Winter is finally on the run and, with a few left over vacation days from 2020, Emily and I decided to head to Washington’s peninsula. Olympic National Forest is usually rainy around March, however the forecast seemed unusually warm. With the promising temperatures, we decided to take the Tesla and car camp. Emily and I have almost perfected making a cozy nest in the back, plus we have a free-super charging model so you can’t beat the price of transportation.
With COVID-19 measures still in place, we discovered a majority of the places we wanted to see within the Makah Reservation and Quileute Tribal lands were temporarily closed. That said, Olympic National Park was still open which accounted for plenty of beautiful hikes and places to explore.
After a quick 9 hour drive, we found a free camping area online close to the Olympic entrance. At 10:00 PM, we turned down the dirt road and quickly realized the mud and lake sized puddles would be a problem for our city-slicker EV. We reassessed and after some searching, we found a suitable pullout to spend the night.
Morning came quick and we started our drive into the Hoh Rainforest. The morning light weaved through the mossy trees and steam covered the Hoh River with a foggy blanket. We drove slowly, taking in the beautiful dawn colors around every turn, the last of which revealed to us an entire herd of Roosevelt Elk.
Delighted, we slowed to a crawl as Emily readied her camera. The elk seemed undeterred by our presence, a fact I partially attribute to our silent vehicle. We were able to take our time and captured several amazing photos before we decided we had overstayed our welcome and headed to the hiking trails.
We did the popular and leisurely Hall of Moss trail and were delighted to see bright green moss, ferns and clover despite being a little early for true spring colors. I hunted for a 4-leaf clover but to no avail. I looked it up afterwards and I’m not sure they even exist for this specific type of clover. Regardless, the weather was unbeatable and we ventured down another trail, the sun beaming in through the thick green canopy of ancient trees. This place felt new and unknown. It was undeniably beautiful and we enjoyed our short walk through a wonderland I hope to visit again soon.
We headed for Rialto Beach for sunset. The tide was very low so we were able to explore the famous Hole-in-the-Wall and saw lots of sea life in the tide pools. Growing up in the Bay Area, I always loved exploring during low tide and counting how many different creatures I could find. We took our chairs out and sat by a river flowing into the ocean and waited for sunset together. Numerous people attempted to cross this little river and a majority of them got wet in the process. It was quite funny watching all the creative ways people attempted to get across, especially when there was a huge log perfect for crossing just 30 feet up the river.
After sunset it was time to find a place to camp. We decided on a muddy pullout near Bear Lake. The next morning we drove to Sol Duc Falls for a quick hike. After, we drove to Ruby beach and enjoyed some much needed sun as it peaked around the mostly overcast sky.
For convenience, we decided to stay at the RV park in Port Angeles. The next morning we drove to Sequim and after hearing the weather report, we decided to take our time and let the storm pass, we took the ferry to Seattle and enjoyed the city before heading back home.