Ride to the Hoh Rain Forest

Kalalaoch to the Hoh Rain Forest: 42.1 miles
Total Mileage: 296.9 miles
Quote of the Day: "A tree's a tree.  How many more do you need to look at? - Ronald Regan

Yesterday much of the view was blocked by the mist so we were happy to see the sunrise over the Pacific.  

I will never get old of these views.

Group shot after our morning route meeting.  What a good looking crew.

One of the downfalls to camping (along with burnt dinners) is no coffee.  Thankfully three miles down the ride we stumbled upon the Kalalaoch Lodge which meant there was coffee, postcards and some AMAZING views.  Look at all that drift wood.  AMAZING!!

Everyone had been caffeinated and the game faces are on!!

We made our final turn on the cue sheet and were graced with a great descent.  At the bottom we stumbled upon a little shop and Joel decided to talk with some locals.

Yesterday two alumni rode to the park to reserve two camp sights for our group and told us there was a great diner around mile 30.  We decided to scrap the usual lunch set up and everyone got burgers and sandwiches at the Hard Rain Cafe.  Once again we completely overwhelmed this small establishment, but they handled it in stride.  After 2.5 hours we decided it would probably be best to roll out so we could set up camp and wander around the park for a bit. 

Nothing says 40 mile ride day like a post-lunch nap in a most random place.

It's starting to feel like we are in a rain forest!!

Official National Park Hoh Rain Forest sign photo.

Look at those excited faces!!  We arrived and are only halfway soggy.

As we arrived Lyndsey had already set up our tent and we could see people coming back from a river "shower".  After two days biking, I was covered in dirt, sunscreen and bike grease and so I decided to grit my teeth and get as clean as possible.  That turned into washing everything from the neck down as quickly as possible and getting into dry-ish clothes. 

As the feeling began to return to my extremities, a bunch of us decided to head to the visitor center to get out of the rain and to charge our phones.  Sadly they were closing as we arrived so a few of us decided to check out the Hall of Mosses, a quick loop which is a favorite destination for people traveling through the park. 

The rain had not stopped by the time dinner crew needed to start so they put together a makeshift tarp over the stove and coolers.  While that chore group was busy chopping and putting together a random assortment of ingredients, the rest of us were attempting to stay dry and add in our two cents.  Dinner was a magical creation of sriracha tuna wraps, a four been salad and ramen noodles.  It was seriously THE best camping dinner I have ever had on B&B. 

 

It was early to bed for most of us and thankfully our tent was one of the few which did not leak.  Fingers crossed it will stop raining in the morning and our ride to Neah Bay will be a good (dry) one.