Day 20. Hoh Rain Forest

So who knew that there was a rainforest on the Olympic Peninsula? And in fact one of only three temperate rainforests worldwide and the largest in North America? This was a definite bucket list place for me to visit. This area receives about 12 feet of rain a year but at least July, August and September are considered to be dry.

After parking, we began by taking the "Hall of Moss" trail;

The moss grows on the trees but does no damage. It takes its nourishment from the moisture in the air.

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 We really enjoyed the trails through the forest and learned a lot about this unique ecosystem. We were in awe of the enormous trees that grow, mainly Douglas Fir, Sitka Spruce and Hemlock. The trees grow rapidly because of all the moisture and do not need to put down a deep root system. This means they blow down easily!

Once the trees have fallen they then act as "nurse" logs for new growth.

 

 

These trees have all grown along the line of a fallen nurse log which has now almost completely rotted away.

We felt very lucky to have our picnic in a rainforest today!

And of course we really appreciated the wildlife we saw.

Douglas Squirrel

I had been hoping to see a banana slug but sadly only saw several of these - Black Slugs, an invasive slug species from Europe which is threatening the poor banana slug!

But at least we did get to see the local herd of Roosevelt Elk as they took their siesta on the banks of the Hoh River.

Another amazing day in this special corner of the country. Our three days here have barely allowed us to scratch the surface of all there is to see. We know we need to come back.