We left Portland with a fabulous forecast for the Olympic National Park: sunny and no rain. The west side of the Park is a series of temperate rain forests and I was not interested in camping in any place that has RAIN in the title.
We arrived at Lake Quinault and quickly found a campsite with a lake view. When we talked to the ranger, she suggested a 30 mile round trip backpacking trip up the Enchanted Valley to the Enchanted Meadow. The trail follows the Quinault River and slowly climbs from 400 foot elevation to 2000 foot elevation through miles of temperate rain forest: mosses, lichens, mushrooms, ferns, HUGE trees, thimbleberries & huckleberries, and plenty of mosquitos. And, the end of the valley trail one arrives in the Enchanted Meadows to cliffs soaring another 2000 feet into the air and waterfalls fed by glacier melt. Some call the place a mini Yosemite!
We did the hike over 3 days: the weather was pretty fine; the heavy fog in the mornings gave us a sense of a wet and damp forest. The river roared along with beautiful pools of aquamarine blue. The trail was well maintained with bridges as needed and stream crossings on logs or rocks. At several campsites along the river there were installed bear wires.
It was a totally fabulous experience!!
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| Another National Park! |
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| Quinault River--glacier fed so COLD! |
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| Arriving in the Meadow & the chalet used only by the seasonal Park Ranger |
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| 4000 foot peaks + glaciers + water falls |
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| Anderson Glacier |
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| Foot Bridge across the River |
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| Great Views in the Valley |
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| Forest Walk |
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| Dense Canopy |
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| Quinault River |
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