On my August Friday Furlough day Mom and I decided to go drive up to Forks and visit the Hoh Rain Forest. Neither of us have been here before so we thought we would try a new place up in the Olympic Peninsula. We planned to leave early so we can enjoy the entire day up there. I told Mom to be at my house at 7 so we can leave and head up there since it is a long drive to Forks. The night before I got all of my stuff ready and tried to go to bed at a decent time.
I woke up at 6 and got ready. It was going to be a really nice day. Ben got up shortly after me to head to work. Mom was late getting here so I decided to go get gas at the Texaco off of Spurgeon Creek Road. For some reason the Escape was clanking or knocking from underneath or the right side of the vehicle and I got worried. I got gas and then drove back to my house and then called mom to see if we could drive the Expedition instead. I really didn't want to get stuck somewhere if something went wrong.
She got gas on her way to my house and got here around 7:40. Not the time we wanted to leave but since we had to change our plans a little...it will have to do.
I threw my stuff into her vehicle and she made me drive, of course. We left my house and got onto Yelm Highway, merged onto Hwy 101 and when we got to the junction to go to Shelton or Elma, I had a brain fart and ended up going towards Shelton instead of Elma on Hwy 8. Lame. We got off of Hwy 101 by the Little Creek Casino and got onto 108 and drove through McCleary and got onto Hwy 8 there. It wasn't ideal but I was glad there was a road to get us to the right place so we could be on our way.
We continued into Aberdeen, where we stopped at the Walmart to use the restrooms since everywhere else is closed because of GD Covid. We usually stop at a fast food restaurant when we come though here to use the restrooms but not this year. We got back onto Hwy 101 and drove through Hoquiam and then north towards Forks. It was a somewhat of a boring drive but we had a lot to chat about because we usually did. It felt like I just came up here (which I basically did at the beginning of the month) so all the landmarks were pretty fresh in my mind. It didn't take us very long to get up there because it was a Friday and not very many people were on the road and we didn't stop for any geocaches on the way up.
We got to the turn off and followed the road to the Hoh Rain Forest, paid our $30 entrance fee to the national park and got to the parking lot about 11 a.m. The parking lot was pretty full (we really weren't surprised) but we got super lucky and nabbed a spot as someone else was leaving. We had perfect timing, haha!
We decided to eat lunch before we went on our hikes in the parking lot. Mom made herself a sandwich and I brought a turkey and cheese lunchable (because I was lazy this morning) while we debated on which trail to do first. We finished our food and got our hiking shoes on, grabbed our back packs and then walked the short distance to the restroom. We had to wait outside because only a few people could be in the bathroom at once.
We walked to the beginning of the trail head and figured we should do the Hall of Mosses Trail first. There were lots of people walking around and there were signs telling us to walk counter clock wise to avoid passing people. We had our masks with us just in case people didn't follow the rules. This trail is a 0.8 iconic loop that takes you through old growth forest and features a grove of maple trees draped with abundant club moss. Just about every single tree had a moss beard! It was so cool!
Just up the trail we did our first cache, Hall of Mosses Earthcache (GC2DGQ2), which took us to a sign where we learned about the different types of trees that grew here and the amazing height these giants tower over us. We got our necessary information and a few photos and continued around the loop. We saw some amazing giant trees, moss beards and maple trees that took over the forest canopy. Why haven't we come here sooner?
We finished that loop and walked back down to the map to find out where to start the next loop, the Spruce Nature Trail. It is a diverse 1.2 mile trial that loops through both old and new growth forest as you walk alongside Taft creek and the Hoh River. This trail was nice because it was empty. We might have seen a handful of people which was hardly any compared to the other trail we just did. That one was swarming with people.
It was really nice to just cruise down the path and not worry about anyone getting in our way. There were a lot of nurse logs, giant trees with beards and a mixture of new and old growth trees that speckled the landscape. There was something mysterious about the forest yet fun to explore. I checked my geocaching app and noticed we were almost to the next earthcache, Hoh Valley (GC35ATG). It was along the banks of the Hoh River and it asked us to answer questions about the valley itself and the active erosion here.
We enjoyed the river while we were here for a little bit because it was a very nice day, hanging out by the river was refreshing and I really can' t help myself...I had to find some rocks to skip. Good times. Before we left, we noticed an elk herd up stream probably getting some water after a long day of roaming the valley.
We finished the Spruce Nature Trail, walked alongside Taft creek and back into the giant towering old growth trees with beards. We got to see some downed trees that were uprooted from the ground with small trees growing out from it and there were large rocks, dirt and leaves packed in the root wad. It had to have been bigger than a car. It was insane.
We got back to the main trail and walked back towards the Expedition. I took my hiking shoes and socks off and replaced them with my flippers. I took a big swig of water and left the park. A lot of people were trying to get in. I said out loud, good luck trying to find a parking spot. We stopped just outside the parking lot to take pictures of the ponds because mom liked them.
I set my phone to the next cache, Iron Man's Cache (GC29FB4) and by the time we were ready to pullover at the turn out, I noticed there were two women camping near the cache so we didn't even try to find it. I logged it as a DNF and would have to come back another time to look for it.
