I liked the rainforest. My camera, not so much.

We decided to spend the morning of our second and final day in the Olympic rainforest exploring some of said rainforest. We set off in search of a hike, and spent the journey to the deceptively far trailhead recommended by the lodge enjoying the various stunning views from the comfort of inside our vehicles.

It was when we decided to jump out to appreciate it in all its glory that we got rather wet. What with us being in a rainforest, and all.

The air was so thick with water in parts that it was past the point of fog. The air was just dense with moisture. Staring at a river we drove across, it was almost hard to tell where the body of water ended and where the air began.

The worst part was when we piled out to enjoy a particularly pretty waterfall. As if the rain wasn't heavy enough, the spray from the waterfall was catapulting water at us from all directions. Still, it the amount of moisture around probably dropped a few years off the age of my skin.

The upside to all this rain is of course the plant life. Because it's in such a constant state of being spoiled by its environment the vegetation is so incredibly lush. Funnily enough, it looked like one of those rainforest on Planet Earth. Usually they show the ones in the Amazon, but there was a certain charm I admired about the species and ecosystem in the PNW. I think it was how it played against the grey skies. 

The trees were massive, the moss on them so dense and soggy and wet that it had prevented the branches of many of the trees from growing fully. The ferns were so buoyant and energetic, despite being all the way on the forest floor, where they formed a springy carpet. 

We finally emerged at the trail we'd been looking for, and got out for a short romp to stretch our legs before journeying on. The loop went around and through several boggy swampy areas, so I got to live out my Shrek fantasies. It was like Disneyworld for me. I crawled through a tree trunk.

Tired, and facing a four or five hour long drive home in the pissing rain, we stripped off our soggy gear to argue about music. Dad said Beyonce was too depressing. Thankfully I saved the day with a playlist of wedding-friendly tracks.