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Slugman It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Wed May 25, 2011 2:06 pm
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Sunday: drove, paid, parked, walked road, boardwalks, woods, mud, more mud, switchbacks down to beach. Other people all leaving. Not raining.
OK, enough with the boring stuff. I love arriving at the beach, those first views through the woods, the sound of surf, the aroma, the anticipation. Shi Shi beach doesn't disappoint. I moseyed on down to Petroleum creek, which is an easy step-over right now, due to convenient driftwood, and found the perfect campsite. I set up my home away from home, and settled in for a nice rest, and a supper of organic sirloin beef roast and other things. I saw a total of 20 other people, but they don't count since they were all on their way out. It was just me, alone, for Sunday night, no other people for miles. Just me and the body-surfing sea lions. It was too warm for a fire, so I just lounged and sipped some Kahlua and watched the sunset try to dazzle me, but in the end it fizzled due to cloud cover. I appreciated the effort, though. At 11 pm it was almost low tide, so I put some Pink Floyd (Meddle) on through the headphones, and walked up to Point of the Arches. It was pretty misty, so I kept my light off, except once in a while to make sure I wasn't going to trip over any drift logs. So I come to a log, I thought, and almost stepped on it, but I turned on my light, and it was a dead sea lion with a horrible rictus grin and empty eye sockets. I almost leapt out of my skin with horror and revulsion and fear. The super-spooky music wasn't helping at that point. But I re-established my composure, and continued exploring in the dark, even entering a sea cave. I got back to camp at 1:30 am, and called it a day.
First view Shi Shi beach 004 Lonely beach half fast's future site My site Threatening Non-threatening Shi Shi beach 048 Shi Shi beach 059 All set up Shi Shi beach 063 Home away from home Petroleum is a step-over Nice site, can't get there Art or garbage? Shi Shi beach 089 Shi Shi beach 090 Group site Garbage More garbage Weird Small site Shi Shi beach 118 Body surfing Otters! Shi Shi beach 140 Shi Shi beach 143 Shi Shi beach 144 Shi Shi beach 152 Shi Shi beach 157 Caves at night
Monday morning my friend Paul (half fast) came motoring in. The sun was out, a perfect day for our plans to explore PotA and beyond at low tide (noon-ish).
half fast Closer.... Here! Shi Shi beach 190 Shi Shi beach 191 Shi Shi beach 192 Switched to 16X9 Shi Shi beach 199 Cool bench at PotA Sunny Photographing the photographer I almost stepped right on this at night! Rictus The dayhike begins Caves during the day The inner sanctum Shi Shi beach 220 Shi Shi beach 221
We went past PotA, sometimes on beach, sometimes on boulders, other times on slippery bedrock. The area just past PotA is the best beach stretch IMO.
Shi Shi beach 231 Shi Shi beach 235 Shi Shi beach 237 Shi Shi beach 238 Shi Shi beach 240 Shi Shi beach 243 Shi Shi beach 246 Shi Shi beach 255 Shi Shi beach 268 Shi Shi beach 274 Shi Shi beach 275 Shi Shi beach 278 An enemy Shi Shi beach 289 Shi Shi beach 290
Then we came to an overland bypass trail, which we took to the top of a rocky spine with the help of several ropes, to get the good views south. Then there was a very scary trail to the top of a sea stack with incredible views in all directions, with a bit of peeping between tree branches.
Shi Shi beach 292 Shi Shi beach 293 Father and Son Shi Shi beach 300 Shi Shi beach 303 Shi Shi beach 305 Shi Shi beach 312 Shi Shi beach 313
Then we bailed to avoid getting killed by the incoming tide, always an advantage, though it turns out we left about a two hour safety margin. Paul decided to lounge in a fish net hammock while I slaved away with the camera. Oh, yeah, and an eagle saved my life.
Shi Shi beach 314 Shi Shi beach 319 That eagle saved my life! Comfy? Yes! Shi Shi beach 327
We got back to camp at 3:30, so we rested up for the sunset, which looked to be good.
Shi Shi beach 332 Shi Shi beach 336 Shi Shi beach 338 Shi Shi beach 343 Shi Shi beach 345 Shi Shi beach 347 Shi Shi beach 346 Shi Shi beach 351 Shi Shi beach 355 Shi Shi beach 356 Shi Shi beach 357 Shi Shi beach 361 Shi Shi beach 363 Shi Shi beach 366 One regulation bon-type fire!
I stayed up late again, rambling around the beach at low tide listening to music in the dark. No monsters this time.
Since Paul lives in the neighborhood, he decided to head back Monday morning, while me being the foreigner, I stayed to milk the last drops of goodness from the weekend. I saw more otters, nice reflections in the sand at low tide, some beach flowers, a sweet view to the north from a rocky ridge, and the prehistoric turtle frozen to stone as he emerged from the waves.
