Thursday, July 6th, 2023

Starting mileage: 6658, Distance travelled: 258

Miles hiked: 2.2

Our departure from Bellevue was bittersweet. We were so excited to see our next national park, but so sad that meant our whirlwind visit with Jesse and Ben had to end. Thanks so much to Jesse for the hospitality, providing laundry facilities, serving as tour guide, and running us around for errands. Thanks to Ben for endless entertainment for Brady and Laura and sharing his bedroom. It was a sad goodbye and all the kids wanted more time together to jump on the trampoline (playing dodgeball) and play demon.

We attempted heading north to Edmonds, only to find a 2-hour line for the ferry across to Kingston, the only way to head west. We decided to bail and head around the southern route back through Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. The drive was not particularly interesting, but we did pass through Brady, Washington. Just before we got onto Route 101 we missed a turn and ended up going over hill and dale through rural Washington, which David loved.

After a 4-hour drive we arrived at the entry road to our campsite back in the Hoh River Rainforest. As the rangers had warned us, we had to sit on line, waiting for our turn to get in. There were signs posted estimating that it would take two hours to get in. Fortunately, it was late in the day and several cars were leaving and it took a little less than an hour. Our campsite was lovely, right on the Hoh River with elk grazing nearby. Brady was excited because it was the first campsite we had with trees, but sadly, none well-positioned for the hammock tent. We did see a momma elk nearby while we got dinner ready.

Once we got settled and ate dinner, we walked back over to the visitor center where the trailheads were. We walked the Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature interpretive trails. The enormous trees and drooping moss were super cool. The trails were well curated with very informative placards about the rainforest ecosystem. We learned all about nurse logs and how they support new growth on the forest floor. Someone coming off the trail promised us baby elk viewing but some loud tourists scared them away ☹️