Walking this foggy forest path to Third Beach outside of Forks, Washington called to mind the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”<br /><br />The 1.7 mile hike through towering evergreens was the Pacific Northwest personified. Everything you imagine when thinking of the PNW was live and in color - Sitka Spruce, Cedars and Douglas Firs soaring hundreds of feet and disappearing into the foggy sky, a light misty rain dampening my rain gear and enhancing the colors, the greenest ferns and mosses you can imagine - I felt honored to take that walk and experience all of the sensations.<br /><br />Most of the hike was just as this image depicts - a narrow but well defined path lined by decomposing trees and ferns. Cedar and evergreen scents filled the air, and the ground underfoot was soft, masking any sounds of footsteps. Fallen trees are left to reunite with the earth and are covered with intensely green mosses, flowers, and other small plants. The quiet was deafening - and remarkable. Tranquility enveloped me as I was in awe with my surroundings.<br /><br />Third Beach was never reached. The final obstacle was a massive logjam of driftwood consisting of 30’ trees littering the beach at the foot of the trail. Going onto the beach required scrambling over the deadwood and I had come too far to wrench my ankle just to get to a beach<br /><br />The return trip was equally magical. Stopping every few hundred feet to take pictures slowed me down, but it was, in my mind, the most enjoyable and beautiful hike in Olympic National Park.
Walking this foggy forest path to Third Beach outside of Forks, Washington called to mind the Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”<br /><br />The 1.7 mile hike through towering evergreens was the Pacific Northwest personified. Everything you imagine when thinking of the PNW was live and in color - Sitka Spruce, Cedars and Douglas Firs soaring hundreds of feet and disappearing into the foggy sky, a light misty rain dampening my rain gear and enhancing the colors, the greenest ferns and mosses you can imagine - I felt honored to take that walk and experience all of the sensations.<br /><br />Most of the hike was just as this image depicts - a narrow but well defined path lined by decomposing trees and ferns. Cedar and evergreen scents filled the air, and the ground underfoot was soft, masking any sounds of footsteps. Fallen trees are left to reunite with the earth and are covered with intensely green mosses, flowers, and other small plants. The quiet was deafening - and remarkable. Tranquility enveloped me as I was in awe with my surroundings.<br /><br />Third Beach was never reached. The final obstacle was a massive logjam of driftwood consisting of 30’ trees littering the beach at the foot of the trail. Going onto the beach required scrambling over the deadwood and I had come too far to wrench my ankle just to get to a beach<br /><br />The return trip was equally magical. Stopping every few hundred feet to take pictures slowed me down, but it was, in my mind, the most enjoyable and beautiful hike in Olympic National Park.
