Summer is defnintely on! We finally had our first guest out to the PNW and we all decided to go to Olympic National Park for some much needed adventure! It was amazing. We spent the first afternoon hiking in the Hoh Rainforest and hung out on the river all evening hunting elk tracks.
Totally crossed this log ^^^ and only had a mild heart attack. One of our party actually forded the river which was impressive - IT'S FREEZING! The river beds are fun to explore, as the water levels recede it reveals sand pits and fun little worlds. Here a new river is rising, a moss river!
When I'm camping or hiking I like to leave a rock tower or pile or something - something to inconspicuously mark that connection you have made with where you are and what is surrounding you. After I made my tower, I was super excited to come across these two markings left by someone else! They were very 'Andy Goldsworthy' so I couldn't pass them by!
Hoh Rainforest Rundown:
Camping - This is a great place to camp especially if your arriving later in the day, but don't plan on getting a waterfront spot, those usually go first! I've now camped at the Hoh Campground twice; all campsites are in old growth forest. The A loop has larger, more open spots great for multiple tents and also better river access, the B loop has smaller, more secluded spots - by this I mean your totally surrounded by ferns and moss covered trees (so it can be a little wet!). Definitely a great stopover.
Hikes - There are 3 rainforest walks at this location which total less than 3 miles round trip of easy hiking (hence why its easy to arrive later and leave early). Next time I'd like to tackle the Hoh River Trail, a 17.4 mile hike out to Glacier Meadows that begins here.
Running through a field of daisies is preeeeetty wonderful. The daisy field, with Lake Crescent in the background, was alongside the trail to Marymere Falls; the payoff far succeeded our payout on this hike. The hardest part of the hike was a few stairs and one final biiig step up over the root of a large tree (seen below with the falls in the background). My other favorite flower blooming at lake level are Foxglove, they're so vibrant and beautiful!
Hurricane Ridge was just as breathtaking as I remember it. I was so excited to explore more of the ridge this trip since the snowmelt was much further along than the first time I visited and wildflowers like Avalanche Lily and Phlox were in full bloom alongside the trails. The air was so incredibly crisp and clear that at one vista we could see over the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to Vancouver Island (Canada!) and the mountains beyond that...I like to think that one of those was Whistler. 
I realize this was a serious photo dump stretched into a few posts but I can't help it! What an amazing place! I'm so thankful to have shared this trip with good friends and I can't wait to go back - which needs to be now!!!
We stopped at Lake Crescent to check out Fairholme campground and were basically rooted right to the spot. We quickly discovered there are about 9 (?) coveted walk in spots that are right on the shores of this beautiful emerald azure lake. It was so breathtaking we couldn't help but spend a few nights camping here!
Just a few shots from around the campsite; we had lots of ducky visitors! And then since baby animals are so cute and stuff, some fawns! Below is probably my favorite photo from the entire trip which was my morning view. Seeing the sun rise and set on this lake was one of those absolutely sublime feelings; those moments as described by Dr. Vasant Lad, "when you look at a beautiful sunrise, sunset, lonely light on the water, beautiful bird in the sky or a flower dancing in the wind - at this moment of beauty, you get absorbed and truly connected with the world. At that moment true happiness is unfolded in your heart. That happiness is beauty. That happiness is love. That happiness is awareness."
I dream about this place. I cannot wait to go back. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone, even just to stop by and stay a moment.
While we were just hanging around on the beach, all of a sudden this little deer popped out and made for the tide pools! Definitely something I've never seen before and I'm really curious what he was munching on out there!
On the way back we crossed a stream and decided to follow that until it led us to this little freshwater (freeeeeezewater!) lake. I say lake because it was freakishly deep and definitely would have been awesome to jump into had it not been so cold! "You didn't expect me to be jumping into every body of water we came across!" No, I definitely did not and our guest definitely swam in here, burr!!! I posted up on these logs were completely grown over with grasses and flowers, this one ^ was like a faerie pride rock, hee!
At La Push beach there are some larger, closer sea stacks and I just had to know if they could be accessed! I walked all the way to the tip of the jetty to determine this - and when I say walk, I mean I had to hop from rock to rock to log to rock like a spazzy mini Mario. The other awesome thing was that every crevice of the jetty was covered in starfish!! AHHH!!! Don't worry I restrained my photo dump. 
