After strolling through the Hall of Mosses on day two of our Olympic National Park visit, the Hoh River Trail to Mineral Falls sounded just about right. All in all we hiked 5.7 miles on this trail for a total of 6.6 miles of hiking for the day.

The beauty of this forest is exceptional. With an underwhelming destination, in our humble opinion, the forest itself was ample reason to enjoy every step.

But beware the quick snack followed by a light lunch routine when planning a good amount of hiking for the day. We were very hungry after reaching the falls. As a counterpoint to our usual leisure when returning to a trailhead, we charged our way back to the visitor center in record time. We surprised even ourselves at the semi-sprint of it all.

A bonus was in store...we had ample time for a nice dinner in, relaxed packing up for our departure the next morning, and some board games before sleep. We might just employ the speed exit strategy more often.

Tomorrow...the beach!