Cape Alava Calls Many to the Far West

The view from my campsite at Cape Alava as a fog rolls in.

The farthest point on the west coast (outside of Alaska) is a draw like no other in Olympic National Park. Cape Alava is just west of Lake Ozette (third largest freshwater lake in Washington State) and is apart of a 78 mile strip of west coast largely protected as designated wilderness.

The area is so popular that you actually need reservations to camp there. Most days, there is space, but holiday weekends are packed. Cape Alava is just a three mile hike over a beautiful boardwalk between Lake Ozette and the cape.

After my shift, I drove from Forks north to Callam Bay on State Route 112 and then turned south and west on a slow road to Lake Ozette. In all, the trip was just over a long hour. A quick hike of 3.2 miles to the coast resulted in a late arrival to Cape Alava. Even on a Tuesday evening, in early June, near every available site was occupied. I did find a camping spot on the bench just above the beach, but I was less than 100 feet from two other campsites. It was a pretty shady wilderness experience and I found it hard to imagine where people camp when the area is fully occupied with the full number of 86 campers. On this night, there was only about 35 on paper.

One of the most amazing pieces of trail anywhere exists at Cape Alava and Sand Point. Nearly six miles of cedar plank walkway is constructed to prevent resource damage.


The wild coast has had a long history of wildlife interactions. In the interior of Olympic National Park, it is the black bears that both fascinate and serve as a challenge to visitor. Backcountry users are required to secure food and scented items from wildlife. On the coast however, ARFCs (Animal Resistant Food Containers) are required and the traditional practice of hanging food prohibited. The change is a result of inconsistent skill levels by visitors which made raccoons, not necessarily bears continue to find human food attractive even with modest success.

Park Service rangers have documented raccoons playing with the lid of the ARFC as if they are figuring out the new system, but have yet to master the two screws used secure the container. In the long run, wildlife incidents are are becoming rare and the required use of AFRCs are spreading to the higher elevations of the park where damage to the few trees above 3500 feet is apparent..

Upon leaving the boardwalk trail at the beach, it wasn't five minutes before I had a close encounter with the main nemesis of campers in the area. I approached a tree that extended into the shallow surf and a raccoon who was working something in the water. He/she scuttled away up the beach toward the trees before I could even turn my camera in the correct direction.

In the evening, I headed north across the Ozette Reservation which echoed ghosts of the past including the dilapidated ranger station.

Looking north from Cape Alava and the Ozette Reservation towards Cape Flattery, Shi Shi Beach and the Poitn of Arches area.

After a restful night, I headed south towards Sand Point during a solid low tide. My route across the rocky surface included many mid-level tide pools. It was important to watch my step for nearly every one of them could have been fatal to some form of life in this incredibly diverse habitat.

After two hours of wandering south, I reached Sand Point and found the availability of campsites much more to my pleasure. There was more space and vegetation in between the more numerous sites, but there would not be time to make use of them on this particular trip. I headed northeast again back towards my vehicle on one of the most unique trails found anywhere and finished up a nine mile loop.

Sunset on Cape Alava.


Keep checking in because I have more experiences to document.

An update on the Spotted Owl
Two hikes to Toleak Point on the Olympic South Wilderness Coast
The Forks Logging Museum Tour of a mill and logging sites
A trip off-shore into the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Third Beach an Impressive Sight

Olympic National Parks 48 miles of wilderness coastline includes many secluded beaches, but a few of them are have relatively close access from roads. Third Beach is 1.6 miles from La Push Road west of Forks. The trail had surprisingly large trees, both hemlock and sitka spruce.

I can be reached via a super freeway of a trail from beginning to end. The final quarter mile drops about 200 feet down a drainage which empties on the beach. It is also a good source of water for the longer 17 mile hike down the south coast wilderness to Oil City and the Hoh River drainage.

Looking south on Third Beach show an impassable headland that an overland trail must solve.

My recent hike to Third Beach found a pair backpackers camped behind a rock on the small beach. That evening found a mild high tide and a rough surf which amounted to limited space on the beach. Waves lapped the 36 inch plateau where their tent was located and wetted my boots as I looked for the southern exit from the beach.

Large Sitka Spruce and Hemlock trees highlight the trail to Third Beach.A thin waterfall drops from the headland to the crashing surf below on the south side of Third Beach.

A trail departs from the over the headland to the next beach to the south. Using the beach as an overnight camp is permitted, but permits are necessary through the Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center or the various locations throughout the park.

Quinault is the Closest of the Olympic Rain Forests

It was the first weekend of December 2007 that I had planned to visit Lake Quinault. The lake lies at low elevation which allows winter explorations in its rain-forests and along its shores.

