Moss Halls of Hoh Rainforest

Moss Halls of Hoh Rainforest

I found Valhalla in this ancient, zoetic paradise.

I can’t even…the beauty of Hoh Rainforest, Olympic Peninsula, Washington is beyond words, but I will try my best to describe how it feels to walk over the roots, and under the canopy of ancient giants in the splendiferous land of Hoh.

The Land of  Hoh

Immaculate oxygen sodden with balms of frond, needle, and bark.

A patchwork canopy of lattice vines, hanging

Chandeliers of diffused sunshine, and

Drapes of lichen lace.

Velvet, chartreuse carpets creep down hallowed halls, across

Corpse-bridges of the imperial dead, over rounded banister knobs, and

Up grand stairs cases of Sitka spruce, red cedar, Douglas fir, and hemlock, to

Nurseries where dying give life to saplings that spring from the

Rotting flesh of regal ancestors, in

Primeval crèches adorned with tiny balls of purple brain fungus.

Birth and death are tantamount in the primordial wild;

A Viridian queendom of

Mortal skyscrapers, long-legged herons and

Easy, great-horned beasts.

The ancient land of Hoh.

-Mix Hart, 2018

Rare lettuce lichen is a favourite food for the elk. It requires the cool, moist conditions found only under the canopy of old-growth forests.

These ancient forest can never be replaced. Once logged, they cease to exist on Earth. Their existence requires decaying, ancient (nurse) trees, that must have naturally come to the end of their lifecycle (1000+ years), in order to provide the rare nutrients needed for the new sapling trees, and rare moss, lichen, and fungus to grow.

Please enjoy a pictorial saunter through the most beautiful forest I have explored to date.

Elk caught in graceful bridge crossing.

Bridges of regal giants.

Me sitting on moss covered staircase in Valhalla.

My daughters playing amongst towering friends.

Moss staircase to paradise.

Ball of purple brain fungus: in nature, these balls of fungus are fascinatingly beautiful. 

Imperial forest ancestor with young trees growing from its decaying corpse: in death, this regal giant tree provides essential nutrients to ensure the health and survival of the old growth rainforest.