My friend Shaun and I took up the highly rare nice weather weekend to backpack the Ozette Triangle as a preseason opener. I managed to get a three day weekend so we could drive to the trailhead and car camp the night before the trek. We camped at the Ozette Lake State Park. Shaun had taken the lead and got our wilderness pass and took charge in renting our bear vault for the trip, as the Olympic Wilderness requires that you carry one, not so much for bears but for the raccoon population at the campsites. Crossing the ferry was a breeze, there was hardly any traffic leaving Seattle at one in the afternoon.
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| Ferry ride to Bainbridge Island |
After a five hour drive from Seattle and a little confusion on Ozette Lake Rd. we reached our destination. Setting up at Camp 6, we arrived with enough daylight to start a fire and cook dinner. While splitting a six pack of Coors the sun disappeared beneath the mountains behind us, bringing an end to our day.
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| Camping at Ozette Lake |
Lake Ozette is a wonderful place to kayak, fish and just flat out relax. Due to the 22 mile long road following the Hoko River to reach the camp, and the five mile and hour speed limit on the water, you don't get the distraction of fast motor boats zipping by, or loud parties past the quite hour. Call in advance to reserve a campsite, as these spots fill up fast. If you are not able to secure a campsite at the park, Lost Resort is less then a mile from the lake and have a rule against turning away campers. Also, stop at the resort's general store to pick up a bundle of firewood for $5.00. The Ozette State Park works on the honor system and requests that you drop cash in the box for your camping spot.
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| Shaun hard at work |
The next morning we were quick to rise and get our feet on the trail. Concerned with the tides on the coastal part of the trail, Shaun had downloaded and printed a tide chart for us to reference. Low tide was to be at 3 PM. Using the "Green Trails Map, Ozette, Wa No. 130S" as our guide, we began hiking southwest from the Ozette Lake Trailhead toward Sandy Point, our first destination. At Sandy Point we would slowly head north taking our time to stop and look in tide pools for starfish and sea urchins as we would be arriving too early to cross the tides safely. Once the tides were low enough to cross, we'd continue north along the beach to or camping destination, Cape Alava.
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| Ozette Triangle Trail |
We walked out of the forest and onto the rocky beach within two hours of starting our hike. Not being a native of Washington state, the view of the Washington coast was my first ever. It was incredible. More gorgeous then what I saw in pictures. The smell was fresh and the breeze comforted me. The whole experience gave me a familiar feeling that is hard to depict, but is the sole reason of why I have to backpack. It transforms me into what feels like a heart of this lucid creature we know as nature. And I am in love with all that I can see, every piece of this being all around me. So much in love that, at times, I will cry over the beauty of it or develop a momentary obsession about the well being of all these little things that make up one huge creature of which I am the heart of. And then it's gone. And I am me again.This is the best description I can give you. And if it hasn't happened to you, you'll probably think that I'm slightly crazy.
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Sandy Point, Washington Coast
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| Trail guide post |
We were surprised to find that the tide was already incredible low and we could continue on or journey with only wanted delay. I couldn't put away my camera, the atmosphere was so amazing. I was trying my hardest to capture the memory as we made it. After stopping at the shore rock we continued north toward Cape Alava, paying close attention not to miss the trail signs along the way. We passed many ship artifacts and I collected a few shells to bring home to my wife as she couldn't be a part of this trip.
The beach proved to be the hardest part of the hike. It is a challenge walking across miles of loose beach gravel and ducking under or climbing over fallen trees, all while trying to check out tide pools and taking pictures. But I could completely understand why folks approximately three hundred years ago would hike to "Wedding Rock" and carve petroglyphs into rock with bone, antler, and metal. I could only imagine how happy these couples must have felt being blessed by such a beautiful place. Apparently there are 44 ancient petroglyphs at the site. I only saw two.
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| Wedding Rock Petroglyphs approximately three hundred years old |
Continuing north, we continued to stop and chat with fellow hikers as well as take pictures of folks playing on the rocks at various places. We also made sure to refill our water supply and filter it right away. I highly advise that anybody doing this trek, bring a filtering source as the streams with fresh water are incredibly low and looks down right dirty.
It was well before dinner when we made it to Cape Alava. We arrived well before others started rolling in so we had a open choice of the campsite we wanted. We chose the second site in which was covered in the shade we needed for the day due to the heat, and had a easy and quick access back down to the beach, not to mention the view. Both Shaun and I enjoyed a little lunch and napped. A perfect weather day is rare in Washington, but we were having it, and it was awesome!
North of our camp the beach turned from gravel beach to sand making the walk easier and I was able to walk barefoot in the rising tide water.
Campers were setting up along the beach and taking walks along the shore. Shaun was able to capture a few pictures of some sea urchins that I was unable to find. All around, he's a better fisher than me so it was quite appropriate that he be the one to find the sea urchins while I feverishly searched for them. I made it back to camp in time to eat a tasty dinner that Shaun had prepared and looked forward to sipping his concoction of cider and whiskey while watching the sun set on such a splendid beach.
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| Sea urchins courtesy of Shaun Moore |
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| Me relaxing in camp |
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| Shaun making Whiskey Cider |
Anticipating the sunset left me feeling anxious. I couldn't wait to experience it yet at the same time, I knew seeing it would also mean our trip was just about over. Shaun had collected and compiled a intricate fire starter consisting of different forms of drift wood and dead seaweed. We would later find out that dead and dry seaweed doesn't burn. This forced us into a frantic search for more kindling to keep the fire burning. We had taken our first partake of what I'm sure will soon become our evening ritual of Whiskey Cider and we were both pretty happy. We were amazed to see how high the tide had came up on the shore at twilight. The Island that you could once walk to was now surrounded by water. Anyone that was still on that island would be spending the night on it.
I held my breath as the sun touched the water, in awe of the illuminated sky. An orange hue had cast over Shaun's face and stayed there for then next ten minutes. I took as many pictures as I could knowing that it would never be able to capture the experience of actually being there.
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Sunset at Cape Alava
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Campers were setting up along the beach and taking walks along the shore. Shaun was able to capture a few pictures of some sea urchins that I was unable to find. All around, he's a better fisher than me so it was quite appropriate that he be the one to find the sea urchins while I feverishly searched for them. I made it back to camp in time to eat a tasty dinner that Shaun had prepared and looked forward to sipping his concoction of cider and whiskey while watching the sun set on such a splendid beach.
