Olympic Peninsula

On Sunday, March 27, 2016 my vacation from A & P school and work finally started.  I flew to Seattle on the 5:00 flight and waited for an old coworker friend, Sam, from Boise, to arrive.  When he did we picked up our rental car and headed out.  Our drive brought across the bridge in the Tacoma Narrows, before hooking up with Highway 101 and driving North.  We stopped a couple times to get some breakfast and drinks.  Our first view of the ocean was in the Straight of Juan De Fuca.


We had some scattered rain showers off and on, but by the time we reached Neah Bay it was pretty good weather.  The campground in Neah Bay that I had planned on us staying at for the first night didn't exactly look very appealing.  So we decided to find another location for the night, especially one that was out of the town.  So we drove to the trail head for Cape Flattery.

It promised to be a relatively easy hike, which Sam was grateful for as he was still working to recover from the flu.  It turned out to be true- it was a nice hike through the dense forest to reach Cape Flattery.  From the point we could look around at sea caves, rocky shoreline, and Tatoosh Island, with Cape Flattery Lighthouse resting on it.

After taking pictures, watching seals and eagles, and enjoying the view, we hiked back to our car.  We decided it was too early to make camp so we opted to drive a little south of Cape Flattery and hike to Shi Shi Beach.  It was a very muddy trail!  So many times Sam and I had to detour off the trail in order to not sink up past our ankles in the muck.

We finally neared a large opening in the trees and were greeted by the strong smell of rotting fish.  But the view of Shi Shi Beach was incredible.  The weather was perfect, a nice breeze blew inland, and the waves crashing into sea stacks was breathtaking.

We continued on down the trail and right as we began descending we entered Olympic National Park.  When we made it to the beach we discovered the source of the rotten fish smell.  Hundreds of thousands of small, dead jellyfish had been washed up in certain areas of the beach.  In some cases it was a giant slurry.  We soon discovered this "Jellyfish slurry of death" was common all along the coast.

After exploring a bit and taking a break we hiked back to the car and made the short drive to Hobuck Campground.  There was hardly anyone there.  We set up camp behind a barrier of trees and bushes next to the beach.  As the sun was setting we explored the beach, collecting a few sand dollars in the process.

The next morning we packed up camp and headed back inland so that we could meet back up with Highway 101 and continue south along the peninsula.  We reached Forks, WA, and started seeing signs about vampires.  Sam then remembered that Forks, WA is the setting for the Twilight vampire books.  Needless to say, we saw lots of teenage girls at the town's visitor center, as they got their pictures taken with cardboard cutouts from the movies.

We refueled and then visited the Ranger Station for Rialto Beach.  After getting some advice on hiking and camping we set our eyes on Hole in the Wall.  It was a nice hike along Rialto Beach.  We finally reached several sea stacks, tide pools, and of course, Hole in the Wall.

After finishing up that hike we decided we didn't want to camp on Rialto Beach.  So we drove down to La Push, then we went to the parking for Second Beach.  It was an easy 0.7 miles down to Second Beach.  It was nice and secluded.  There were a few people there when we arrived, but they were all day hikers.  Once the sun set, Sam and I had Second Beach to ourselves.  We had set up camp above the shore, sheltered from the breeze.  We were surrounded by a dense canopy of ferns, moss, and trees, and once again it was gorgeous weather.

We were able to get a fire going with some drift wood, and then we were treated to a gorgeous night sky.

The next morning we packed up and hiked out early.  Our next stop on our way south was the Hoh Rainforest.  It wasn't high enough elevation to be closed, like the main parts of the Park's interior.  Even with the warm dry weather we had had for a few days, the rainforest was still soaked.  It was pretty neat.

We hiked on the Hall of Moss trail.  We were treated to huge blankets of moss coating trees, vast sections of un-logged forest, crystal clear water, and we even saw an elk.

After finishing our hike we decided to continue on down to Kalalock and figure out what to do next.  We planned on camping in the National Park Campground in Kalalock.  Along the way we stopped at Ruby Beach where we saw more sea stacks and Destruction Island, with Destruction Island Lighthouse, and also some giant cedar trees.  It was amazing how many giant trees thrive along the coast.

A gal in a gift shop in Kalaloch recommended that we go down to the Quinalt Rainforest that afternoon.  We figured it was a good idea,  So down 101 we continued.  Quinalt Lake has a couple roads around it, and we were able to do a loop.  We entered back into the National Park and enjoyed the scenery.  At some points it was a narrow 1 lane gravel road cutting through the forest.

By the time we reached the south side of the lake we were pulling off to take pictures of waterfalls that we saw.

We also stopped off at what is supposed to be the world's largest Sitka Spruce tree.

By the time we made it back to Kalaloch it was 6:30 at night.  A lot of the campground was full, but we managed to find a spot.  We hastily set up camp, watched the sunset over the ocean, and then ate dinner and went to bed.

The next morning we packed up and drove home.  We stopped in Aberdeen, WA for some breakfast.  Sam went back to Boise, and I went back to Seattle.  Next stop for me was Juneau, AK! :)