More otters Shi Shi beach 385 Shi Shi beach 393 Shi Shi beach 394 Ellen Tea Reflecting on a beach Shi Shi beach 426 Shi Shi beach 431 Shi Shi beach 454 Shi Shi beach 466 Slanty Sam's slanted shack Shi Shi beach 467 The undiscovered country Out of place, but sweet Prehistoric stone turtle emerges.... Shi Shi beach 518
At 3 pm I reluctantly said goodbye and headed back up the cliffy trail to the muddy trail. I got back to the car at 4:30, steady hiking at normal speed (fast for me, normal for other people). A leisurely drive home with ferry trip got me back at 10:30, utterly spent. Content, but exhausted, the way it should be.
Thanks, Paul, for joining me for Monday and Monday night. I had the best of both worlds, solitude and company.
Shi Shi is an expensive trip, but oh so worth it. Let's see, it was $45 gas for the Subaru, $30 ferry fare, $10 for the Makah, $30 to park, and $9 to the national park. That's $124, except I didn't have to pay the $9 since I have the annual Olympic backpacking fee card. I don't count the food, etc, since I must eat wherever I am. It works out to 25 cents per picture I took. A bargain.
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grannyhiker Member
Joined: 29 Jul 2006 Posts: 3516 | TRs | Pics Location: Gateway to the Columbia Gorge |
Sea lions! This has been an annual trip for me (usually July), but I've never seen any! I've seen a number of river otters, though.
You camped in the very best site at Shi-Shi! We lucked out and got it one year, even though it was July.
My grandkids love that cave; they think it looks like Joe the Monster's cave in Ian Fleming's Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang (the original book, not the movie).
Thanks for the garbage haul! The grandkids and I always end up packing out a bunch of other folks' trash, too. Their dad, of course, gets the heavy stuff. Plus, being a surfer, he gets to pack out a soggy wet suit. I wonder how the sea lions would tolerate a human surfer joining them?
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
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ejain Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2009 Posts: 1497 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
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ejain
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Wed May 25, 2011 3:23 pm
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Slugman wrote: | $30 to park |
$30? Does that include a $20 surcharge for Subarus, or have they raised the price? Where did you park?
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grannyhiker Member
Joined: 29 Jul 2006 Posts: 3516 | TRs | Pics Location: Gateway to the Columbia Gorge |
As I recall, it was $10/night last year, too.
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.--E.Abbey
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Slugman It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Wed May 25, 2011 4:10 pm
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I parked at the place closest to the trail head, at the top of the little hill, with the gated driveway, past "Donna's". It says you must pay $10 for the day you arrive (Sunday for me), $10 for every day you are gone (Monday), and $10 for the day you come back and depart (Tuesday). So a person going for one night would pay $20. Since day hikers can park at the trailhead and pay nothing, there is never a charge of $10. When I went last time, 8 years ago, I parked at Donna's, and it was $20 for two nights at that time.
This is in addition to the annual $10 Makah recreation permit. If you read the permit rules, it implies you don't need it to park on private property. It says it is for reservation land and trailheads. I didn't care enough to look into that, I just bought the annual pass.
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Hikingqueen Member
Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 2946 | TRs | Pics
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Wonderful photos, i'm super jealous.
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half fast member
Joined: 21 Mar 2010 Posts: 1392 | TRs | Pics Location: Living the dream in my 5th Wheel |
Nice TR slugman...
Here is my contribution:
First off I have to say that Shi Shi to the Pt. of Arches is with out a doubt one of my favorite stretches of WA beaches. The waves are pretty much always loud with spectacular crashings... which to me, is about as good as it gets…
When Slugman – also Paul, had emailed and said that he would be there Sun. through Tues. and invited me along, my mind was working hard on how I could make it out there as well. I had already hiked Sat., I still had business stuff to do and I came up with a plan that could work. I already had an unexpected day off on Tues.. I emailed back and said… I am in.
The best way to approach this trail is to remember that it is not whether you will get muddy… but… how muddy you will get. If you have that mindset, it will go a lot better for you…
yes, it is still muddy... more mud...
Like Paul (the other guy… ) I love the view when you just come out on the beach from the TH…
view from the beah TH
I make my way to the campsite and although Paul did not have coffee made and waiting for me… he sure did pick out a great site…
my home away from home... Flower around my campsite
Camp set up and off we went to our first stop… POA
POA the Lone Cyprus... ok, it isn't a Cyprus but it is a Lone tree... POA toooo fun !!... POA
Continuing heading South the views just got better…
south of POA this rock is twisted... south of POA another lone tree hangin' on for dear life walking amonst the giants and another lone tree hangin' on for dear life
My photos from the Eagles Nest...
Views heading up to the Eagles Nest (name by half fast) Views from the Eagles Nest Views from the Eagles Nest Views from the Eagles Nest peek a boo view from the Eagles Nest
Back at POA for more fun...
