Olympic Gold Medal
Olympic National Park was so full of variety and beauty. It is very large, and along with the Olympic National Forest bordering it, it protects the majority of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, one of the most diverse areas in the country. Within the park, there are three major ecosystems: rainforest, Pacific coastline, and glaciated mountains. This park is definitely the most different place I've been, very out of the ordinary.
The first experience I had with the park was the Pacific coast. I had visited coastline in California and Oregon, but the beach here was so different. The thick forest grows right up to the shoreline and there are tons of driftwood logs lining the beaches, often in big piles. The beach at Kalaloch lodge was sandy and good for spotting razor clams. A little further north at Ruby Beach, the beach was all colorful pebbles and there were big rock formations in the water.
After those two beaches, I drove in to the Hoh Rainforest. This is a really thick forest of cedars, spruce, maples, and hemlocks along the Hoh River. All the trees were just covered in thick green mosses and ferns covered the ground. I felt like some dinosaurs were going to walk past me. The river itself was really pretty too, it had the pale blue tint that comes from glacial rivers.
After stopping for lunch with the vampires in Forks, I headed further north to more beaches. Rialto Beach in Mora was another pretty one but my favorite beach of the park was Second Beach in La Push. To get to this beach, I got to hike a mile long trail down the cliffside, passing plenty of yellow water arums and ferns along the way. Then, once I got to the bottom, I climbed over some driftwood and boulders and I was at this beautiful beach. The shore was so wide, and there were these fascinating tidepools and barnacle covered boulders. There were shells and pebbles and weird sea creatures and the overcast sky just made for a spectacular scene. I wandered around the tidepools for a while and then I found a nice log to sit on and just relax for a while, it was great. After I pulled myself away from the scene, I hiked backed to the car and drove up to First Beach in the town. This beach was right in the town so it wasn’t as quiet or in nature, but it was fun watching a couple of surfers out in the ocean.
The next day, I started off at the visitor’s center in Port Angeles. There I learned about some day hikes, watched the park movie, and planned my day. The first hike of the day was at Elwha Valley. I parked at the Madison Falls trailhead and walked to see the little waterfall before walking up the road. The Elwha Valley road was closed to vehicles but I was able to walk it. The road winds through the valley and along the river. There were lots of birds and deer to see and then I got to the overlook at Glines Canyon. There, I learned about the dam that once blocked the river and I could see how much the riverbank and vegetation was affected by the dam. After that hike, I rode to Crescent Lake and hiked to Marymere Falls. This hike was really interesting into the forest and over some bridges to get to the nice little waterfall. My waterfall count keeps going up and up.
Olympic National Park was very impressive. It was great being able to see so much beach after so much mountains and forests. I got the full Pacific Northwest experience with drizzly and overcast weather. This park and the surrounding forest was also a great example of the protection of a unique and delicate ecosystem. The huge, old growth trees are protected from logging, the rivers now run free, and the several species of plants and animals that are only found in this area are protected. And just like all of the other parks, I would love to visit in other seasons to see all the different ways the park can be beautiful.
See pictures from this park in the Gallery.