Lake Quinault is located on the southwest side of the Olympic Peninsula.

Of course the 1st weekend of December 2007 strikes an ominous slot in our collective memories in Western Washington. At Quinault, not only did 20 inches of rain fall, but the winds that accompanied that storm knocked down entire tracts of mature timber. One only has to look across the South Shore Road at the U.S. Forest Service Information outlet for a glimpse. Huge old growth trees litters the ground to depths of eight to 15 feet.

A year and a half later, I wandered the trails of the Lake Quinault south shore. Several loops allow a total of about 16 miles of unfettered hiking opportunities. Most trails wander a hillside of old growth rain forest, but there was trail access to the lake shore between the USFS Compound and a pair of campgrounds. The trails all connect and there are multiple trailheads from which to begin.

A huge Sitka Spruce tree is located on the southeast side of the lake.
Just to the east of the USFS facilities, there is a small parking area near a bridge over Evans Creek where there is trail access. On the southeast side of the lake, visitors can visit what is billed as the world's largest Sitka Spruce (after some research it is actually the third largest) using a 0.3 mile trail. Regardless of the arguments, the tree is impressive.
With no tri-pod, I can only offer this poorly composed photo for a size relationship to the massive Sitka Spruce.


Lake Quinault is 36 miles north of Hoquiam just on the fringe of my "local" recreation limits and is a part of the greater Olympic National Park complex. The U.S. Forest Service manages the southern shore of the lake. Some trailheads, including the Quinault Rain Forest Trail require a federal recreation pass.

This 450 year old Douglas Fir is located along the Quinault Rain Forest Trail.

Lake Quinault is a portal to a much larger and primeval wilderness in Olympic National Park. If you are not that adventurous, the south shore has more than enough to pique your interest.

A scene from the Quinault Rain Forest Trail.

The First Days are Always Exciting

>"Hole in the Wall" just north of Rialto Beach allows visitors to cross through the passage and take in the tide pools at low tide.

In all of my positions in new places, this is the first time I could start relaying initial impressions right from the beginning. Starting a new job like this is so exciting on so many levels. It is a new park, a new story, and a new culture. When you learn this much this quickly, there is much excitement. I have been at enough parks now where you can't help but make a few notes.

The view from the sea level waterfront in Port Angeles makes the little town a great tourist destination.

I took advantage of the near perfect weather on Thursday to walk 1.5 miles north on Rialto Beach. After walking through "Hole in the Wall" and exploring a few tide pools, I caught up with an older couple as we crossed Ellen Creek.







They were from Germany, but had spent many years in the United States. We talked about jobs and the economy (who isn't these days?) and the lady just sighed. "We just took a trip through British Columbia and traveled on the ferry to Port Angeles," she said. "Compared to Victoria, Port Angeles looked like a third-world country".

An inmature bald eagle flies northbound along Rialto Beach.
It has been several years since I was in this area so I had no instincts to be anything other than objective. It is always thought provoking to hear the perspective of another.

After I left them, I wandered to the north jetty along the Quillayute River. It lies on the opposite shore of the tribal community La Push.

A pair of seagulls join all the rest of the life watching a Rialto Beach sunset.

I sat and waited for a Bald Eagle perched on a snag to make his move, but the only other movement were two other eagles, a couple of seals and a handful of cormorants in the river.

A Rialto Beach sunset.

Just two miles from where I am spending the summer, this jetty may make a good place to hang out.

The Spread of Holly Needs to be Checked

The bright red berries and pointed leaves are synonymous with peace and love of the holidays, but the rest of the year, Holly has become an invasive pest. In some areas of the Northwest U.S. and Western Canada, it is a crop much like our local Noble Fir but Holly is not native to the region and like many invasive species enjoys the ingredients it needs for success as well anonymity from natural predators.

Holly is quickly becoming an invader of Northwest Forests such as this small population in the Old Growth Forest at Lewis & Clark State Park.

In my work with invasive species, I hear many home and property owners complain about the plant as they tried to remove it from their yards. Like many invasive species, it reproduces in more than one way. Seeds are dispersed by birds which accounts for small populations well away from the parent plant. The trees also spread by “suckering” and “layering“. Suckering is the reproduction of a plant by shoots that arise from an existing root system. Layering is when the plant grows roots where stems touch the ground. Take a look through any of our local forests or reproduction lands and you will find small populations of Holly growing in areas devoid of solar radiation or in full sunlight.

While it is not listed on the Washington State list of noxious weeds, many other states and provinces are waging formal battles with the plant. English holly has become a serious pest in state and national parks like Olympic. Urban parks and arboretums in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver B.C. all have ongoing programs to eliminate the plants. More locally, The Friends of Seminary Hill in Centralia are slowly confronting the invaders along with Ivy in the Seminary Hill Natural Area.

