Olympic Peninsula, July 2021: Hurricane Ridge

Having visited coasts and forests, it was time to make our way to the third of Olympic National Park's biomes -- the mountains.  Hurricane Ridge was our choice.

Wildflowers like Broadleaf Lupine brought fond memories of our former home in Colorado.

The area around the visitor center has hiking trails with nice payoffs, like this view north to Port Angeles and the Strait of Juan de Fuca from the Cirque Rim Trail ...

... and this 360-degree vista from Sunrise Point.

This scraggly Mule Deer was quite comfortable with people, grazing contentedly near the parking lot as it filled with visitors.

The deer was sufficiently nonplused that I was able to move around for a front shot.

A quick trip for a nice walk in some alpine air!

More From Olympic Peninsula:

• Dungeness and Sequim
• Salt Creek Campground
• Tongue Point
• Lake Crescent
• Kalaloch Beaches
• Hoh Rainforest
• Rialto Beach
• Bogachiel State Park
• Northwest Corner
• Camp Forever Young

Olympic Peninsula, July 2021: Northwest Corner

The pandemic didn't have a huge impact on our trip.  We ate at restaurants, and we rarely wore masks other than at airports and on planes.  One effect it did have was to prevent us from visiting areas on native reservations, which were still closed.  So our aspirations of going to Cape Flattery -- the northwestern point in the lower 48 states -- didn't come to fruition.  So we just nibbled around the edges of that part of the peninsula a bit.

Our first stop was Lake Ozette, where a popular nine-mile hike begins.  The hike seemed a bit ambitious to us, so we instead just took in the nice (if overcast) view of the lake.

I found the footbridge over the Ozette River quite visually interesting.  The textures of the pavement and wooden rail are great, and then the moss and lichen add a little something.

The day was calm, and the river wasn't exactly flowing swiftly.  So the result was some pretty crisp reflections off the water.  Pity that the overcast conditions sapped all the color out of the sky, but you can't have everything.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We didn't stay long at Lake Ozette, opting instead to head for the northern coast.  In an interesting reversal from previous days, the coast actually had clear skies.  We were looking for an area known as Shipwreck Point, which I'm not entirely sure we actually found.  But whatever we did find was beautiful, and the tide was out enough to reveal pools with little critters like this Yellow Shore Crab.

I figured the red fronds belonged to some sort of anemone, but the good folks at iNaturalist say that's actually a structure that anchors kelp to the rocks.

Did I mention that the area we stopped at was beautiful?

Because I thought it was really beautiful.

We were into early afternoon at this point and getting hungry, so we headed east to the fishing town of Sekiu and enjoyed a hearty lunch and a side of local gossip at the By the Bay Cafe.  This Glaucous-winged Gull and many of its feathered brethren watched with interest as fishermen cleaned their catch.

Time was running out on our vacation, but each day continued to bring wonderful new experiences!

More From Olympic Peninsula:

• Dungeness and Sequim
• Salt Creek Campground
• Tongue Point
• Lake Crescent
• Kalaloch Beaches
• Hoh Rainforest
• Rialto Beach
• Bogachiel State Park
• Hurricane Ridge
• Camp Forever Young

Olympic Peninsula, July 2021: Rialto Beach

One sight I really wanted to see on the Olympic Peninsula was the Hole in the Wall on Rialto Beach.  The hike there and back is 3.3 miles, so you've got to work a bit.  I respect landmarks that make you earn it!

Danelle didn't want to make the hike, opting instead to sit on the beach and read.  I focused more on getting there and back quickly than I normally would, so I passed up chances to shoot some of the interesting driftwood along the shore.  Overcast conditions might detract from the brilliance of my pictures, but they'd at least make the walk more comfortable.

I didn't arrive at Hole in the Wall at low tide, so I wasn't able to reach it directly.  Instead I had to climb overall a small ridge and try and approach it from the north, which I was fortunately able to do.  I used the arch to first frame James Island...

... and then the nearby shark tooth sea stacks.

Climbing over the ridge may have been a bit of a blessing, because it gave me the opportunity to shoot the arch from an interesting angle.

It also afforded a nice view to the south of the aforementioned sea stacks, James Island, and Little James Island.

The sea stacks were just as impressive close up.  At low tide I could have gotten even closer, but I do like the look of the incoming surf.

I confess I was pretty wiped out when I got back to Danelle; hiking on sand and loose gravel is always challenging.  But it was worth it to visit this famous feature!

