The Spruce Nature Trail along the Hoh River in the Olympic National Park follows a loop along the former river bank, wandering through a lush variety of plants representing different ages and stages of forest affected by the river.
Upper forest, lower forest
And, of course, salmon in the river
Moving from the river back to the trees (this is a rainforest), we start down the trail, encountering Douglas Fir that are scarse in the rainforest because they cannot reproduce in shade and require a opening caused by fire or downed trees. to start.
The trail circles back to the Hoh River and we follow the riverbank for a while, noting on a park service sign that many of these trees are centuries old.
We cross small springs and creeks feeding into the river.
Along the trail
Through the fallen trees
The trail continues to wander through the forest, with great sights of trees (fallen and standing) along the way.
Continuing through the forest
Along the river
Back into the forest
Not to forget that this is a rainforest!
With really old, big trees
Springs and creeks
And, lots of small bridges
This has been a fun exploration of the forest at the base of the Olympic Mountains. Now, it's time to travel a short way through the park to beaches on the Pacific Ocean.
No comments:
Post a Comment