Just a few miles south of Forks is the entrance to the Hoh Rain Forest section of Olympic National Park. The coastal strip from northern California to Alaska is the home to temperate rain forests. The area is marked by very high annual rainfall (over 140 inches per year at the Hoh Visitor Centre), and the coastal fog adds to the available moisture. Some of the largest trees resulting from this combination of climate occur along the Washington coast, where it is both very wet (not as wet as Alaska, but warmer) with moderate temperatures, and this encourages the growth of enormous trees, as you will see later.
Looking roughly east on the Hoh River, just inside the Park boundary. The river is rather cloudy, as it carries a great deal of debris from the mountains. Near the Visitor Centre is a spring, with water so clear it looks invisible.
Hmm, these trees are starting to get serious.
The largest Sitka Spruce in the forest. Note that the tree is a metre or two behind the motorcycle!
The plaque visible over the rear of the motorcycle notes that the tree is over 270 feet (83 metres!) tall, 12.5 feet diameter (3.8 metres) with an estimaged age of 500 to 550 years. It is an enormous tree. And remember the tree was a couple of metres behind the bike!
Forks and the coast