More From Olympic Peninsula:

• Dungeness and Sequim
• Salt Creek Campground
• Tongue Point
• Lake Crescent
• Kalaloch Beaches
• Hoh Rainforest
• Northwest Corner
• Bogachiel State Park
• Hurricane Ridge
• Camp Forever Young

Olympic Peninsula, July 2021: Hoh Rainforest

Following an overcast time on the coast, we headed inland to the much anticipated Hoh Rainforest.  Since we had stopped at a few beaches along the way we didn't arrive as early as we'd hoped, and got caught in a traffic jam waiting to get in.  The park rangers did a great job managing access, walking the row of cars to answer questions and update estimated entry times.  Even though the sun was shining brightly, temperatures were still cool.  So the delay was much more relaxing than annoying.

Soon enough we were in and walking the Hall of Mosses, which absolutely lived up to its name.

As I was shooting one Margined White nectaring, it was joined by a second.  Serendipity. :)

The trees were tall, and magnificently green.  I could have spent hours trying to find the perfect composition to capture how impressive they are.

After the Hall of Mosses I moved to the Spruce Nature Trail, where a lone Salmonberry showed a splash of color other than green.

The trail runs alongside the Hoh River for a stretch, with its milky slate blue appearance courtesy of glacial silt.

I'm honestly disappointed in my attempts to capture just how spectacular the moss is.  In places it was simply overwhelming, and I just wasn't quite able to get that across.

A fallen tree with other trees growing out of it is known as a nurse log.  This particular log is doing quite a bit of nursing.

Hoh lived up to expectations.  I want another crack at capturing images of that moss someday!

More From Olympic Peninsula:

• Dungeness and Sequim
• Salt Creek Campground
• Tongue Point
• Lake Crescent
• Kalaloch Beaches
• Rialto Beach
• Northwest Corner
• Bogachiel State Park
• Hurricane Ridge
• Camp Forever Young

Olympic Peninsula, July 2021: Kalaloch Beaches

For our trip around the Olympic Peninsula, we rented a converted Mercedes Metris from Peace Vans in Seattle and camped in a different spot every night.  One of those nights was spent in some beautiful woods right off the coast just south of the Kalaloch Beaches. 

The beach itself was just a short walk, littered with striking (and large) pieces of driftwood.

I liked this driftwood so much I shot it with both my zoom and wide-angle lenses.  I think the zoom shot is a little sharper, but the inclusion of the water in this wide-angle image tells a better story.  It's OK to like them both, right?

Driftwood is beautiful in and of itself, but visitors had taken it upon themselves to subtly dress some pieces up a bit more.

This adornment was pretty elaborate, and seemed to have an equally intriguing tale to go with it.

My favorite wildflower could be found alongside the trail to the beach -- foxgloves!

The next morning we drove in a light rain to visit the Tree of Life, a grand Sitka spruce sitting almost in midair with all of its roots exposed and hanging below.  There's speculation that it might not be around much longer before gravity finally wins, and I'll confess that it certainly looked precarious!

Even the stairs to the Tree of Life looked cool.

One final stop at Kalaloch Beach 4, where I found a nice overlook but didn't make the walk down to the actual shore.  Thick clouds along the coast were starting to become the norm, so we decided to head inland in search of sunnier skies.

More From Olympic Peninsula:

• Dungeness and Sequim
• Salt Creek Campground
• Tongue Point
• Lake Crescent
• Hoh Rainforest
• Rialto Beach
• Northwest Corner
• Bogachiel State Park
• Hurricane Ridge
• Camp Forever Young

Olympic Peninsula, July 2021: Lake Crescent

Following a couple of wonderful nights on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, we made our first foray into the national park with a stop at Lake Crescent.

The lake was an invitingly brilliant blue on this bright, sunny morning -- the absolute classic vision of an alpine lake.

I decided to make the walk to Marymere Falls -- less than a mile and only 300 feet of elevation gain to get to.  The moss on the trees along the way consistently captivated me.

One massive tree was particularly mesmerizing.  I could have spent hours looking for the perfect angle to capture it.

A steep set of wooden stairs leads to the falls.  My lens flare makes them look like something from a fairy tale. 

The air was cool, the sun was bright, and I could have hiked for miles...

...so I decided to do one more!  Danelle and I walked the Moments in Time Trail, which is just 7/10 of a mile in length.

The trail provides several opportunities to walk to the shore of the lake, which we took full advantage of.

And it meanders through more moss-covered trees, which continued to capture my interest.

The moss on the trail covers more than just live trees.  This bench clearly couldn't escape its inexorable grip.

As appetizers go, Lake Crescent was quite tasty.  I was already looking forward to continuing to feast on Olympic National Park!

More From Olympic Peninsula:

• Dungeness and Sequim
• Salt Creek Campground
• Tongue Point
• Kalaloch Beaches
• Hoh Rainforest
• Rialto Beach
• Northwest Corner
• Bogachiel State Park
• Hurricane Ridge
• Camp Forever Young