Hunting for Moss and Ferns and Maybe a Waterfall
It’s Friday night and Scott and I were trying to decide where to go adventure the next day. It’s been a few weeks since we’ve gotten out of town, and we were ready to go! After exploring a few locations on our computers, we decided to check out an area near Lake Wynoochee in the Olympic National Forest. It looked like there may be several waterfalls to check out along with some forest trails thick with moss and ferns. We had a general location but couldn’t really locate a good map. Finding what we’re looking for could prove to be a challenge, but we were up for it.
We ended up taking a wrong turn or two before finding what we were looking for. But we had our coffee, and we were enjoying the views from out our truck windows. We found parking by a yellow gate closing off the Forrest Road to further traffic, walked across a bridge, and found the trailhead.
The pathway was lined with ferns, trees, and moss. There was green upon green, upon green. The forest floor was covered in a carpet of moss and ferns. The logs and tree branches were all covered in green. And on top of that we had the place completely to ourselves.
After a little more than half a mile we began to hear it. There was a waterfall up ahead. We took a few more turns and ended up at a bridge with a view. A spectacular view.
I love the sound of a waterfall. I love seeing and hearing the power of the water as it rushes over the edge falling to the rocks below. This waterfall was very full due to recent rain and warm weather. It wasn’t as tall as some but was impressive none the less.
We stayed at the bridge enjoying the view. Feeling the spray. Taking several pictures and videos.
Our map indicated that the trail went in a loop, so we decided to continue onward. After about half a mile we discovered that either our map was wrong, or there was a bridge that was no longer there. Maybe in the summer the water is low enough to simply walk across the river to the other side. On the first of March it was not. So, we had to go back the way we came, adding an extra mile onto our trek.
I didn’t mind seeing the waterfall again. I could have done without the added hill climb. Overall, the added distance wasn’t too bad, especially with the views we were seeing.
We were hoping to find another waterfall or two while we were in the area. We found out later that the ones we were looking for were located further down the road beyond the closed gate. I guess we’ll have to come back later to explore some more. For today we were happy with what we saw.
On to the next adventure.