Into the woods, onto the shore
October 26, 2022, 1:29 pm , by Richard Lutz
Richard Lutz heads west ‘til he hits the Pacific
There is a such a silence in the tall woods of the Olympic Peninsula that you can hear individual leaves flutter down from the maple, the cottonwood, the alder and the birch. At first you think it’s an animal- a black bear, a cougar, an elk- grazing or prowling in the silence. Then you see the spinning leaf. It happens again and again. And then you turn, look back and then walk on through the wilderness of the Bogachiel Forest. And then another rustling red or yellow leaf drops and you turn one more time. The hardwoods are losing their foliage.
But the massive trees in the rain forest, so green it’s almost iridescent, stand solid and reach cathedral heights. Douglas firs reach to 280 feet, as do the western hemlock. And red cedar and sitka are equally tall. They form a canopy that blocks mid-day light.
But some blue sky still peeks through the autumn afternoon and plays on the glacial rivers; the Elwha, the Quinnault, the Dosewhallips and, the kingdog of the rivers, The Hoh which rumbles and bends to the restless Pacific.
The whole of this peninsula sticks out like a thumb from the bulk of Washington state just below Canada. Its main city, Seattle, is a million miles away, across the Olympic Range, over the glaciers, over the rain forests, across Puget Sound, past islets dotted in the northern waters.
It’s a territory with semi autonomous Indian nations, tribes who successfully reclaimed their stolen lands: people like the S’klallam, the Skokomish and the Makah. In the seaside town of LaPush, the Quileute Tribe run a restaurant serving alot of salmon…salmon burgers, salmon hash, salmon fettucini, salmon fritters.
There’s lots to see through its harbourside windows. The nearby offshore stacks, arches and rocks fill the horizon.
And outside the restaurant, which is a former Coast Guard station, they connect to the mainland with a big sweeping jetty to keep out the roll of the empty ocean.
It’s a good place to let time roll on as the peninsula weather can annually dump 200 inches of rain around here. Though not this year. There’s a drought, there’re fire warnings everywhere, there’s smoke blanketing the horizon.
On the coast, the roaring Pacific pounds the beaches. It’s littered with the skeletons of dead white-boned trees:
Remote headlands look out to the immense sea:
And nearby, we’re convinced we saw new tracks from a mountain lion patrolling the empty shore:
Back in the rain forest, there’s the Sol Duc River where black skinned Coho salmon leap up the falls to spawn:
But this year, lack of rain means the river is too shallow. The fish wait. They need deeper water. They swim below the falls, below the pools upstream where they can lay their eggs. The salmon jump and flip below the falls, preparing for the big leap when (and if) the water deepens. How they find their specific river after huge ocean voyages remains a mystery.
But not as mysterious as our our friend Bigfoot, aka Sasquatch:
That’s him above, or rather that’s the roughly hewn statue of the mythical man-ape that supposedly roams the Northwest wilderness. All, of course, while waving an American flag.
There have been plenty of dubious stories of running across Bigfoot. And there’s also been even more dubious footage of him in the forest. But no scientific proof.
Let’s just say Bigfoot is a tall tale – as tall as all nine feet of the hairy humanoid. Just a fable told and re-told over a spooky campfire. Or in a shadowy bedroom. Or no more than a red cedar creaking and swaying in a glacial wind. Or a leaf falling behind you deep in the woods.
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CS from Santa Barbara
there are great trails with mountain lions and bears all nearby. One lion spotted last year in the swimming pool of the condo complex two blocks from us.
Carrie Lyons
Wonderful photographs
Angela Cooper
This sounds lovely Richard. And the photos are lovely too. Had you been before or is this your first visit?
Lorna Hankinson
Glad you’re enjoying your time away. Looks spectacular!
Will Travel
It must be a very humbling experience being among those ancient giants of nature. I’ve been spooked myself recently by falling horse chestnut leaves, but at least I don’t need to worry about bears or Bigfoot….
Mark White
Great photos
Jay Stramer
Sounds like an amazing place for hiking, other than the bears mountain lions and big foot !
Douglas Stern
…lovely. Maybe we’ll get over there one day
Martin
Spectacular! I’m sure I know that big guy….
Mary Hill
Amazing place. Back to the rain!
William Kerr
Lovely writing and stunning photos, Richard! 😊
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