Olympic National Park

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What a great day... and lots of driving. Four hours to the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park and four hours back (including the ferry between Edmonds and Kingston).

The highway there passes along the shore of Lake Crescent... which is beautifully nested in small mountains and has a clear aqua color.

After lots of driving I made it to the Hoh Rain Forest, which is a temperate rain forest. Once there, I checked in with Rain Forest Paddlers (http://www.rainforestpaddlers.com) at the Hard Rain Cafe to go kayaking down the Hoh River.

I kayaked down the Hoh River with a small group and it was great. We had some good views of the forest... lot of evergreens, ferns, and moss covered trees. Not many bugs (actually, I don't remember any but I'm sure they are around). Blue skies... great for a place that receives 200+ inches of rain... where the Hard Rain Cafe says that when you it rains, think of them.

Our guide was great... an adventurer, named Frank, from Germany that has logged over 25,000 miles on his bicycle in countries all over the world.

The trip down the river was great. We went across rapids in about five spots, but it was mostly a pleasant float down the river. Though, the rapids got my blood flowing in some spots and my interest in kayaking/rafting definitely went up.

Interesting two things that Frank said (among other things). One is to stay away from rocks. The second is that rocks are my friends. 😊 What that means is that I should try to avoid the rocks. But should I run into one, I should lean into it and even put my paddle and arm on it if necessary. He said that most people when starting out lean *away* from the rocks... which with the current pushing away from the rock and the kayak leaning on the rock it can cause the kayak to flip over.

The scenery on the river was wonderful -- evergreens, moss covered trees, ferns in abundance, and interesting flowers.

After the trip, I headed to La Push, which is a little Indian coastal town in Olympic National Park, to watch the sunset. When I got there, low lying clouds and fog had rolled in and it was very chilly (maybe 50 degrees). Since I had a few hours before sunset, I had dinner at a restaurant overlooking the ocean.

The clouds cleared just enough to see the sun as it drifted into the horizon. Other people were out watching it to. And some people built fires using the driftwood piled just up the shore.

After that I drove back to Kingston where I waited almost an hour for the ferry and then made it back to the hotel around 1 AM. Exhausting day, but well worth it. 😊

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Photos

Hoh River - 1
Frank is on the back of the raft. There was a family from London, a few guys from the south, and two other people that I didn't meet.

Duckie, Paddington, and Avis
At Lake Crescent

La Push - 1
In Olympic National Park.

Driving throught the Hoh Rain Forest
In Olympic National Park.

In the Wetsuit
This was the first time I had worn a wetsuit.

Ferry - 1
Edmonds to Kingston.

Ferry - 2
Edmonds to Kingston.

Ferry - 3
Edmonds to Kingston.

Comments

[Augusta]

Oooh...Aaahh
Wow! That place looks really cool and beautiful!

[Chris]

I need to get out more often
I forget sometimes how many fun things there are to do around here. The Olympics are awesome but I never go there. The Hoh river looks good, and you are lucky it didn't rain. Last time I drove through there the second I saw the sign that said Hoh Rainforest it started pouring.