When the permit window opened in March (?) we got permits to camp at Camp Pleasant in the Staircase Region of ONP. As most know that’s closed now and probably long into the future due to the Bear Gulch fire. Given the amazing weather last weekend we decided to switch up our plans and camp at the beach.

My daughter, her boyfriend, and my son drove out from Missoula and met me at the trailhead (who drove from Portland) at about 2pm on Friday. We were concerned that the parking lot might be closed because of the government shutdown but fortunately that was not the case. Parking lot was about half full when we arrived. We did the easy hike into the beach and had our pick of the whole beach for our campsite as we were the only ones there that evening. There were a few day hikers and two groups who were hiking further down the coast to camp.

The ocean is SO LOUD at night :). Also the moon is SO BRIGHT when there’s no trees to filter it. The moon was very awesome but unfortunately it was so bright that even though it was clear at night it was hard to see all the stars. Clearly we cannot have it all. Water is super easy to source from the creek and the privy was in good shape (though somewhat hard to get to as you had to climb over the driftwood pile to reach the trail to it).

On Saturday we had a chill day reading and hiking to the next beach over and back (I don’t think I would have liked to do those ladders and ropes over the headland wearing a full pack, but many people do!). We also saw one humpback whale come into the cove to feed in the morning slack tide and then I saw 2 more come in during the afternoon slack tide. And we could see large pods of them migrating south out at the edge of the surf zone. That was a huge surprise.We also saw an eagle, bats, pelicans, comerants, gulls, harlequin ducks, evidence of raccoons, and lots of invertebrates. And lots of dead sea stars washed up on the beach :(.

Sunday we hiked out and drove back to war ravaged Portland. Highly recommend the sandwiches at the Organic Market in Montesano.

Armed with a bear canister, tide tables, permit, and the 10 essentials, we set out from Seattle Friday morning to reach the coast via public transit: Ferry to Bainbridge ($10.25 outbound, free on the return), Clallam Transit's Route 123 (The Strait Shot) to Port Angeles ($10 each way), the #14 to Forks (free, with views of Lake Crescent from the right side of the bus), and then the #15 (also free) to La Push and a couple stops in on the return journey to be dropped off at the Third Beach Trailhead.

I had worried that the beach might be too busy, with recreation.gov showing about twenty people on each of our nights, but the Third Beach portions of the trip ended up only having a handful of other campers.  We hiked south and set up camp near the ladder overland since we had an early start the next morning.  The sky was beautifully clear, providing hundreds of stars and a view of the milky way.

On Saturday morning we were up at dawn for climbing--about four ladders up Taylor Point before relatively level ground (worried that another ladder was around every corner I kept my poles stowed much longer than I needed to) and a descent, before another climb up (this time by rope rather than ladder) at Scott's Bluff and a welcome descent by stairs. There is now a privy at the descent here by Scott Creek.  The tide was right at the 4' mark, so we hurried on to Strawberry Point where we rested for lunch.  After that we had an easy trek to Toleak Point where we made camp under the trees in a well-established site with a table and stools made from flotsam. We had rain that night, but it was well after we had dined and set everything up.

On Sunday morning we were the first people up.  As we headed back north our tracks were the first human ones until Scott Creek (though we saw lots of otter tracks).  Sections of the beach between Scott Creek and Strawberry Point where we had been scrambling within a few feet of the cliff yesterday had dozens of feet now that the tide had gone out.  The rain last night had widened the creek from the day before and we got rather wet fording, so after the bluff we stopped for breakfast and to dry out.  The ropes at Scott's Bluff were quite muddy, which made the return rather more harrowing than the trip up had been!  By early afternoon we were back on Third Beach, but now the tide had come in and we were stuck on the south end until late afternoon.

We had another gloriously star-filled evening before waking early the next morning to catch the #15 at the trailhead to begin the trip back to Seattle.

All in all, a moderately challenging, but not overly long (in terms of hours hiking) weekend with some of the best night skies I've had in years.

We had a great hike from Third Beach south to Taylor Point today. The parking area was 3/4 full when we pulled in at 9:30. It was fog laden air and in the upper 50’s. This was a first foray into hiking the rugged Olympic Coast for most group. The trail to 3rd beach was mostly dry hard packed soil.  It always feels amazing walking through coastal forests especially the areas close to the beach that have never been logged. 3 groups of backpackers had camps set up above the beach driftwood. I haven’t hiked here in 5 years and was very pleased to see the newer steel Cable ladders with knotted ropes to help you get up to the bluff around the impassable headlands. Also, there were many newer wooden stair cases leading down from the bluffs to the next beach cove. Wildlife sightings included gulls, pelicans, seals, chipmunks, a frog, garter snake and lone mouse. Trail traffic was really light and when we did encounter other hikers it was easy to step off to let others pass.  The sun came out and we had a great lunch / rest break on a solitary beach cove watching the tide go out and sea birds flying around off shore. A few wildflowers were blooming as trail descended to the beach and bluffs above the beach. We saw goldenrod, pearl everlasting, seal heal and Sagifrax. On our return to 3rd beach the tide was out so we went wading and walked back to the trailhead by the outlet steam in the surf at the waters edge. The fog was moving back in quickly as we headed up from the beach. Our out and back hike came in at 7 miles. Since most of my group have never been to the La Push area we also made a trip out to explore 2nd beach. The main parking area was full when we pulled in just before 4:00 so we ended up parking in the overflow area which had about 10 Vehicles parked there. This trail was much easier, wider and only .8 miles to the beach. The slight elevation gain and shorter distance made it a very popular trail. It was a good 10 degrees cooler and fog was thick on the beach with limited sight distance out to the seastacks just off shore. A sea otter was floating out in tide pools near the western seatacks and was a real attraction for all beach goers. The tide had turn and many of the anemone were opening. 4 tents were on the beach near the beach access trail alongside fully loaded touring bikes. With these 2 Combined beach hikes we ended up the a 10 mile day discovering the Olympic coast. Another great hiking adventure with friends.

I've hiked Second Beach a million times and decided to finally make the stop at Third Beach to check it out, and I'm so glad I did. It was super straightforward and in great condition. We got out to the beach right at high tide, so we decided not to go very far south along the beach, but opted instead to sit up in the shade and watch the fog roll in at Second Beach just to the north of us. 

The hike back up was much easier than I anticipated. I'd thought it would be more of a slog coming back up, but no, it wasn't as much of a climb as I had in my head.

Found a pair of prescription glasses. Reply if they're yours!