Taking a break at POA, reflections and incoming tide Taking a break at POA, wave action Taking a break at POA, reflections and incoming tide Taking a break at POA...
We were fortunate to be able to enjoy an awesome sunset here is my contribution…
Sunset photos infront of our campsite...
What a great overnighter with awesome sights, sounds and smells... Thanks for the invite slugman !!
FUN: 100%
It's all about the fun, oh and maybe the chocolate - half fast
It's all about the fun, oh and maybe the chocolate - half fast
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Slugman It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Wed May 25, 2011 10:06 pm
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I needed you to build the fire. I'm too lazy. I can't believe you didn't bring any beer.
I like that portrait sunset picture with the sun at the top and all the waves.
No one has asked how the eagle saved my life. That won't help you, I'm telling it anyway. We were hanging out at PotA, watching the tide roll in, and I saw an eagle, but it was hopping along the beach, quite a way away, behind a log. I didn't know what it was, so I got up and zoomed in on it with the camera, and saw it was an eagle. When I looked back at the spot I had been sitting, it was under water. The tide had crested a little rock dam and flooded our seating area. If we hadn't gotten up to see what the heck that eagle was, we would have been wet to mid-calf at least. And I had no spare sneakers.
Don't let those mud pictures fool you. I went in and out in low top crosstrainers and my feet stayed dry, with little or no evasive action. Most of the mud is only an inch or two deep, and a lot of it is firm enough that I didn't sink in much, and there are pieces of wood to step on at the worst places. Many times my trekking poles told me the mud was just a thin layer on top of firm trail.
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Backpacker Joe Blind Hiker
Joined: 16 Dec 2001 Posts: 23956 | TRs | Pics Location: Cle Elum |
HEY, next time think of me would ya? I would have liked to have gone with you.
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide."
— Abraham Lincoln
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Slugman It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Wed May 25, 2011 10:17 pm
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All right, you're in, and we already have a plan. We are going to boat across Lake Ozette to Allen's Bay, then hike the abandoned Allen's Bay trail to Norwegian Memorial. Half fast has a pontoon boat perfect for one person, and hermes has volunteered his three-man row boat. So all you have to do is row the two of us down there, and you're in. After all, it's his boat, and it's my plan, so you have to bring something to the table.
We even have a back-up plan: if we can't find or follow the trail, we'll camp at one of the boat-in-only sites right on the lake. That might also be a "plan A" for the future if we do get to Norwegian Memorial the first trip. The reason is that boats don't mind a little extra weight, so a boat-in camp could be pretty luxurious, almost like car camping. It would be nice to eat real food and have ice in my cocktail.
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hermes Member
Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Posts: 449 | TRs | Pics
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hermes
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Wed May 25, 2011 10:53 pm
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Awesome report you two and stunning photos. About that site that you can't get to
- you didn't try hard enough....
Home
I guess you will have to go back!
Excellent plan SM
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bobbi stillaGUAMish
Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 8012 | TRs | Pics Location: olympics! |
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bobbi
stillaGUAMish
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Thu May 26, 2011 4:14 pm
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bobbi ૐ
"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!" - Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss
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Alpendave Member
Joined: 01 Aug 2008 Posts: 863 | TRs | Pics
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I almost stepped right on this at night!
Imagine if you had stepped in it and sunk in right to your knee
Kinda looks like he was playing fetch with that stick when he died.
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Slugman It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Thu May 26, 2011 5:22 pm
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Just imagining the crunchy yet smooshy noise that would happen if I had stepped on it almost makes me gag right now. Then what would I do with the shoe? Keep wearing it though it stank literally like death? Hike out barefoot? I'm going to have the willies over that one for a while. I have never in my life experienced the physical sensation I did at the moment I turned on the flashlight: it was is if every square inch of my skin was glowing red hot and squirming frantically. And there was a feeling like it spread and propagated over my skin, front to back, like a force field had passed over me.
The overland trail to the "eagle's nest" was pretty awesome. Neither of us had been there before. There were about five ropes on the trail up, but they weren't needed going in the up direction on a dry trail. Coming down they sure helped, and with mud they would have been suicide-preventers for sure. Once on top of the ridge, the trail went to the left, apparently down to the next beach, then over the next headland to the south. But we turned right, along the ridge, which was about one foot wide in spots, with deadly drops on both sides, onto sharp rocks and crashing waves. Then it was just a trail after that, to the top of the sea stack. But care was needed, as the cliffs were hidden in the salal bordering the trail. One step to the side to take a whiz, and you'd simply disappear. There was room up there for one small tent or bivy, so someday I will camp up there.
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Highwalker's Daughter Member
Joined: 12 Aug 2006 Posts: 1575 | TRs | Pics Location: Bothell, WA |
Great pictures - loved Half fast in the hammock - now that's backpacking The dead sea lion sounds pretty gross, though.
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