Best made plans of Mice & Men. Or something like that. When I planned this trek, I sent the spreadsheet to Sally with Leg 1 and Leg 2 Food Supply’s. Somehow, someway, I left out one full day of rations. Sally brought it to my intention that we had two more nights on the beach, but only one more day of food! Oops, she was right and so we adjusted our planned beach day at Hole-in-the-Wall and continued on and out at Three Rivers Resort & Campground.

After waking, packing and eating, our journey over the pile of rocks began. I don’t know why I didn’t anticipate such a large portion of this hike was going to be climbing big ole rocks, but today we had options. As we left the campsite, and walked the beach, there were two young men ahead of us. They started heading to the cliff side, and sure as poop on a stick, there was a rope dangling from 30’ above. It was pretty much straight up the side of the cliff and Sally looked at me and asked, what do you want to do? Do you want to pull yourself up the side of the mountain, not knowing the exit strategy on the way back down to the beach, or do you want to Boulder? I hummed and hawed and chose what I have been doing for the past five days, and went towards the rocks.

It was a pretty long pile of rocks, big rocks like the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, with some smaller ones the size of a motor scooter. It took close to an hour to get through the pile and we had much more of that ahead.

In retrospect, knowing what I know now, I still would’ve come here. It’s beautiful and wild, with changing tides and majestic rocks, trees and yes, boulders. The miles we are covering is slight, 7-8, sometimes 10 miles a day like today, but the amount of effort is twice that, if not more. We went around 3-4 headlands which means rock piles or boulders that jet out into the sea. It truly is God’s wrath at its best. Sally and I were talking that we have not seen a single boat, yet there are two Memorial Beaches, Norwegian and Chilean that are named for a reason. I’m not a boater or a sailor, but if I was, I’d stay clear of this place. There’s no safe place to bring your boat in. Even kayaking, I’ve done my fair share of that, and no-way, I wouldn’t kayak here either. There just too many rocks that would beat you up!

As we came around the last headland, we saw another Bald Eagle sitting on top of one of the small rocks by the breakers. Maybe his eye sight is failing and it’s easier for him to catch his dinner from a lower perch. A couple were sitting on a couple of large boulders and asked where we were coming from? We shared the story of starting in Cave Alava and planning to stay here at Hole-in-the-Wall but we were short on food. Plans change and we’re headed out.

Once we reached the circus called Hole-in-the-Wall, we looked at each other and were grateful that we didn’t stay here. There were hundreds of people walking around, checking tide pools, and taking photos. This is a pretty cool place especially with the tide out. We were talking to a solo hiker checking out the sea urchins and crabs when I spotted a raccoon hunting for some tasty critter out on the volcanic tide pools. Smart little guy and he must be successful being he had quite a waddle to his step. There was a graceful Crane walking through the kelp beds also in search of something to munch. Within a minute, he snatched up a crab or fish, gulped it down and off he went, searching for more.

This area of Olympic NP has so much for day visitors with the countless trails, endless beaches and Hoh Rain Forest. Today, half of Washington was making their way to the same, not so peaceful beach, that Sally and I had planned to camp at. We are a bit of snobs when it comes to backpacking and in our view, the point of getting out on the trail includes removing ourselves from the hoards of people. So we were happy that our home for the night was away from all that!

But you still can’t take away the incredible awe of the rocks here. We hung out for a bit, talking with the neighbors and answering questions like how long have you been out, or where did you start? But Sally had a gal ask her how much farther? Sally answered with two more days. The gal look bewildered and asked again, the hole in the rock is two days away? Oh no, it’s right around the corner. But I can’t see it? You will. Be patient grasshopper. Keep your eyes open and follow the crowds!

We walked through the hole and met the rest of hikers. There were gaggles of people heading in to get their glimpse of this iconic hole. Even another Bald Eagle came to admire it. But what impressed me more than that was the group of kids coming in to spend the night. They were carrying ice chests, tents still in unwrapped bags, sleeping bags in their arms, and a 12-pack of White Claws, a full-on pillow (so jealous) along with various other items. It reinforced again, that we made a darn good choice in leaving. At Rialto Beach, we made a hard left and road walked. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed walking the road like I did today.

After a mile or so, a car pulls over and asks if we want a ride? Without even looking up, I say heck yes! Then he laughed and said, I could be a killer! You never even looked at me. I explained that we have both been with killers and see, we’re still alive. For you readers who know me and Sally, you will understand that what I said was in fact, true. So we jumped in their car and went to Three Rivers Resort & Campground. I had reserved a campsite ahead of time and they were holding onto our food for Leg 2.

So just to clarify, this is not a thru-hike and I do not need to take every step. So accepting a ride, is well inside the parameters. We arrived intact and got our food, campsite and quarters for the showers and laundry. Then we headed to the Twilight Burger Shack for lunch. Unbeknownst to me, Twilight Books were based on this area. They have posters and memorabilia with the characters from the movie. There’s even a meter that warns you how much Vampire activity is in the area. Today it was at the Dangerous Level. Oh my word, we are safer on the beach! After eating, showering and laundry, we settled in for a campfire. Sally has carried fire starter from day one and she was bound and determined to build a fire. And so she did.

To finish the night off, I had brought face masks. Now hear me out. We’ve been on the beach for five days. The hygiene is not the greatest, no baths, no showers and some sand, grit and pebbles. So a Face Mask is the most proper way to hydrate and clean your skin. It’s a thing that I love to do when I’m out in the woods. Now we are ready to sign off and get some rest, because come tomorrow, we will be back to bouldering.

One last thought. This morning, I read our Daily Devotional and it was all about the abundant grace of God. It really comes down to the fact that our Lord plans and places people in our life that will provide His grace. As we were walking the beach, actually climbing boulders, there was this sweet couple that I talked to. I had no idea that they had planned to pick Sally and I up, if they saw us walking the road. God placed that gesture on their heart and they followed through with it. The grace of God. It can be a simple ride, a meal shared, a visit to the hospital to see a friend or family or countless other acts of compassion. That’s what He does without us even knowing it. Thank you Lord for who you are, and how you bless me with your abundance of grace.

“The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