Olympic NP

This Movie is a first of four movies in this part we will share the highlights of the three eco-systems of the park, and will be making three more videos of the Olympic Mountains, Olympic Rainforests and Olympic Pacific Coast.
The Olympic National Park is located northwest of Washington State; the diversity in the park is spectacular. Within the park are three ecosystems from the wild and mostly foggy pacific coastline to the snow covered alpine peaks of the Olympic Mountains with its fabulous wild flower meadows to the temperate rain forests with its lush and green moss covered conifer trees and wildlife. We started our trip in Forks Wa near the Hoh Rainforest the idea of having a rainforest in the US that far north is something you would never expect. It is one of the world’s largest stands of virgin temperate rainforest, and includes many of the largest coniferous tree species on earth. The Hoh Rain Forest is one of four rain forests on the Olympic Peninsula. However, it is the only one that has been awarded the distinction of being a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The drive up to the trail heads of the rainforest was something out of a storybook so magical we both were so impressed by the tall trees the hanging mosses and the most lushes forest floor we ever seen. The Hoh River so beautiful and we were fortunate to see and film the Roosevelt elk near the river that was one of the many highlights from the trip also saw three river otters playing in the river unfortunately by the time we setup the camera they were gone and hiding in the tree trunks, still was very happy to finally see them in the wild like that. I think the elk here compared to Smoky Mountains have thicker fur and nicer colors and the herds are way bigger one morning we saw a herd of about 100 elk not too far from our cabin. Hiking the trails of the rainforest it almost felt like the dinosaur time everything looks old and you almost have a feeling those trees are talking to you. After such an impressive time at our first part of the 3 ecosystems we thought it would be hard to compete for the other two eco systems, but as soon as we arrived at Ruby beach we understood why they call the pacific coastline to be one of the nicest of the world. It might not be the typical beach to go for a swim or sunbathe but it sure is the most photogenic and most fun we had on a beach ever, catching a sunset here is an amazing experience. We hiked a lot on the many different beaches with gorgeous sea stacks, tide pools and rushing waves. Second beach at la push was surrounded by huge trees a little creepy looking trees the trail was beautiful and the beach had amazing views we saw a sea lion swimming offshore although it was foggy and drizzly weather that day we were rewarded with a breath-taking sunset. At Rialto beach we saw bald eagles and seal swimming in the inlet, the beach at first doesn’t have the many sea stacks as the rest but piles of driftwood combined with pebble beach another great place but to get to the best view you need to hike to the whole in the wall we started our hike kind of late at the day but just got in time to film the most beautiful sunset of our trip. At the most west northern point in the continental United States we visit Cape Flattery from here, gaze into the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, while looking down at the swelling seas, churning up a forest of kelp and seaweed. We were on the lookout for eagles, shorebirds, otters, seals, and whales, as they are commonly seen in the cold waters. There was an Indian guy explaining us that he sees whales pass by every day and after about half hour we saw in the very far distance our first whale spout, there was one little island filled with seals and sea lions we even had one stellar sea lion swimming not too far from us so we were able to make a shot of him. Once in Port Angeles we went on a whale tour boat left early morning in the hope to see whales little closer by. We saw about 20 humpback whales such amazing creatures we both felt very blessed to witness so awe inspiring. This will not be my last whale tour hopefully next time we will see the Orcas. Then as last but not least we visit the majestic snow covered mountains of Olympic National Park. Hurricane ridge and obstruction point had some of the most beautiful views we ever saw being surrounded by these mountains it gave us a feeling of belonging there. We saw so many deer you have to be carefully driving there because there are so many of them. One of the most difficult hikes we hiked with all the gear was a challenge and all this in the hope to film the mountain goats; unfortunately we didn’t see them only in the very far distance 5 white dots. But the hike felt so remote and the views from the top of the mountain ridge was well worth the though hike up. We loved every part of the park and didn’t want to leave we are super excited to share this video hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Thank You

Cast: Rudy Wilms

Tags: Sony-PXW-FS7, Olympic national park, ruby beach, la push second beach, rialto beach, hoh rainforest, hurrican ridge, ediz hook Port angeles, Sony pxw fs7, sony fs7, canon, dslr, slider, kessler, Port angeles, 4K, UHD, Rudy Wilms, blackwoodpictures and Nikon