SHI SHI

We cooked breakfast at the hotel the next morning before driving to the ferry terminal. We had reservations for an early ferry over to Port Townsend on the Olympic Peninsula. We almost didn’t make it. We were a few miles from the ferry terminal when the rental car stalled. The check engine light had actually come on a couple of times earlier in the trip, but it had always been at a time that was inconvenient to deal with it. We’d ignored it, and both times the light went off before long. Now the light was off, but the car wasn’t moving.

We eventually got it to crank and got going. We were nervous that it would stall again, but we managed to get onto the ferry without any problem. We suspected that the issue was with the fuel pump, so through the rest of the trip we made sure to refill the tank any time the tank dropped below ½ full. That may have helped, as we didn’t have any additional problems. We drove on to Port Angeles and picked up a backpacking permit and a bear canister from the Olympic National Park Ranger Station. That was a surprisingly busy place on a Wednesday morning in late July!

From there it was a long drive to Neah Bay in the northwestern corner of Washington. Neah Bay is in the Makah Indian Reservation. We stopped at the grocery store, where we picked up some extra snacks and the required $10 recreation permit. You have to have a Makah permit because the hike starts on their land, and you have to have a Park permit because the campsites are in Olympic National Park. We drove to the trailhead, where we unloaded our gear. Overnight parking isn’t allowed here due to limited space. There are two private lots back down the road. The closest is .6 mile away and costs $10 per day ($30 for a 3 day trip). Donna’s is 1.1 mile from the trailhead and costs $10 per night ($20 for a 3 day trip). I parked the car at Donna’s and walked back in less than 20 minutes.

The forecast for the next 3 days was sunny, but it was foggy on the coast. The hike started with a stretch of pretty rain forest. There were a couple of sections of boardwalk, but most of the hike was on a muddy road. We ran into several guys on ATVs along here doing trail maintenance. They were members of the Makah tribe, as we were still on the Indian Reservation. Just before reaching the descent to the beach we crossed into Olympic National Park. That descent is steep and a bit sketchy, but fixed ropes are in place for safety. At the bottom we took a short break at a campsite in the woods adjacent to the beach.

From there we strolled out onto the beach. The fog was persisting, and all we could see was the sand in front of us, the surf on our right, and the cliffs looming above. We walked 2 ½ miles down the beach, all the way to Point of Arches at the far end. We passed several other groups, but there wasn’t anyone at the far end. We took the last campsite, which is directly in front of in impressive array of sea stacks – cliffs extending out into the ocean. Those cliffs are riddled with tunnels, arches, and caves, but we would wait until the next day to explore them. Our campsite was fantastic. There was a small grassy spot for the tent, and driftwood furniture in the sand.

Our campsite was a short distance beyond a small stream with fresh water. There is also a toilet back in the woods a short distance away. We relaxed that evening, although the fog only lifted briefly. Clouds rolled back in well before sunset. Still, a campfire and a bottle of wine made for a pleasant evening.

We slept in a bit on Thursday. That worked out well, as we needed to wait for high tide to pass before we could explore. Immediately south of our campsite is a bay surrounded by cliffs and sea stacks. It’s impassable at high tide, but that happened while we were eating breakfast. Once the water began to recede we were able to start our hike.

My plan was to hike south down the coast as far as we could, possibly as far as the Ozzette River. This was a stupid idea. I’m sure there is some great stuff down there, but it couldn’t possibly be more enthralling than the Point of Arches at the south end of Shi Shi Beach. We were hiking along the bay just south of our campsite when we got distracted by the numerous tide pools. Before long we were totally enthralled by the search for starfish and anemones in those pools. At some point we came to the realization that we weren’t going to hike any farther down the coast. Once the water receded farther, we were able to wade out to the sea stacks and explore them.

This area is fascinating. We explored a series of natural tunnels through the cliffs. We climbed around in caves and checked out the many arches. The only drawback was the fog, which was still with us. It seemed like the sunshine we were promised wasn’t going to happen.

I could’ve spent all day exploring those caves and tunnels. Except that I couldn’t. We’d passed low tide, and the water was rising. I had a close eye on my watch, and the rising water all around me. Eventually I realized that we needed to stop pushing our luck and get out of there. We headed back to camp, where we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

Early that evening the fog finally began to break up. Those cliffs and sea stacks that had only been looming out of the fog suddenly came into focus. Taking in that scenery all at once was very dramatic! Things just kept getting better, too. That night we were treated to a spectacular sunset. The sun was a ball of fire, and it dropped into the surf right between two of the most dramatic sea stacks. A campfire and another bottle of wine capped of the evening nicely.

We needed to leave early on Friday, as we had a long drive ahead of us to Bainbridge Island. We have good friends there, and I wanted to spend some time with them that afternoon and evening since we’d have to drive back to Portland on Saturday morning. I wanted to explore the Point of Arches again before we left, but the tides were not cooperative. Low tide would be first thing in the morning. To do it, I’d have to get up well before sunrise and hike out there in the dark. I would have a little time for additional exploration before I would need to return to camp and pack up. Ultimately, I decided to skip it. Relaxing at our campsite that morning made more sense given the time constraints.

The fog was back Friday morning. After breakfast we packed up and hiked out. Originally I’d thought about hiking out to Cape Flattery – the most northwestern point in the contiguous United States. We really didn’t have time though, so we decided to skip it. I definitely plan to return to Shi Shi Beach, so I’ll make that a priority when I do.

We reached Bainbridge Island late that afternoon and spent the evening with our friends Brian and Jill, their daughters Kaitlyn and Izzy, and Brian’s dad, Chuck. Jill cooked us a great meal, and we stayed up late drinking beer and playing Catan. It was a wonderful way to end a great trip!

Late the next morning we made the four-hour drive back to Portland. Our flight was 10pm that night, but the off-airport Avis location closed at 4pm. Our plan was to return the car and then take an Uber back to Christy’s favorite gluten-free brewery, Groundbreaker. Then we would catch another Uber to the airport. That would’ve been a hassle with all of our luggage. As it turns out, we got caught in traffic and by the time we were approaching Portland we realized that we’d never make it to Avis by 4pm. I called them, and they told me just to drop it off at the airport. There would be a $25 fee for returning it to the wrong location. That sounded like a great deal to me - $20 would be a lot less than multiple Uber rides, and we could keep our luggage in the car!

We might’ve made it to Avis just before 4pm, but suddenly there was no incentive to do that. We didn’t even try. Instead we headed over to Groundbreaker and had a couple of beers. Christy bought several more to take home. Then we hit a seafood restaurant. After eating dinner and having a couple of beers, we figured we’d better go straight to the airport or we’d never get there. After checking in we hit the Rogue Brewery, which wasn’t far from our gate. Christy also found a store in the airport that sold the Groundbreaker beer. She bought another box of beers, we she actually carried onto the plane.

That flight home was rough, as the all of the beer we drank didn’t help us sleep. Thankfully Christy’s sister Megan picked us up Sunday morning and delivered us to our house. The dogs and our house sitter were thrilled to see us! Luckily we had all day Sunday to sleep and unpack.

Our 2016 adventure was fantastic. We love the Pacific Northwest, and we have wonderful friends there, so we will definitely go back. Next summer we may go in a different direction though – perhaps southern Utah?