A hike in the Hoh Rain Forest: 24 kilometers to a warm lake

In July 2017, after Seattle, we went to Olympic National Park. Before heading into the forest, Pavel wrote that we were going on a hike for two or three days, maybe longer, that there would be no cell service there, and that there was no need to worry.

The mossy forest

We started at the Hoh Rain Forest visitor center. Two short trails through the mossy forest start there, half an hour to an hour each, and one long one, for a hike of several days.

The mossy forest is very beautiful, like something out of a fairy tale about hobbits. A green stream runs through it too.

Twenty-four kilometers

At first we weren't planning to take the long trail, but then we felt like going on a hike. Going all the way through the park is hard: further on, as they explained to us at the visitor center, there is still snow. Besides, we had to get back to the car, so we chose a shorter route. At the visitor center they recommended Elk Lake: they said it was the coolest place in the park, and that it was warm now and the water in the lake was warm too, so you could swim.

We took a tent, sleeping bags, and food, and set out at 11 in the morning. It was 24 kilometers to the lake. At first we thought we would get there in two days and spend the night at a campground along the way.

We reached the ranger camp at kilometer 15 at around five in the evening, with another 9 kilometers to the lake. We rested, ate, and decided to cover the whole way in one go.

We made it before dark: we arrived at half past eight, and it gets dark there after nine. We pitched the tent, built a fire — and were tired.

The campgrounds on the trail are primitive: it's impossible to equip them the way campgrounds by the roads are. Still, they have designated spots for fires, and wires with carabiners are strung between the trees. You hang bags with food and anything that smells on them so as not to attract animals. We weren't alone at the campground: many people hike to this lake, the trail is quite popular.

The lake

The campground isn't on the shore, so in the morning, after breakfast, we went to the lake to see that coolest place we had been trying to reach for so long. To be honest, overall we were disappointed. The lake is pretty, calm, and warm, we swam and sunbathed to our hearts' content, but it isn't worth that much effort.

We spent the whole second day resting and swimming, and on the third we headed back: we set out at 11 again and got back by six. The animals we came across were mostly squirrels. Once, right on the trail, we saw a coyote — or maybe it was a fox: when it noticed us, it quickly ran off. We never did run into any bears. At the visitor center they had told us that meeting a bear on the trail is a stroke of great luck: bears are afraid of people and stay away from them.

The last trail

The next morning we walked the remaining short trail.

Here new trees have grown out of the root of a gigantic fallen tree. And others stand in a row: they also grew out of a tree that fell many years ago.

Then we drove to Forks — that's a separate story.