Rialto Beach and Hole-in-the-Wall — Wednesday, Aug. 4, 1999

Olympic Peninsula > Pacific Coast

Four day trip starting at Rialto Beach up past Cape Johnson and Round Point. Forecast discussion mentioned scattered showers and cool temps, but at the coast you expect 60 degrees, fog and drizzle no matter what they say, and we were not disappointed. Thursday and Friday visibility was about 100 yards in the fog. Friday night we enjoyed lots of lightening and rain from a rare (very!) thunderstorm that blew up from the south. No wind though and our sand camp under a huge spruce kept us relatively dry. Heard racoons during the night, but food well hung in plastic containers so no problems. Bay before Cape Johnson lots of large logs and rocks. Round Point (cape after Johnson) has lots of very large rocks and is definitely a low tide hike. Bay between Round Point and Cape Johnson has only one decent camp site and nobody was there. In fact, once we got past Cape Johnson we saw only three other people, and I believe we were the only ones camped on the beach Friday night, as we saw everyone Saturday morning. Be prepared for lots of rock climbing and blow down at various points along the way. Lots of great tide pools to explore, saw an eagle with a fish in it's talons, Kris saw three small otters playing in the surf near our camp. Overall, highly recommended.