The Elwha

On my day off on Monday (6/28 - I'm behind in the posting), I'd originally planned to work on checking off items on my long to-do list. Instead, I worked on my "things to see on the Olympic Peninsula" list and went to Olympic National Park for the first time! My coworker Val and I set off to just do a few hours hike and were planning on Hurricane Ridge. A visit to the ranger station caused us to rethink our plan as the ranger informed us that the views (which is what Hurricane Ridge is known for) were completely obstructed by fog and the wildflowers had yet to bloom. With this in mind, we decided to go to the Elwha which wasn't much further. The name of this section of the park reminded me of the Lord of the Rings, and upon arrival the forest was so beautiful it seemed fitting to have a magical name to fit the setting. Val had hopes of seeing a bear, which we didn't (I don't know if that's necessarily a good or bad thing) but for me, the experience was quite enough to walk through the mossy forests, unlike any I've ever seen. Little multicolored flowers fringed the path and it turns out they were sweetpeas which you can actually eat. Everything was lush and green and we ran into a lady who works for the Marine Science Center oddly enough and she recommended that we check out Goblin's Gate. Off to our right throughout the hike there was a crystal white/blueish river raging and the hike to Goblin's Gate meant taking a steep and windy pathway down to the water which took nearly 20minutes of navigating. Val and I arrived at the bottom to see enormous rocks where the river was rushing through and sat down to take a few pictures and water-up. The forest lived up to all my expectations and I've been told about other sections of the park that are even more lovely. I can't wait for my next trip out there and have made a list of places w/in the park that I'll have to see when I'm out here as well. If you are ever out this way in your lifetime and enjoy nature at all, this park should be on your lifetime bucket list.