Category: Trails

There’s a short loop trail, the Hall of Mosses, at the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park. Moss, of course, is a given in a rainforest. But the trail traverses some particularly beautiful areas. This spot, filled with magnificent trees, dwarfs walkers. Did you notice the people in the shot above?

Some trees are so covered in moss it’s hard to tell if the trees themselves are still alive. The effect of the greenery and moss is truly magical.

Other trees are iced with a coating of moss that gives them an entirely different look from a typical evergreen.

The Hoh Rainforest can be reached as a day trip from Sequim although the roughly three hour drive each way makes for a long one. We camped for a couple of days which allowed more exploration.

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As I reflect on the world’s grief and pain I’d like to share a longer prayer that seems fitting with the rainforest photos above.

A Prayer for the World

Let the rain come and wash away
the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds
held and nurtured over generations.
Let the rain wash away the memory
of the hurt, the neglect.
Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us
wherever we are broken.
Let it burn away the fog so that
we can see each other clearly.
So that we can see beyond labels,
beyond accents, gender or skin color.
Let the warmth and brightness
of the sun melt our selfishness.
So that we can share the joys and
feel the sorrows of our neighbors.
And let the light of the sun
be so strong that we will see all
people as our neighbors.
Let the earth, nourished by rain,
bring forth flowers
to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts
to reach upward to heaven.

Rabbi Harold Kushner

Twenty six years ago, on my very first trip to the Olympic Peninsula, I visited the Hoh Rainforest, part of Olympic National Park. On that trip we walked the trails I show in this post and I’ve wanted to return ever since. Last week, finally, we did. My awe at the beauty of this place was renewed. Surely this must be where the color green was invented.

The Hoh is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the United States. Indeed, though we’d planned our trip for some time we shifted our arrival to coincide with the end of a weeklong period of rain. We caught some wet but it tapered off not long after our arrival. I’ll show you more of this extraordinary place over the coming days.

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The world has seemed full of grief and pain lately. Over the next couple of days I’d like to share some thoughts that have seemed relevant to contemplate at a time like this.

If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.

Lao-Tse, Chinese Philosopher, 6th century BCE