Olympic Mountains Trail Guide. Robert Wood
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and dying together, competing and cooperating with one another. Elk browse in the mingled sunlight and shadow, squirrels and chipmunks scurry over the forest floor, and salmon leap the cascades in the creeks and rivers. Standing over all are the big trees. The most common ones are Douglas-fir, western hemlock, western red cedar, and Sitka spruce. They overshadow the bigleaf maples and black cottonwoods, and the still lower understory of red alder, vine maple, devil’s club, and low-growing shrubs. Occasionally, rain-forest conditions extend to higher altitudes, into the zone of silver fir, yew, and grand fir.
The strange appearance of the rain forest is due to thick growths of mosses, liverworts, ferns, and lichens. The mosses that live upon the ground are sustained by nutrients obtained from the soil; those that cling to the trees are dependent upon nourishment transported by the wind. Selaginella, the most common growth, is not a true moss but a club moss, with sprigs that resemble reindeer antlers. This plant festoons almost every branch of the maple trees. Equally abundant are the tropical-looking ferns which grow in profusion—on the ground, on fallen trees, and on limbs a hundred feet overhead. In addition to the mosses and ferns, the forest floor supports many kinds of flowering plants and shrubs, including huckleberry and devil’s club. In fact, the varieties number in the hundreds. The old logs lying on the ground are covered with mosses, oxalis, and conifer seedlings. Thus the death of large trees in this forest does not end their usefulness. As they slowly decay, the prostrate trees serve as seedbeds or nurse logs, providing sustenance for thousands of plants and the little trees that compete with each other for the limited space available; consequently, only a few of the latter—the strongest, healthiest, most favorably situated—survive to become large trees.
Here is a landscape that cannot be appreciated at a glance from an automobile window. One must linger a while and walk among the trees—frequently, if possible—because the moods are variable, changing from hour to hour, day to day, season to season. Shafts of subdued green-gold sunlight pierce the treetops to create a twilight effect, with dapples of sun and shadow; cushions of moss, illumined by vagrant rays of light, glow among the ferns on tree limbs above the trail, adding a mystic, eerie touch. One seems transported to an unreal, magical realm, a place where one would not be surprised to find elves and goblins lurking in the shadows. The visitor may walk for hours here, enchanted and humbled by the giant trees that rise silently toward the sky.
Thirteen of the fifteen rivers in Olympic National Park have been designated as Wild and Scenic.
Most people see this forest in the dry season, when the weather is pleasant, the sky sunny. But to really capture the region’s mood, one should come during the winter, when clouds cling to the timbered mountainsides and the wind surges through ancient treetops. Often it will be raining, perhaps lightly, and the moisture dripping from the fog-shrouded spruce and fir adds still another dimension to this brooding forest, which is quiet except during storms because the thick foliage muffles sounds. On wind-free days one becomes acutely aware of the distant murmur of the river, the humming of an insect, or perhaps the call of a lone bird.
But the rain forest is probably at its best in early spring, when the new shoots, delicate green in color, come forth on the trees and shrubs, the grasses spring forth on the forest floor, and the sun shining through the vine maples creates a fairyland. Later, during the summer, the views are more restricted because the dense foliage not only screens out distant vistas but also tends to hide the mosses and lichens.
MAMMALS
Almost half the territory covered by the Olympic Mountains lies within Olympic National Park, where wildlife is protected, thus making the park one of the nation’s finest refuges because it is large enough to include the annual migratory range of several species. Good habitat is also provided in the adjoining Olympic National Forest and on state lands that border the park on the west.
One is more apt to see wildlife when hiking alone than when traveling with companions. This rule applies to the smaller animals as well as the large mammals.
The Roosevelt elk, native to the Pacific coast, is the largest mammal inhabiting the Olympics, the bulls sometimes weighing as much as one thousand pounds. Wildlife experts estimate that the elk population on the peninsula varies from five thousand to seven thousand animals. How many live within the mountains is debatable, but it is a considerable number. The elk winter in the lowlands, where some herds remain throughout the year, while others (less than 50 percent) move to the higher altitudes during the summer and fall months. Apparently, the elk do not engage in true seasonal migration. Although they are found throughout the Olympics, most of them inhabit the windward side of the mountains.
Elk frequent the rain forests, but they tend to be wary of humans. Elk trails are well defined, and the tracks of the animals are often visible in the mud or snow. Were it not for the elk, the rain forest would be an impenetrable jungle. As the bands wander about, the animals not only graze on grasses and sedges but also browse on the tender shoots, leaves, and twigs of willow, alder, huckleberry, vine maple, and salmonberry—thus creating a landscaped effect. The elk population is determined chiefly by the availability of forage, secondarily by the number of animals that perish during the winter. Predation, particularly by cougars and bears, also has some effect upon their numbers.
Hikers are more likely to see deer. Both the Columbia black-tailed deer and the mule deer are present in the Olympics. The former, the native variety, is the one most often observed. The mule deer was introduced into the area many years ago and is comparatively rare. When deer run, they actually bound, jumping high into the air. Apparently, this is a defense mechanism— they leap high in order to obtain a better view of their surroundings when attempting to elude pursuit.
Mountain goats are not native to the Olympics; they were introduced into the area in the 1920s. Their numbers increased slowly at first, but accelerated greatly during the 1970s and 1980s. This was probably due to several factors: lack of natural enemies, abundant and previously unexploited habitat, and the prohibition on hunting in the national park. They, in fact, became so numerous that in some locations, they have severely damaged the native vegetation, particularly endemic, low-growing plants in the subalpine meadows. In addition, goats have a naturally high affinity for salts and, due to the lack of natural salts in the Olympic range, they learned to seek out human sources such as sweat and urine. This led to goats becoming habituated to people in many areas of the park, with some becoming aggressive and dangerous in their salt-seeking behavior. Because mountain goats are not native, are affecting native plants and ecosystems that did not evolve with them, and have become hazardous to the visiting public, the park is in the process of removing them from the system.
Predators in the Olympics include the black bear, mountain lion, bobcat, and coyote. The Olympic wolf once roamed the mountains, but it is believed to be extinct, having been exterminated by hunters and ranchers. None have been observed since the mid-1920s. Another native predator, the Pacific fisher, was reintroduced to the park in 2008.
There is not an estimate of the number of mountain lions in Olympic National Park. Because the big cats are elusive, they are seldom observed, and sightings have become less common the last few years. This is true also of bobcats and coyotes, which are comparatively rare; black bears, however, are fairly numerous. They are found throughout the Olympics, and almost every hiker has encountered them. The black bear has several color phases, but the black phase is the only one that occurs in the Olympics.
Among the smaller animals, the most common are the Olympic marmot, Douglas squirrel, Townsend’s chipmunk, raccoon, snowshoe rabbit, and mountain beaver. Fur bearers are rare, but include the otter, weasel, fisher, marten, and mink.
Marmots generally inhabit the high meadows, and they seem to be everywhere, whistling continuously whenever their realm is invaded. They often frolic on the snow, playing with one another. Two will stand nose to nose, facing each other, then rise upon their hind legs, appearing to shake hands or touch noses. One cannot but wonder what this maneuver means. Then they drop to all fours, flip their tails, and race away across the snow, only to repeat the performance.