Mom wanted to stop at Peak 6 Tours and Gift Shop along the Upper Hoh Road. We parked, grabbed our mask and browsed for a few minutes. I found a couple of post cards and a sweatshirt. I just can't help myself when sweatshirts are under $30. Mom found a couple T-shirts for her travel quilt she is making. We talked to the lady who was running the shop and she asked us where we were from. We told her we were up on a day trip from Olympia. She responded with, oh so not too far away. Then we added that we haven't been here before and though we should come up on this beautiful day. She said that we did choose a really nice day to come up here because most of the time they are covered in clouds and fog. We thanked her and continued on our way.
I wanted to grab a couple more caches that I had on my offline list. One of those was in a camping area called the Minnie Peterson Campground and it sounded like it was a quick park and grab. We pulled off the road and drove through a camping area. Minnie's Mini (GC47225) was hidden on one of the signs near the bathroom. It was an easy park and grab but the container was really hard to remove from its hiding spot. I managed to get it out and put it back without breaking anything.
I had another set on my phone to grab. That one was called Pioneer Trail (GC3FFZZ) but there was an active campsite near the trail area so we decided to skip that one too. Why are all the caches being taken over by camping? It's not like they were legit camping areas but more of, oh...this looks like a good spot, I think I will camp here. Another one I will have to come back for someday.
I wanted to at least end the day with a find. I found the next closest one, DNR Hoh Oxbow (GC8A698) and it was at the Hoh Oxbow Campground. I enjoy visiting places I've never been and it's next to a large river so we might see some cool stuff? We pulled into the campground and I parked as close as I could do the trailhead as we could. The cache wasn't that far away from the parking area but you know if you can park close why not. We get out and walk the short distance to the cache and we noticed there is a tent right next to where the coords were taking me. Uhhhh, I have no idea if anyone is in here or where they are so I am just going to check really quickly. The last cacher couldn't find it. There was a cool view of the river from here though. We didn't find it, took a few pictures and were on our way back to the Expedition. Bummer. Another DNF.
We get back onto Hwy 101 and I really wanted to end the day on a find. I checked the app and there was one more off of a side road. It should be easy to find. Winfield Memories (GC29FAX) was near a memorial marker for someone who had died. I parked the Expedition and walked down the side of the road to find a pretty worn out container. In the meantime, I got a big gash on my leg from tripping over a branch I didn't see. That will definitely leave a scar. I walked back to the Expedition and we got back onto Hwy 101.
Mom wanted to stop by Ruby Beach on the way home so that's what we did when got close to the turn off. I told her about the last time I was here, which was about a month ago, and how crowded it was. There were absolutely no more parking spots and people had to park out on Hwy 101 at the turn off. It was insane. Today, there weren't as many people which was nice. We were able to park near the restroom and walk down to the beach. We used the restroom first, gathered up our stuff and headed down the hill.
We took pictures, walked along the beach, collected rocks and just enjoyed how nice of a day it turned out to be. We were were for about an hour before we decided to start heading back towards home. Along the way, we discussed the places we wanted to visit the next time we were up this way. That included, the beaches along this stretch of 101, the Sol Duc Hot Springs area, Lake Crescent and some of the waterfalls just north of here.
Mom wanted to stop by Kalaloch so she could see the Tree of Life. I was just here so I walked down to the beach with her so she could see it and get a few photos. We were here less than 20 minutes.
I wanted to make one more stop because I've been eyeballing this cache for a few years now and we actually had time to get it and I wasn't on someone else's time. It was on the north shore of Lake Quinault and we followed Nuvi to the site. I had no idea what to expect except that I knew we were looking for a broken down rusted box truck. The road kept going and going. We rounded the corner and saw the sign for the Kestner Homestead and a place to park. We were going to have to walk across a bridge and a short stroll down the old dirt road. I looked for Moving Time (GCJC1Q) which was hidden back in May 2004 and has been found over 380 times. We explored and took many pictures while we were here.
We walked back to the Expedition because we were getting hungry and we were still about an hour away from Aberdeen.
As we drove towards Hoquiam, I asked Mom what kind of food she wanted. We discussed fish and chips and Mexican. GD Covid has made it hard to eat at places because you either had to go through a drive through or find a place that allowed dining in. If you dinned in, you had to make sure that it didn't close early especially if you were out late traveling around. The fish and chips place closed early and we wouldn't make it so we decided to go to the Mazatlán in Aberdeen because it was open past 8 p.m. and we could dine it and use the restroom.
Mom had a burrito and I had some chicken enchiladas. It was delicious. We used the restroom when we were done and of course we stopped by the Walmart again. Mom had to pick up a few thing and I wanted to see if they had my hand soap and Ben's juice since the ones where we lived were out of just about everything. I bought some shark slippers and some baby Yoda cereal because I couldn't help myself. Ben and I had just started watching the Mandalorian a while ago.
We couldn't leave Aberdeen until Mom got her hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen. The line was super long and the lady in front of us was lame and cut us off. We were hoping that she spilled her food in her lap just because she was rude. We got back on the highway and drove towards my house. We got there just before 10.
I took my stuff out of her vehicle and she drove home. I got cleaned up, watched some CSI, drank some Gatorade, logged my caches and did some updates on my blog. I was determined to get it caught up this year. I got ready for bed and passed out.
Next Adventure: A Trip Up to Diablo Lake
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