These are both taken in the rain forest up the East Fork of the Quinault River valley at Graves Creek Campground in Olympic National Park. I am always impressed with the way the trees get covered with moss.
Early Spring in the Rain Forest
Ira Spring Wetlands Trail
During the recent stay at Kalaloch, we took a day hike on the Ira Spring Wetlands Loop Trail. Ira Spring was one of my photo idols growing up as a kid. He and his brother Bob were famous local photographers, and with Harvey Manning, put out a pile of hiking guide books: the 100 Hikes in Western Washington series. Ira was also one of the co-founders of the Washington Trails Association. So I was pleased to be able to hike this trail that was named in his honor. It is located at the beginning of the Bogachiel River trail … just before it enters the Olympic National Park. It is a wild, seldom visited rain forest valley.
Dosewallips Road/Trail
Still haven’t heard any late news about the future of the Dosewallips Road. This is in the Olympic National Forest and there is a washout blocking the road about 1/2 mile from this location. This road provides the only road access to the Dosewallips Campground. It’s a 6 mile hike in to the camp at this point … but the campground and surroundings are in Olympic National Park. The different jurisdictions make the problem solving way more difficult. The Forest doesn’t want to pay for the road repair (which has to be done in such a way as to have no negative impact on the river and its salmon habitat) … and any bypass would be partially on private land … another complication.
Big Rocks
This big overhanging rock lives along the Staircase Loop Trail (about a 2 mile loop) in the southeast corner of the Olympic National Park. The trail is heavily used, especially in the summer when the campground at Staircase fills up. It’s a great walk through old growth forest without much elevation gain.
I have visited the area year ’round and have wondered if the overhang provides shelter for any critters during inclement weather … besides hikers. I’ve never seen any, but I expect that critters leave when hikers show up.
Fall: Details
Just some details of autumn finds. The log end isn’t particularly autumnish … except for the capture date.
