Off on our first walk.
We met the Country Walker contingent in the lobby of the Westin in the morning. A total of sixteen walkers and two guides on this trip.
We took our bags down to the vans that were to take us to the Olympic Peninsula. Jonathan and I were in the one driven by our guide, Maribeth. Our route took us down I-5 to Olympia then west towards the ocean. A little over halfway there we stopped at Montesano at Lake Sylvia State Park.
We claimed a picnic table or three leaving Steve, the other guide, to set up lunch while we took a two mile walk around the lake. Maribeth introduced us to some of the “dramatis personae” of the forest – the Douglas fir, the western red cedar, and the western hemlock. Also pointed out on the walk was huckleberries, devil’s club, digitalis, vine maple, big leaf maple, and horsetail. Even though the walk took place beside a lake (pond might be a better description) there weren’t many insects despite the warmth of the day. We settled in for lunch, making fairly short work of the gourmet sandwiches and accompaniments provided.
Off on our first walk.
Down the trail through the trees.
Light slanting down through the forest.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea).
A theme in the rain forest is the moss hanging on the trees.
Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale).
We re-boarded the vans and continued our trip westward to Aberdeen on the shore of Grays Harbor where the highway turned north again taking us to Lake Quinault. We stopped at a trail head short of the lodge where we began our walk to the lodge on a 2.5 mile interpretive trail. Maribeth took our bags on to the lodge while Steve led us through the woods.
At the beginning of the trail was a very large Douglas fir around which a platform had been built. From there the trail followed a creek while Steve pointed out the various stages and progressions of the forest. A number of nurse stumps and logs were in evidence. There was a lot of oxalis along the trail interspersed with deer fern – a small fern of about 12” fronds with leaves distributed around a single stalk. The sword ferns were about 2 – 3 feet long with the same configuration. Steve pointed out salal, a bush with dark blue-purple fruit that looks like an oblong blueberry and tastes similar. The trail took us through a cedar bog, then up over the ridge and down to the lakefront where the lodge is situated.
A very large Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Text from the placard is below this gallery.
A nurse log - supporting the growth of the next generation of trees.
A bank of ferns.
Lots and lots of hanging moss - or is it lichen?
A nurse stump.
Sword fern (Polystichum munitum).
Deer fern (Blechnum spicant).
Salal (Gaultheria shallon) A creeping or erect evergreen shrub; fruit look like oblong blueberries, bland in flavor.
Tall trees seen across a light break.
The walkers arrive at the Quinault Lodge.
The view from the other side of the lodge.
Some intensely blue hydrangeas at the lodge.
After getting to our room and the requisite shower, we adjourned to the bar in the main lodge to work on these diaries. The rest of the Walkers convened for drinks prior to dinner with more introductions. At dinner, Jonathan and I shared a cedar planked wild salmon, finishing with a marionberry (blackberry) cobbler.
Our room in the lodge was in a new construction and faced the lake through the trees. The sound of water on the shore of the lake was a constant gentle sound – very good white noise for sleeping.