It’s not surprising that the Quinault Rainforest would have lots of moss. After all, it gets 140 inches of rain every year. When we visited last November, though, we were lucky. It didn’t rain at all.
We took advantage of the good weather to explore. Walking through the forest, the moss intrigued me–the way it covered and transformed much of the forest, making strange sometimes grotesque forms on ordinary trees and branches. Moss has been around for 450 million years. But, even though I’d seen plenty of moss before, I wasn’t used to seeing it in such quantities.
I took lots of pictures of the moss, and often fell behind my family. They were kind enough, though, to wait for me. Even daughter #1, who had always been the one who ran ahead to get to the top of the mountain first.
Here she is, walking leisurely under a mossy tree. It’s probably a big-leaf maple with its dried autumn leaves crunching under my daughter’s feet.
I love the fresh green look of the moss growing on this log. They say moss makes a good lawn. It doesn’t need to be fertilized or mowed, and it’s soft under your feet. Also, it soaks up CO2 and filters out pollutants. I think you have to choose the right variety if you want it to look good.
Mossy trees reflected in the clear, clean water of this pond.
That’s me, cozy and warm in my jacket and hat, surrounded by fallen maple leaves, a moss-covered tree trunk, and ferns.
A mossy beard hangs off this log. Since moss doesn’t have roots, it can grow almost anywhere. It just has to throw down small hairlike structures called rhizoids to anchor it.
Delicate yellow leaves set off these mossy limbs that seem to be reaching out for their next victim.
Small branches in their moss-draped finery.
The Quinault Rainforest contains much more of note than moss. It has beautiful ferns and some of the tallest, oldest trees in the world. It wasn’t easy to take pictures of the trees, though. They were too high in the air. Here are some of the stats about trees in the Quinault Rainforest:
- World’s largest Sitka spruce, 191 feet tall
- World’s largest Western Hemlock, 172 ft. tall
- World’s largest Mountain Hemlock, 152 ft. all
- World’s largest yellow cedar, 129 ft. tall
- The 4th largest Douglas fir, 315.3 ft. tall (unless it”s the 5th at 313.6 ft. See The Sugar Pine Foundation
P.S. The Seattle area has a bad reputation for being rainy. But it’s not as rainy as you may have heard. The Quinault Rainforest on the Washington coast may get 140 inches of rain per year, but Seattle only gets 39.34 inches, which is slightly less than the average rainfall for cities in the whole country. The clouds blown in from the Pacific drop much of their moisture as they rise up to cross the Olympic Mountains. In fact, none of the ten rainiest US cities are in WA. They’re all in AL, FL, LA, and TX.
One of the great things about the Pacific NW is all the moss!
On my street, the builder used paving stones on the driveways instead of concrete so the rain water could seep through into the ground water instead of flowing out to the bay. So we get a lovely mossy look around each stone. At about this time of year, though, my fastidious neighbors start pressure-washing the moss away.
It always seems kind of primeval to me, Nicki. Amazing how our world has changed over time. A moss lawn would never survive here but it’s an interesting thought. I’m reading a novel called The Camomile Lawn at present. A very different prospect.
You’re right. A temperate rainforest does seem primeval. Our world changes so fast, and we’re used to that. So it felt not only strange but also profound to stand next to a tree in the forest that was estimated to be 1000 years old.
Thanks for introducing me to a new forest I’ve never heard of. But, alas, I’ve never been in Seattle or the environs there. I appreciate the lesson on rain (as well as moss) and will now try to take away the myth that Seattle always has rainy weather. That moss, though, is more evidence of the graceful, singular beauty of nature. Magnificent photos.
What a gorgeous place – thanks for the photos, really felt like I was there with you.
We watched a programme yesterday about oriental gardens, and it totally transformed the way I think about moss. I can totally see that the right kind of moss would make the perfect lawn. My favourite Japanese garden has moss in a chequerboard pattern with paving slaps which has gone into my inspiration bank.
Oriental gardens are the best. They seem to take what’s noteworthy in a natural landscape and compress and intensify it. I think the best Japanese gardens also consider how to give the visitor a sense of serenity.
On the other hand, there are other gardens that concentrate on showing the flowers and the color. I love those gardens too.
That is some amazing moss coverage in the Quinault Rainforest . Magnificent to see moss all across the tree trunks and logs, blending in with all the variety of leaves. It really is a beautiful sight, and don’t fault you for being a bit slow in walking to stop and admire the moss, and take photos. It is good to hear some trees are very tall that it is hard to take photos – strong and surviving hearing all the stories that pass them by. Hope you are doing well, Nicki 😊
Imagine what the world was like when some of the trees were tiny sprouts. The oldest is believed to be 1500 years old. What was America like then?
Thank you for reading, Mabel. I hope all is well with you.
I’ve never heard of The Quinault Rainforest. Thanks for taking us along when you went. I rarely see moss here, so to see so much of it amazes me. It has a lovely texture.
The Quinault Rainforest is one of four large temperate rainforests in Washington. They’re all on the far western side of the state, close to the Pacific but about a two-hour drive from populated areas. So, although they get a fair number of visitors, they don’t attract crowds. The most popular of the four is the Hoh Rainforest. Once, when I was much younger, we took a 19-mile hike through it. My longest ever hike.
Very pretty! And such a feast of green, especially for someone in SoCal (maybe 9 inches of rain a year).
The green is definitely pretty. At this time of year, though, it would be nice to see more blue.
Such a gorgeous area, rain and all.
My sister used to belong to a hiking club. One of their sayings was, “There’s no such thing as bad weather. There’s only inappropriate clothing.” I see their point, but …
Oh Nicki! Beautiful photos! I’m glad you posted these. I remember your blog post on this rainforest, so I hoped that you would post photos. So lovely. They make me sad in a way though as I think about how some rainforests have been destroyed. 😞 😞 😞
I took so many lovely photos. I just had to post a few of them.
In 2017, during the Trump administration, they started allowing logging in the rainforests within the Olympic National Park to raise money. I don’t know if that’s still going on. Some of the trees in those forests are as much as 1500 years old.