On a recent hike, I also noticed a small population in the old growth loop at Lewis and Clark State Park near Toledo.

Holly is effectively controlled is by removing the entire tree and the entire root system, and then physically removing the tree and its branches out of the woods. A holly branch, if left on the ground, will grow roots and continue to thrive. Lopping off or cutting down Holly trees does nothing to the root system, and the plant easily sprouts new shoots and continues to grow.

I would employ the knowledge of a licensed professional or the local noxious weed control board and apply pesticide to the stump of a freshly cut holly bush or tree.

Holly has its uses, but like most invasive species, its presence is having unintended consequences on the natural system of our area. It is crowding out native plants and in some cases, physically impairs our movement in our own yards with its stiff, protruding leaves. Care has to be taken as even the best of intentions can make this plant more aggressive and difficult to treat.

Closing Washington State Parks Cost Twice as Much

Times are tough, and governments are having to close purse strings. Here in the State of Washington, state leaders are facing a potential deficit of nearly nine billion dollars. The governor recently asked Washington State Parks to figure out how to cut its budget by 23%, or $22.9 million, with direction to transfer some park properties to other jurisdictions, reduce service at others, and completely mothball still more.

The resulting list includes 33 parks that would be “mothballed,” or temporarily closed. The public could still access the listed parks, but only by foot. Parking areas and restroom facilities would be closed and park staff would either be reassigned or laid off. State Parks would realize roughly $8.4 million in savings should they and the Legislature ultimately agree on this approach.

This effects local parks like Lewis & Clark, and Rainbow Falls along with others that wildly popular like Millersylvania Memorial and Beacon Rock that I have written about in this blog.

This creates problems for many parks that have delicate land grant origins. Schafer State Park near Montesano was deeded to the State under the condition that it remain a state park, open to the public. in the absence of that stipulation, the State would have to give the park back to the Schafer family. Discussions of this sort are taking place all over the state.

Closing and shutting down our state parks is the wrong thing to do and many in Olympia know that. Many of them are built from the hard times during the depression era when leaders opened up public lands out of a stimulus necessity. A love affair was born, but ill-fated ideas during this latest round of financial troubles have different priorities in the lead.

State Parks are more often visited by local, lower and middle income user groups that can’t afford to travel farther to other regional and national parks. This takes away local opportunities from communities that are struggling to keep their own local parks, let alone campgrounds and other types of recreation available to its citizenry.

Let’s not forget the number of employees that will lose their seasonal and family wage jobs. The potential damage here is two-pronged with recreational opportunities limited while 33 local communities will feel a sharp financial jolt due to job losses and lost tourism.

We shouldn’t be closing parks. We should be keeping them open as the havens they are during tough times.

Oak Creek Wildlife Area Teeming with Eye Candy

Visitors to the Oak Creek Wildlife area can view large wildlif close up over the next few weeks.

For the next few weeks, the Oak Creek Wildlife area will allow visitors to view Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer, California big horn sheep, and resident sage grouse. The wildlife migrates to the lower elevations of the Tieton and Naches River canyons to avoid the heavy snows in the upper elevations.

The Oak Creek Wildlife area is located about 15 miles west of Yakima and allows exploration of lands that are protected as wildlife habitat. Hunting is allowed in some areas with a permit, but most will find an opportunity to watch elk and other wildlife at close proximity. The land was purchased in 1939 for the purpose of protecting wildlife and the areas’ agricultural interests. There is nearly 100 miles of fencing to keep wildlife from damaging crops adjacent to the refuge.

Approximately 150 elk are fed per day at the Oak Creek Headquarters off U.S. Highway 12 near Naches, Washington.

Visitors are allowed to drive all over the property with only a few roads described as not suitable for cars. Hiking, camping and exploring are also permitted with some seasonal restrictions. The needs of wildlife comes first, and closures occur during sensitive nesting seasons for eagles, hawks and falcons as well as winter recovery seasons for larger mammals like elk and deer.

About a mile west of the junction of Highway 410 on Highway 12, is the small Oak Creek visitor center that allows curious sightseers the opportunity to view wildlife from the comfort of their vehicle. Tour trucks that are supported by donations are available most weekends during winter. Since the wildlife does not consider the truck a threat, riders can view the animals from as close as ten feet.

Elk are the most common large mammal sighted, but visitors can also see the more shy California Bighorn Sheep that were reintroduced into Washington after native populations were wiped out in the 1930s.

For those that are more enthused about the wildlife, you can “adopt” an elk or sheep for $35 to $50. The refuge generally spends about that much to feed a single animal per winter. The winter population may number up to 800 animals in a serious winter.