Hoh rainforest and wild beaches

Wednesday 25 September
This morning, we drove almost two hours to visit the Hoh Rainforest, (see extra) and the weather was most appropriate, it rained the whole time we were out walking! The Hoh Rain Forest, pronounced "Hoe", earns its name from the ever-flowing Hoh River that carves its way from Mount Olympus towards the Pacific Coast. However, where the name originates, is up for debate, though the word "Hoh" undoubtedly comes from Native American languages; possibly the Quileute word "Ohalet" which means "fast moving water" or "snow water, which would seem to be appropriate. Throughout the winter season, rain falls frequently in the Hoh Rain Forest, contributing to the yearly average of 140 inches of precipitation each year. This results in a lush, green canopy of both coniferous and deciduous species, blanketed with mosses and ferns, and especially in the rain and mist lending it an eerie, mystical feel. We did two trails, then hall of Mosses trail The Hall of Mosses Trail (.8 miles) and the Spruce Nature Trail (1.2 miles), a diverse trail that loops through both old and new growth forest as you walk alongside Taft Creek and the Hoh River. Having got thoroughly soaked, we ate our sandwiches in the car, and then proceeded to our next destination for the day, the striking Second Beach, the subject of my main blip, a spectacular beach with various sea stacks and and pounding surf! Unfortunately, it wasn’t low tide, so we were more restricted with how far we could go, and we didn’t get to explore some of the tide pools. You approach the beach on a trail through the woods, and at this point it had stopped raining, but was still misty, but practically as we set foot on the beach, the clouds began to break up, and we got some sun - magical! Last port of call for the day was Rialto Beach, where the pounding surf was leaving strips of foam on the pebble beach, and trunks of trees brought down by rivers in flood litter the upper part of the beach. Unfortunately, we didn’t stop too long there, partly because of time, but also because Laura fell into a gap between logs, and in trying to haul herself out, further aggravated her trapezius muscle which she has trouble with from time to time, and the kayaking the other day had started it off. Fortunately, Jen had some pain killers in her hiking bag, and when we got back to Port Angeles we went to a Walgreens and bought an ice pack, and by the time she went to bed it was feeling a bit easier.