exploring our backyard

Guided tours unveil the wonders of Olympic National Park

Words by Jenn Hemmingsen

Hoh Rain Forest

Last April, Olympic Hiking Co. Owner Tommy Farris stood before a wall-sized mural of the Olympic Peninsula at the Port Angeles Wharf, briefing us on the day’s events.

Our guide Eric had led snowshoers across Hurricane Ridge just the week before. Today, he’d lead our small group to view two other spectacular spots in the sprawling Olympic National Park.

Loading us into the van, Eric started dropping knowledge before we were even out of the parking lot: “Keep your eyes open for otters,” he said, adding that these members of the Mustelidae family—which includes weasels, badgers and wolverines—may be cute but can also be fierce.

Thus began our two-hour, “ask-me-anything” drive to the Hoh Rainforest, as Eric answered our questions about flora, fauna and the splendid scenery outside our window. We must have asked a hundred questions on the nine-hour tour. We stumped him exactly once.

Olympic National Park is one of the most diverse national parks in the country. Home to glacier-capped mountains, old-growth forests, temperate rain forests, waterfalls and a wild 73-mile coast, it’s easy even for a local to feel overwhelmed. Established in 2016, Olympic Hiking Co. is a locally-owned, commercially authorized tour company that provides guided hiking tours and shuttles for over 3,000 hikers annually. The services change with the seasons. They offer private tours, a trailhead shuttle and a variety of group tours designed to provide a full-spectrum experience to each visitor.

Farris grew up in Port Angeles and says he took his “beautiful backyard” for granted until leaving for college at the University of Washington. It was there he first realized how few of his classmates had ever even been to the Olympic Peninsula. After graduation and a brief career in finance, he decided to turn his passion into a full-time venture. He bought a 12-passenger van, obtained a commercial use authorization permit, and began offering guided tours.

“There’s such an array of visitors who come to the national park,” Farris said. “It’s really fulfilling to be able to welcome each visitor, not just with sightseeing or facts, but to inspire a connection with the outdoors.”

On our tour, which included short hikes in the Hoh Rainforest and along Rialto Beach, Eric showed us how to identify the predominant tree species. He showed us how to distinguish a Douglas fir from Sitka spruce by looking at bark and needles. He pulled over to let us gawk at a herd of Roosevelt elk along the side of the highway and told us all about their diet and social organization as we watched them munch grass in the morning mist.

Along the Hall of Mosses Trail, he explained the difference between mosses and lichens, showing us several varieties, including lettuce lichen—one of the elk’s favorite foods. Humans can eat it too, he said, although it tastes like dirt—a fact my eight-year-old companion confirmed.

Then it was back in the van. “One of the questions I always get asked is, do I ever get tired of this job?” he said as he steered the van along the snaking road to Rialto Beach. “The answer is no.”

“There are some days when it’s work,” he admitted. “But one of my favorite parts of this job is I get to live vicariously through clients seeing this area for the first time.” As if on cue, we rounded a corner, and the sea stacks came into view.

“Dude,” said the woman in front of me in an awestruck voice. “This can’t be real.”

On the beach, we watched bald eagles ride the currents while Eric told us about their mating habits. I picked up a clear, luminous rock. “What’s this?” I asked. “That’s quartz,” he said. I offhandedly asked about the difference between quartz and agate.

For the first time that day, he looked puzzled: “I’m not sure,” he said. It was the tiniest fact in a day crammed with fascinating information about the history, geology and ecology of one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.

Still, I bet he looked it up right after dropping us off back in Port Angeles in preparation for his next sojourn through our beautiful backyard.

Tommy Farris, owner of Olympic Hiking Co.

Photos: Tommy Farris