Hoh Rainforest backpacking trip

We kicked off our first backpacking trip of the season this weekend - the forecast was for rain so we decided to embrace it and head out to the rainforest. We had done the Bogachiel river rainforest last year, so we opted for the Hoh river rainforest this year. We were destined for rain, but we had all the right gear so we were ready… :)

But first, we headed out on a Friday afternoon and stopped for dinner on our way to the trip. We stopped for pizza about 2 hours out of Seattle and got a great pizza with some ice cream and cobler for desert. Just the right dinner for a big/strenuous trip into woods.

We slept in the van that night at the Hoh-Oxbow camground - which is a state campground that’s run as a free campground with the discovery pass. It’s relatively spartan, but there were lots of empty sites and we were right by the river, which was nice. We woke for a somewhat early breakfast (7a or so) and Sara really wanted potatoes, so mashed potatoes for breakfast!

Day 1 was about 7 miles in total - Great weather the whole way, although the trail was pretty muddy from the rain over the last couple of days. The Hoh rainforest was just how I remembered it, with moss and ferns everywhere. The trail looks like a fairytale with the forest just kinda opening up as you walk through it. No berries on this trip (unlike our last one) which made Sara just a little disappointed.

As opposed to the last two backpacking trips we went on, Sara got to carry her own backpack with her own water and snacks. Also - she got to carry teddy and made sure he had a great view… Also, just to confirm, she still hates it when I take videos of her.

• “Hey Sara, let me know when you are ready to take a break, ok?”
• “How about here? That way we can watch the elk.”
• “What elk?”
• “Those elk over there”
• …Points to a herd of probably 15 elk that I had no idea where there… Closest one was probably 30 feet away down the ravine. The first time Sara has spotted wildlife before me, and she was so nonchalant about it. She was less excited than when we see farm animals from the car… See if you can find them in the pictures below.

Once we saw the elk, we saw a ton of elk sign on the trail - footprints, scat, fur, etc. They seemed to be very active in the area.

Sara really likes to sing songs as we hike - Especially on longer hikes. We have been re-watching big bang theory lately, and Sara has been creating her own version of the song (same tune, but different words). Here is her hiking song (or at least the verse that she would let me record).

We got to camp relatively early and setup camp/made a fire when we got there. We had several backpackers meals, so I figured we could do one now and the other later in the evening. Unfortunately, all of the wood was very wet from the rain over the last couple of days - so, while we did get a fire started, it could not have been more smokey. At least bugs weren’t a problem! We actually had to dry wood out in the sun for an hour or so before we could put it in the fire and nothing would start burning until it had been in the fire for at least an hour.

Sara took this opportunity (while I was making the fire and cooking) to create a meal of her own. She took leaves and “grilled” them on a stone near the fire. Once they were half wilted from the heat, she put them on a stone plate and served them up. Presentation is everything!

After our first dinner, Sara turned into a monkey and climbed up a tree - and then couldn’t get down. :)

We had some time, so we took a quick walk up to the happy 4 shelter and went further down the Hoh trail by a half mile or so. The happy four shelter has a very funny backstory - see the plaque below. There are shelters like this one all over the olympic NP and they have a particular look to them that’s very different from any other NP. Very overgrown - to the point where it starts to blend in with the surroundings.

The rest of the afternoon stroll was relatively uneventful - the trail continues to follow the river for another 3-4 miles before it gets to a ranger station and splits to go up to the 7 lakes basin or on to mt olympus.

I should say, relatively uneventful except for the mud. The mud seemed to be much worse as you got past happy four. Not sure why, perhaps a low point in the trail as it goes around the river bend.

The next morning, we awoke to rain - as expected. There was a lot of it… our tent had a vestibule on each side but a small lake was forming all around the tent just outside the vestibule. I cooked up a quick breakfast (oatmeal) in the vestibule (with the vent open) as we psyched ourselves up for the day ahead. Neither one of us wanted to get out of the tent - but once we did, it was ok.

Sara was more excited/happy than day one. She got to run in the rain, splash in puddles, wear rain gear, really all the things that a 5 year old would want to do in life. The only really challenging part of the day was convincing her to stop and have snacks - she just wanted to keep going. I was a little worried when we got up about a painful trip back, but nothing of it - Sara was in her element!

The excitement continued when a fern leaf was found no longer attached to the fern (Sara is only allowed to pickup leaves that have already fallen from the trees/bushes). After climbing in and out of a very wet stream bed, this little fern leaf kept her going for at least 3 miles - flapping it like a wing, fishing with it…

The rain also caused the banana slugs to come out - something both Sara and I have always been fascinated with.

And a beautiful moss covered tree to end it all - just to add to the fairyland look of the trip. :)