So, after the end of Day 1, we drove back out to Clallam Bay and then took the road south. It was about an hour and a half of driving on extreme backroads, might be two hours for someone during the more scenic daylight. The trip passes through the hamlet of Sappho Washington, which much amused us, but our ultimate destination was the town of Forks, Washington, population 3,120 and self-proclaimed Logging Capital of the World. As a more realistic metric, the place is the rainiest city in America, and the setting for a series of teenaged vampire novels. Avoid the overpriced suites on the north end of town; there are two very nice motels with wifi immediately south of the downtown, and we got a room for $65.00 for the night (the Pacific Inn).
After sleeping the night there, we ate at the Cup of Coffee Cafe, which is your.. Generic small-town American cafe from a logging town, really; the important thing was that the coffee was strong and the biscuits and gravy were very good; Amy had those with hashbrowns and me, a single poached egg. Alright, back to the motel to pack up and check out, and then off, backtracking about 2 miles north of town to the road out to La Push, the city which is the residency for the Quilleute tribe of Indians (population about 1,000, including 750 natives).
We turned north before reaching La Push, dogged across the Quilleute River, and then proceeded along it to Rialto Beach, a beautiful stretch of sand and rock at the southern end of the Shipwreck Coast. And so begins the first series of pictures..
The Quilleute River.
Islands Amidst the River.
The James Islands.
Standing on the bank of the river.
Dead trees behind Rialto Beach, killed by the great storms of the past that broke over the beach and soaked the area with salt water.
Northward along Rialto Beach.
The Rocks off the Hole in the Wall, looking out to sea NW.
Looking south with James Island to the southwest.
Sea Stack off Rialto Beach.
Surf along Rialto beach, roiling dark-coloured with the sand the wave action drags back into the water on the verge.
Looking north toward the reefs about the Hole in the Wall.
The teeth which have claimed at least two, and perhaps five ships, in a closeup.
Another Sea Stack further out from the Teeth.
The Hole in the Wall itself.
Full view of the James Islands.
Panoramic of the rocks off the Hole in the Wall.
Massive pile of logs on the rock-jetty protecting the Quilleute River mouth and the port of La Push. The river used to flow to the sea here along the south end of Rialto Beach.
The Sand Bar that connects Little James Island to the Jetty at low tide.
The Quilleute approaching its mouth, from along the Jetty.
Looking out along the Jetty from the southwest.
La Push to S. SW.
Amy beside a stump washed ashore.
After leaving Rialto Beach, we drove through Forks again to grab some water-bottles and headed south and then up into the Olympic National Park, the turn being about 12 miles south of Forks on the 101 and then a solid 26 miles up into the Olympic Mountains. The entrance fee--good for a week for the whole park--is fifteen dollars for a vehicle, irregardless of the number of passengers. We just went to this specific area of the Hoh Rainforest at the verge of the main trail of 18 miles which brings you to the glaciers and is the required hike for the approach to climb Mount Olympus.
The photos start at the Ranger's station, and move inwards...
Phone-booth covered in moss in the Hoh rainforest.
A mighty hundred-meter spruce.
The moss--not Spanish vascular "moss", but real moss--hangs low from the trees, able to grow due to the intense moisture of the air, constantly at saturation.
The hanging mosses of the Hall of Mosses, drooping down from every branch.
Closeup of the mossy branches.
Observe the lushness of the ground; every layer of the forest is intensely covered with life.
Observe in this picture how plants are sprouting from the moss which grows on the trees--the moss gains all its nutrients from the air, so it doesn't harm the trees. The ferns and other plants with more normal sources of energy find that the dead moss decomposes to be a quite acceptable substitute to soil.
A young tree growing on the best purchase, the rotting stump of a dead old tree; its roots will be strong enough for it to remain standing even after the stump is entirely decomposed.
Two trees growing together on a fallen log--more on this later.
Still living, this maple bends over the path, possibly having put down new roots where it touches the ground to continue life, the branches with their leaves nonetheless a continuation of its descent.
Amy standing beside an uprooted stump for scale; note the lush growth on it.
A clear-running, spring-fed mountain stream; look at the absolute clearness of the water.
And an amazing tree which has grown on a rotted stump, now gone, and supports itself across extreme distances--a show of the adaptability of natural biology. This one long root coming in the direction of the camera and somewhat offset serves as the counterbalance for two other, larger ones.
Here's the view of the full system.
The pure, glacier-fed Hoh River.
Many western hemlocks growing together in a clump from a common base.
A Colonnade--eight trees (though one is dead), all growing neatly in a row on a fallen tree in the forest, which is now virtually gone. The living trees will be quite strong enough to remain when the log is gone, having grown upon it for centuries: This is 500 - 700 years of living processes laid out before you. The young saplings have trouble taking root in the fierce competition on the forest floor, but the immense nutrients of the fallen trees provide the resources to them that they need to prosper, making such Colonnades quite common in the rainforest.
A baby red squirrel eating a pine-cone right next to the trail without fear or concern.
Descending on the trail between two massive logs crossed over to make a hall through the leaves.
After our journey through the rainforest, it was time to head south on the 101; it veered west, however, and instead of hewing to an inland route, traveled the coast. That provided us with our last stop of the day, beautiful Ruby Beach, and the spectacular vantage point that it affords of Destruction Island off in the distance.
Ruby Beach, with a giant Sea Stack just off the coast.
Note Destruction Island in the extreme distance, and the rocky reefs lining the shore closer in.
Amy looking at the tide-pools.
Rocks thrusting out of the water to the south of Ruby Beach.
A closeup of Destruction Island. That is indeed a lighthouse on it, and for good reason, as one might imagine from the name.
low-lying rocks just south of the big Sea Stack.
Amy along a creek entering the sea at the north end of Ruby Beach.
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- PeZook
