We took our time getting ready to leave the comfort of our motel room in Forks, mostly since we knew camping in a rain forest was our next stop. I grabbed some coffee at one of the many coffee carts along South Forks Ave. while Lauren was still sleeping and got a glimpse of Forks in the sunlight. When I returned to the room, Lauren was waking up so we had another modest breakfast of granola and powdered coconut milk – a breakfast that I am beginning to really enjoy. After scrubbing the grime off of our chains and giving them a good dose of oil, we packed up and set out on our lower milage day to the Hoh Rain Forest.
The ride itself was not incredibly eventful outside of one quick stop at the visitors center on the south side of Forks. Of course, it was filled with Twilight memorabilia but that was to be expected. If we had more time, it would have been interesting to check out the Forks Timber Museum which was next door. Another thing for the list.
We rode down highway 101 for about 13 miles until we got off on Upper Hoh Road towards the rain forest. The elevation chart that Google provided made it seem that this stretch of road was a long but steady climb so we were a little surprised by the amount of short and steep hills we encountered. These little hills took a lot to muscle through and made the journey seem a lot longer than it actually was. We arrived at the Hoh Rain Forest visitor center around 2:30pm which was just enough time to set up our tent before a torrential downpour let loose. The weather called for a 30% chance of showers so I guess I was a little optimistic in thinking we’d stay dry – after all, it is a rain forest.
Damp and tired from our ride, we went over to the visitor center to stamp our National Parks passport and see what there was to do in this part of the park. We originally discussed camping in the Hoh for two nights with the next riding day being about 70 miles to Lake Quinalt. After looking at some maps, we learned that there are two small hiking trails, both of which are around a mile long, and because of this, we decided that we would do these trails then head out in the morning in order to break up our 70 mile day into smaller portions. Plus, one night of camping in the rain forest is probably enough.
We ended up doing both trails: Hall of Mosses and the Spruce Trail. Both were filled with amazing old growth trees, some of which were nearly 300 feet high. It was truly a scene from Ferngully. Later, we attended a ranger campfire talk (sadly, without a campfire) and headed back to our tent to settle in for the night.
Tomorrow we are going to try for one of three lodging options. First, we will check Kalaloch Lodge and see if they have any cancellations. This is the most unlikely of the three. Next, we will check Kalaloch Campground and see if they have any walk-up spaces available. If neither of those options work, we will check South Beach Campground which the ranger told us will likely have space.
Mileage Today = 32.3
Total Mileage = 168.27
