Flat Niamh and Flat Clara's Journal Entry from the Elwha River Valley, Washington

The Olympic Peninsula is very large and has many different biospheres. It is home to 8 different Native American tribes, one being the Klallam Elwha tribe that lives by the Elwha River. This was our 1st and most important stop on our trip (so we could remember our beloved kitty named Elwha!)

It was a very special time to visit because they just started the largest dam removal project of all time. 2 dams on the Elwha River will be removed so the salmon can spawn all the way up the river and the Native people will reclaim their culture that thrives from the river after 100 years. Here are some pics that show the native art, maps and info.

Along the 7.5 mile hike to the river we saw from a distance where the dam removal was.

 You can view the process on a web cam :http://www.video-monitoring.com/construction/olympic/js.htm.




We also came across a large mound of bear poop. You can tell by looking closely that the bear was eating a whole bunch of purple berries! Good thing that was all we saw of the bear.

We came across many beautiful creeks that empty into the Elwha River.

The elevation was about 1300 feet so the weather was a bit cooler but still in the 60’s during the day and 40’s at night. In the winter it snows a lot in the higher elevations. Mount Olympus is the highest peak in the park that reaches 8,000 feet high with snow and glaciers on it all year long.


Flat Niamh was glad that we finally made it to the Elwha River!

Here is a link to the National Park Service blog about the Elwha River Dam Removal Project:
http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/dam-removal-blog.htm


Photo credits: Dacia Lange and Mike Calabro