The Hoh Rainforest...

Our third, and final visit to Olympic National Park was an explore of the Hoh Rainforest.

Mild winters, cool summers and up to 12 feet of annual precipitation produce the giant conifers that dominate this rainforest, one of the most spectacular examples of temperate rain forest in the world.
We secured an amazing campsite, nestled in the middle of it all.
If you can only take one trail, the Hall of Mosses is the one.
Bigleaf maple and vine maple host an abundance of epiphytes (plants growing upon other plants) that give the rain forest its characteristic look and ethereal quality. A plethora of mosses, ferns and plants compete for space on the forest floor; grazing elk keep the understory open. Dead and downed trees decay slowly and support new life as ‘nurselogs.' The eternal cycle of life and death is strikingly apparent in this magnificent forest community.
All throughout, we were given botany lessons. The signage was an enriching addition.
We were introduced to a number of nurse logs, too. A nurse log is a fallen tree which, as it decays, provides ecological facilitation to seedlings. Broader definitions include providing shade or support to other plants. Some of the advantages a nurse log offers to a seedling are: water, moss thickness, leaf litter, mycorrhizae, disease protection, nutrients, and sunlight. It's amazing to see these old trees still being viable.
Oh man, it was banana slug on parade day. Wild (and a tad weird).
We had to visit the shore of the 50-mile long wild Hoh River which is born high on glacier-capped Mount Olympus and descends 7,000 feet to the Pacific Ocean, fed by snowmelt and rain along the way. The glaciers of its birth grind rock into glacial flour, coloring the river a milky, slate blue. On its descent the river meanders, creating gravel bars and cutting into the lush rainforest along its banks. Immense fallen conifers are swept downriver and create logjams and quiet pools for salmon. Their spawned-out carcasses feed dozens of aquatic and forest animals and fertilize the soil, bringing riches from the ocean to the forest. In turn, the forest lends stability to the river by preventing massive sediment flushing. Mountain, river, forest, ocean––each part of this ecosystem depends on the other, a tapestry woven together as one naturally functioning unit. Nature is amazing.
Again, as we were leaving the park, I gave Steve the task of finding me some Roosevelt Elk. Success!
Olympic National Park is home to the largest unmanaged herd of Cervus elaphus roosevelti in the Pacific Northwest. Named for President Theodore Roosevelt, they are the largest variety of elk in North America. They are much larger than the black-tail deer that inhabit the same areas.

These non-migratory herds stay in the Hoh area throughout the year, banding together in herds of around 20 and consisting of females and their calves. How fortunate we were to see this huge group together. "The early bird really does get the worm"... indeed. We now head south.

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