Our group of 6 Mountaineers hit a lovely tide and weather window for a slow paced tour of the Shipwreck Coast. I scoured the internet for beta on camps and water, so now I'm paying it forward with what we found!
Chilean Memorial Camp:
We camped in the sand above high tide line and easily found an area with spots for 5 tents immediately north of the memorial rock and next to the sign for the privy. Another group was just south of us with 2-3 tents, and there was another camp area a little to the north that could probably hold 3-4 tents.
This was our only night with a privy available, and we needed to scramble up a short steep bluff to access it.
There was a fast-flowing water source just north of us. It was like a spigot!
Cedar Creek Camp:
There are a number of sites in the trees, the best of which are just north and south of Cedar Creek itself. The best one – the one we chose – is the farthest north, with a great territorial view of the creek and the beach. It was a very tight squeeze for 5 tents, with guy-lines crossing and rain flies touching, but we later also found another adjacent tent pad, that could have accommodated another tent.
Upstream of the beach Cedar Creek is functionally a pond with a small outflow at the sand. It looks and feels stagnant, and likely fills with tide water at very high tides. We chose to collect water at the point where it streams onto the sand, assuming that any salt water would have settled. The other creek on the map about a quarter mile to the south was higher off the tide line, but with much less volume. Both sources tasted fine.
There was no privy at Cedar Creek, but since we arrived early and during low tide, one in our party did the 1.5 mile rt trek to use the privy at Norwegian Memorial. Others either cat-holed or used wag bags.
Yellow Banks Camp:
Camping options are seriously limited, and difficult to find. Although we arrived at camp around 4pm, it took us the better part of an hour to find our best options. We decided to stay on the beach just north of the largest creek in roughly the center of the beach, doing our best to flatten out the rocks above high tide line.We were content with this even of it left us a little more exposed to weather (which we didn't have much of).
In addition to the beach rocks option we chose, we also found…
- A tiny beach-side camp in the trees marked by one buoy that would be comfortable for one tent, and maybe possible for up to three small, very squished tents.
- A collection of 3 small sites about 100’ above the beach accessed by a hidden rope, about 50’ south of the main creek. If you investigate behind the trees you'll find the "trail" before you find the ropes.
- A collection of several spots – sufficient for a group of our size – about 100’ above the beach north of the main creek. The access point for this is marked by dozens of buoys on the root ball of a large driftwood tree. The ropes are not totally necessary for getting up, but essential for coming back down.
- A small site in the trees at the very north end of the beach - it was occupied, but it looked like about enough room for one tent.
All of the non-beach options in the trees were more protected from the elements, but also dark. And the high up ones were a long way from the water source on the beach.
Water was plentiful. There is no privy, and the best places to dig a cat hole were up the ropes atop the bluffs.
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