After a bit of a hiatus from backpacking, I am back on the trail. This is a place I have never hiked before besides a day trip many moons ago. Olympic National Park is on the Olympic Peninsula of northern Washington and tucked away from civilization. The Hoh Indian Tribe still resides here, placing gill nets, living off the land and offering a few secluded trails on the beach that you can walk. It’s so much different than hiking in the mountains, desserts or valleys. The breeze is always an added bonus, the temperature is a perfect 60-70 and the sun is shining. It truly is a place untouched by mankind and offers scenery that is, well just brilliant.

My friend Sally met me yesterday at Kalaloch Lodge where we got reacquainted and talked about our next week of backpacking on the beach. I hiked the West Coast Trail in 2006, almost twenty years ago. This is much different than our hikes of the past. Typically Sally and I do things that get our heart rate up, climbing tens of thousands of feet and walking long, arduous miles. This backpacking trip will be none of that. We will follow the tidal charts and comb the beaches for sand dollars, beach glass and sea urchins. And if we are lucky, spot a whale! We can only hope.

After packing up our food and libations, we drove the 100 plus miles, parking my car at Oil City Trailhead TH, our planned exit point, driving to Forks to deposit our second leg of food, then off to Cave Alava TH. Following the Google GPS navigation we headed down a logging road for, let’s say close to an hour, and stopped abruptly at a locked gate. There was no way around, no other options but to turn around and regroup. After getting out my ONP Map, should’ve done that first, we found a long way around route to our desired trailhead, Cave Alava. Close to two plus hours later, we arrived, and only a half-hour behind schedule.

We had lunch, a tasty IPA Beer that my friends Rob and Patty bestowed on me, and we were ready to hit the trail. There were tons of people at the TH with only ten campsites up for grabs. I assumed hikers had come out for the day, were out on a weeklong excursion like Sally and I planned, or we would be scavenging for a place to pitch our tents. Needless to say, there were plenty of sites to go around.

The PNWT is a fairly new route that extends from Glacier NP to Olympic NP. It is close to 1250 miles and hugs the border between US and Canada. It’s quite rugged, has much route finding and is about as primitive as any trail I have hiked. But this small section that we are headed to is splendid.

The first 3.4 miles is basically boardwalks with steps, some gravel but mostly old wooden planks that are slowly degrading. Don’t get me wrong, most of it is in pretty darn good shape but you just need to be weary of the few boards that have rotted or have returned to nature. The trees are thick, covered in moss and lichen and reach the sky upward. There is plenty of ferns, soft leaves and greenery everywhere.

We passed a few hikers on their way out who talked of brackish water, and slow moving streams with little water. Dang we have an ocean full of water but nothing much to drink. The walk in was nice, nothing too difficult but enough to get me feeling like I was back where my heart sings and the Lord blesses me. Oh how I love to backpack.

Before long we reached the coast. The sun was shining and the tide was up. We actually reached high tide just as we landed on the surf. This is good because it shows you where and where not to place your tent. Sally found us a nice home in the trees, just above the high tide mark and we settled. Then we walked some more.

The beach here to the north of us forms a point. There’s big rock islands just off the shoreline, barking seals across from us on another island and a few sea lions playing in the surf. We headed back to have dinner. On the menu was Bison, Biscuits and Gravy with a huge loaf of homemade Sourdough Bread and Creamy Butter. Patty also blessed Sally and I with huge two pound round of tasty incredible hunk of sesame seeded bread. Thanks Patty!

Once we had dinner, we walked back out as the tide was turning and experienced a minus tide. Rocks that we hadn’t seen before were exposed, tidal pools were abound and as Sally walked back to the Cape Alava Point, she saw her first whales migrating north. One of the hikers pointed out the water spurts and then the big whale broke out of the water and breached just enough to make everyone’s day complete! Now that’s a fine first day!

As I go to sleep, I thank my lucky stars that I have a husband who promotes my joy and passion to get outside. And the fact that I have faithful and God-fearing friends that accompany me. With the miles that we will embark upon next week, it will not be tough, yet it will not be in vain. This walk will be slow, little distance covered but will cause me to pause and ponder this moment. I know that my Lord has created me to pursue this purpose, to love his splendor and creation, and to see this through His eyes.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 NIV