It's Easy Being Green... in the Hoh Rain Forest, Olympic National Park

         Ask ten people to name their favorite color.  Go ahead, I’ll wait.  Did anybody say green?  I didn’t think so.  

After a trip last month to the Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park I’d like to lobby for the color green, the most under-rated and taken-for-granted color on the wheel.  Shades of green vary from an almost-yellow chartreuse to a not-quite-midnight dark pine.  Can any other color do that?  

The mallard presents to the world a wholly unique shade of green.
I call it "rich teal-dark spruce" green.

         The word “green” describes the undesirable human conditions of jealousy, inexperience and ill-health. Green in the 21st century means earth friendly and, while a noble cause, I fear the phrase “going green” is suffering from overuse to the point of being meaningless.

Mosses overhang a stream full of greens.

           Let’s return to the real meaning of green—the color of fields, forests and meadows.  Take a walk through the Hoh, a place that receives from 12 to 14 feet of rain every year. Two easy trails, Hall of Mosses and Spruce Nature Trail, allow visitors to experience the rain forest.  Here you'll observe green in all its shades of glory—an enchanting sight.

The Hall of Mosses Trail.

          For the record my favorite color is...blue.  But I’m giving green some serious consideration.  How about you?

Information on the Hoh Rain Forest may be found here: http://www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/visiting-the-hoh.htm
http://www.portangeles.org/hoh-rain-forest.html

These downed giants line part of the path
on the Spruce Nature Trail.

Sword ferns, highlighted by the sun.

Growth along a "nurse log".  These downed tree trunks support
the next generation of spruces, hemlocks and firs.