 |
| the forested trail |
Friday -Sunday: August 9-11, 2015
An early morning start, got us on the 7:10 Edmonds Ferry. Smooth, yet winding roads to Neah Bay, a parking shuttle on Makah Nation land, and then we geared up. Of course, I knew someone at the trail head, which was great, as we needed another bear canister and I borrowed it from Salmon Bay science teacher Joel. I failed to redistribute all the food into other's packed, and waddled off with the most weight. We were on the trail by noon.
The 2 mile trail through the forest was cool and lovely, with a few damp spots that on our return out would be downright muddy. The trail dumps into the National Park boundary, just as it drops off the ridge to the beach.
 |
| Lisa, Amy, Denise, and Ange enter ONP |
 |
| At the park entrance: No pets, weapons, or wheels. |
 |
| Descending the trail to the beach. |
Exiting the forest is so fun that each gal got a reaction photo shoot, as this was a dream trip for Amy.
 |
| Denise |
 |
| Lisa |
 |
| Ange |
 |
| Amy |
The sky was full of fog we hoped would burn off as we walked blindly southbound on Shi Shi beach.
 |
| Amy in the bright gray day. |
 |
| fellow beach campers return from fetching water. |
 |
| We were getting tired. :) |
We ended up in an awesome campsite, that held some wonderful treasures of rock and flotsam art in store for us.
 |
| stacked cairns |
 |
| Amy on the found hoverboard |
 |
| yup. a baseball box. |
 |
| beach glass and rock treasures. |
We took a walk to Point of the Arches on Friday afternoon, admiring the rock art and other beach trash art and games.
 |
| beach buoy volleyball |
 |
| heading to the Point of the Arches during low tide |
 |
| tide is out and the fog is in |
 |
| the perplexing phenomena |
On our return we hit the fresh water source. This stream runs out of the Olympic forest to the ocean. The water is rich with tannins and a golden brown color as a result.
 |
| interesting rock crumbling |
 |
| everyone has a camp job. i'm the photographer. ;) |
 |
| okay, they are too! |
Saturday morning we headed out again for a longer hike past Point of the Arches, and around the next two headlands. The weather was grand mix of fog, mist, and full on rain. We were prepared with smiles, and jackets. The rain didn't stop us from seeing cool critters: whales, otter, eagle, crab, anemone, seals, and sea stars!
 |
| this ocean otter was hanging out for while |
 |
| see Ange's selfie! |
 |
| the colors of the sea weed was brilliant. My favorite was the iridescent pink. |
Back at camp we rested, drank wine in the afternoon, and watched for more whales. Their spout was the first sign, but then we saw them breach, often in pairs.
We also took some time to fly the kite, on the theory that if I brought it, I'd have to use it!
Sunday morning we woke to brilliant sunshine.
 |
| these folks made coffee in the sun with a view! |
 |
| Our neighbors down the beach left early, and left their tent-prints in the damp sand. |
We packed out and hiked north again.
 |
| bring the tripod, use it! |
 |
| heading north |
 |
| the northern headland of Shi Shi Beach |
We drove to Seiku for lunch. It's the salmon fishing capital of Washington and the place was packed with boats and boys. We sat down to lunch at the Bay Cafe and nearly doubled the population of women in town. :)
It was fun trip. Thanks for letting me crash, Amy!
