Dosewallips State Park - Maple Valley Loop, Dosewallips State Park - Steam Donkey Trail — Friday, Feb. 20, 2015

Olympic Peninsula > Hood Canal

We took this day hike in Dosewallips State Park after visiting another nearby short hike in the Olympic National Forest, Murhut Falls. The day was beautifully overcast and it never rained on us. The trail was well maintained and provided a relaxing and enjoyable hike. This trail is a loop and it has a few smaller loops that can shorten the hike if it is needed. Along the trail we found lots of diverse examples of moss and lichen. Once we reached the large pond on the Steam Donkey trail, we were surprised to find lots of salamanders swimming within. There was a large group of them writhing together underwater in which we could only assume was some sort of large mating group. With an internet search, it is possible they were rough-skinned newts. (http://www.burkemuseum.org/herpetology/amphibians) Even though it is technically still winter, there were a few RV campers in the Park camp ground but we did not see anyone else on the trail with us.