Two National Parks, one spot
When I lived in Bremerton, I crossed a bridge over the Dyes Inlet on my way home from work. While walking, I could turn to my right and see Mt. Rainier off in the distance. To my left the peaks of the Olympic Range rose above the land. I liked to brag that I could see two National Parks in one place.
The first time I visited Olympic National Park was with my parents on a trip. We did a big loop around the peninsula, starting at Lake Quinault Lodge. Whenever I visit the Olympic Peninsula, I feel like I’ve traveled to some place out of a storybook. The vegetation is lush, the towns are goofy, and there are lots of mossy trees. At the lodge we hiked the Quinault Rain Forest loop.
That was not a typo, there are rain forests in Olympic National Park. In fact, there are four; Bogchiel, Hoh, Queets, and Quinault. The peninsula as a whole gets 12-14 feet of rain each year. The hallmarks of these rainforests are the hanging moss, ferns, and towering Douglas Firs. Another interesting thing found in this area are very, very old trees. The World’s Largest Spruce Tree is nearly 1000 years old, meaning it started growing around the same time Leif Eriksson and the Norse made settlements in modern-day Newfoundland.
Cram the hikes in
Luckily my mother jotted down all the hikes we accomplished in an Olympic National Park guidebook, so I don’t need to rely on memory. After Quinault we drove north and made a stop at Ruby Beach, one of the park locations that is right on the Pacific Ocean. Ruby Beach is true, rugged Pacific Northwest coastline. If you want to take a dip, you better be prepared for some freezer burn.
After that we drove to Lake Crescent, a vintage body of water, one of the crown jewels of the Peninsula. It is long and narrow, with deep blue waters and dark forests surrounding all sides. The three of us hiked the popular Marymere Falls, which is a pleasant walk to, you guessed it, a large waterfall. I snuck off the trail a bit to dunk my head in the water.
I have a note that we visited “The Cove and Salt Creek County Park” on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but no recollection exists in my memory. This is why record keeping is so valuable. I do remember our jaunt to Hurricane Ridge, and the Hurricane Hill trail. This is one of the more picturesque regions of the park on sunny days, when all the mountain peaks are in view. Unfortunately, it was a typical cloudy and rainy Olympic Peninsula day. For a brief period though the clouds parted, and we got to see the snowy summit of Mt. Olympus.
Our final visit was to Staircase Rapids, on the east side of the park. Here I remember my mother rolling her foot over what she thought was a stick, which turned out to be a large slug. Staircase Rapids is a great hike along the tumbling North Fork Skokomish River. The waters are cool and clear, almost playful as they cascade down the mountain slopes.
Once a visitor, now a local
When I lived in Bremerton, I visited Olympic National Park several times with my wife Rita. Once we planned on meeting up with a friend in the Hoh Rainforest. He and his group wanted to backpack along the Hoh River Trail. They never showed up, so we walked on the short Hall of Mosses trail together. My friend Beans and his partner Gwen visited this trail in August, and I warned him the mosses might be dried up. He said he’d bring a squirt bottle.
After we left Hoh we realized what happened to our friends. There was a line of cars over a mile long, waiting to get in. Turned out we arrived just in time to beat the crowd. I’ve been lucky with National Parks, rarely needing to wait long at the gate. On a couple of occasions though I’ve seen what can happen for those who don’t time it right.
A year later I redeemed myself at Hurricane Ridge, going on a clear, sunny day and soaking in the view of the Olympic Mountains. Our dog Toad tagged along, so we were confined to the parking lot. In that same year friends visited, and we took them to Marymere Falls. One of their goals was to “see a mossy tree”. In that regard, Olympic National Park does not disappoint.
