Hiking in the Hoh Rain Forest

Mild winters, cool summers and up to 12 feet of annual precipitation produce the giant conifers that dominate the Hoh Rain Forest, among the only protected temperate rain forests in the Northern Hemisphere. Two loop and one out-and-back trail give a great sampling of the area. The Spruce Trail meanders through the late-secessional (younger) forests of red alder and cottonwood. The Hall of Mosses Trail is only 3/4 mile and shows the moss-draped maples and older Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock which grow to immense size due to the protected environment and abundant rain.

We started on the 1 1/4 mile Spruce Nature Trail where we learned about 'nurselogs' - dead and downed trees slowly decaying and providing support for new trees that otherwise find it hard to compete for space on the forest floor. The trees above are growing in a line that was established when they were first growing on a nurselog.

This log along the Hall of Mosses Trail shows younger trees on a nurselog.

The clear creek at the beginning of the Hall of Mosses Trail.

Hall of Mosses Trail

Notice Frederick among the trees (left bottom). 

Lunch among the mosses and ferns.

Lunch view.

After lunch we started on the Hoh River Trail, a 17-mile trail where dayhikers can walk the lower sections along the river. About a quarter mile along the trail we spied a hiking companion. Along the trail we could hear the males bugling in rut.

These trees can grow over 300 feet tall - the length of a football field.

It was late afternoon when we left the park and the resident elk herd was coming out for dinner.

Today's combined hike:
Length - 7.25 miles
Duration - 4 hours, 7 minutes
Elevation gain - 470 feet (47 floors on the Fitbit)

P.S. Today is Don Rohr's birthday; he would have been 96. I wonder what he would make of this election cycle? He was a man of great integrity.