is 1.2 km long. Here we met few people. The forest path leads between trees covered with moss. It hangs from many branches, giving the trees bizarre shapes, and spreads in bright green stripes in the streams.
The second circular trail is “The Spruce Nature Trail”, 1.9 km. We met people only towards the end, and this made the walk even better - one-on-one with nature. If the first trail went through a mature forest, then the second one also goes through a younger one, where the waters of the Hoch River used to flow. The trail leads to the river, where we sat.
I did not miss the opportunity to wash myself with glacial water. Along the river there were young thin trees swaying in the wind. At one point, I saw that one tree had broken off in the middle. At that time, I was washing myself, and I heard a crack and got up to see what was happening. Then everything was as if in slow motion - the tree slowly fell into the water and landed with a crash. Quite quickly, the water carried it downstream.
People were sitting next to this tree, and after what happened, they quickly got ready. Sasha also went down to wash up and we went on. On the way we could hear that the wind had picked up - the treetops were making more noise than before.
Almost at the very end of the trail we saw a couple standing silently and looking into the forest. We also went up to have a look and saw a young deer calmly chewing grass. He didn't care about us, but if we made any movements (raised our hands behind our heads) - he immediately followed us and raised his ears. Behind him we could see an even smaller deer, who was moving not so silently :)
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Happy visiting Hoh Rain Forest! :v: