Hoh Rainforest Trail, Olympic National Park
Situated along the wild and scenic Pacific Coast of the State of Washington within the boundaries of the Olympic National Park lies a 17 mile trail that defies the imagination. Lush does not begin to describe the temperate rainforest trail that receives approximately 12-14 feet of rain every year and even a mid September backpack trip required the patience to trek through two out of three days with constant rain and associated humidity in an attempt to reach the goal of viewing the Blue Glacier on the slopes of the very hidden and elusive Mt. Olympus.
Even getting to the trailhead of the Hoh River Trail requires the dedication of several hours driving as it is very remote on the Pacific side of the Olympic Mountains and a solid four hour drive from the city of Seattle. If you desire to tackle this trail you must obtain daily camping permits from the National Park Service and peak Summer can see very busy trail traffic and possible difficulty obtaining a campsite so I recommend trying to go midweek and after Labor Day if you can. Our trip had fairly light company of other backpackers once we left the area of the trail within day hike distance of the main campground and trailhead.
For the adventurous who want to try to tackle the entire 17.1 mile trek to see Mt. Olympus and the Blue Glacier plan on a fairly flat first 13 miles and then your climb will begin in earnest as you ascend from an altitude of just under 1,000 ft. to 4,000 ft. in the final four miles to Glacier Meadow and then another significant climb up the ridge from Glacier Meadows to see the actual glacier. Our three day trek with an overnight stop at the ten mile mark camping at Lewis Meadow and then making the 14 mile round trip ascent/descent back to camp proved to be very difficult to accomplish as we underestimated the challenge of the climb and the daylight needed to make the up and back trip. Unfortunately, my backpacking partner and I had to turn around less than a mile from Glacier Meadow to return to camp as a combination of fatigue, poor cloud cover obscuring a possible view of the mountain, and hours remaining in the day combined to cause us to concede and turn around. My recommendation would be to build an extra day or two into the trip to allow for a more relaxed attempt to ascend the entire trail.
Beyond even the lush vegetation and the magical blue silt waters of the Hoh River that captivate the imagination is the opportunity to see incredible wildlife up close where they seem to graze with no fear of their human visitors. At one point a few miles into the trail we came across a herd of what appeared to be 16-18 female elk along with the bull watching over his harem simply munching vegetation and casually watching us pass by. Once in Lewis Meadow each morning we found deer quietly walking nearby our camp having their morning meal in the meadow without any sign of being startled or concerned with our presence. Cougar and Bear are also present in these parts but fortunately we did not have any encounters with these more dangerous predators.
I have included a number of my favorite photos from this adventure here in the “Trails and Travels” blog section and have also added some of what I feel are the very best to the other sections of the website. I hope that these photos and this short write up about this trip into the Hoh Rainforest are enjoyable for you and that possibly you may be inspired to go out and try this adventure if you are able. This post is of course not comprehensive by any means so if you do want to attempt this trail there are plenty of great resources online that go into extensive detail to help you plan.
God Bless and happy trails to you wherever your adventures take you. Just remember to take some pictures along the way.
