Friday, July 7th, 2023

Starting mileage: 6917, Distance travelled: 143

Miles hiked: 5.5

We woke up in the Hoh rainforest. On the way to the bathroom, David heard the morning conversation between momma elk and her calves, but never caught sight of one. We headed north on route 101 to Sol Duc Hot Springs to soak up some vitality-giving minerals. We arrived to find we were at the end of a timed soaking session so we got tickets for an hour later and headed for a quick 2-mile hike up to Sol Duc Falls. It was a beautiful 3-pronged falls nestled in the boundary between temperate rainforest and traditional forest.

We enjoyed a lovely soak in the odiferous hot springs, which David blamed on Brady. The pools came in three temperatures, 99, 102, and 107. The hottest was too warm to stay in for long. The kids and Susan bravely transitioned between the hot pools and the 74-degree freshwater pool which felt very chilly compared to the hot springs. Susan had seen people with towels earlier so we left ours in the van, only to  learn while we were dripping wet, that they cost $5 each to rent. Epic fail!

After lunch in the van, we drove out to Rialto Beach, one of the northern coastal regions of the park. We stopped briefly at Salmon Cascades along the Sol Duc River. Sadly, the salmon were not running but the River was beautiful. We hiked along the coast to Hole-in-the-Wall, a big rock you can walk through at low tide but it was submerged when we arrived just after high tide. We had to be watchful for Sneaker Waves, which could suddenly crash much higher on shore and pull you out to sea. The tide was coming in as we arrived so we were increasingly clambering over the enormous, tree-sized driftwood along the upper shoreline. We saw diving cormorants, flocks of swooping pelicans, and a few seal heads popping up. About halfway down, we came across a dead skate that had washed up on the shore. The day epitomized the diversity of ecosystems you can experience in Olympic National Park, beginning the day in a rainforest, hiking to forest waterfalls, soaking in a natural hot springs, and walking along the Pacific Ocean.

Before we drove away from the beach, we found an Olympic National Park sign at one of the many boundaries between park land and Indian reservation. We had been seeking a sign to get our picture for two days but there was never enough warning or parking available. This one was right on the beach and we were already parked!