Sat: The alarm started playing Kung Fu Hustle at 4:30am since the plan was to pick up Josh and Kerstin at 5:15 in order to catch the 6:05am ferry to Bainbridge. All went smoothly as we picked up bear canisters and backcountry permits at the Port Angeles Wilderness Information Center around 8am.By noon we were hiking out from 3rd beach trailhead and arrived at camp by 4:30pm, which was Toleak Point. Camp was setup on the North side back in tree coverage.
This was a beautiful coastal hike with variety: high headland trails combined with hiking beaches while juggling tides made for real fun and adventure. Several spots required us to run between waves around rock walls. Sat night Josh & Kerstin provided bread to dip in a wonderful cheese fondue, followed by spiral pasta in a tomato based pasta sauce. I made dessert, which was a grasshopper pie (pistachio pudding mixed with chocolate mint malt balls poured into a chocolate graham cracker crust). Needless to say we slipped off to sleep without much effort.
I awoke sometime around 1am to the explosive/crashing sounds of waves, wondering if one was going to roll right into the tent and carry us out to sea. However, the repetitive sound of the gargling water quickly hypnotized my body back to sleep. Fortunately the next time my eyes opened light was leaking into the tent edges and the wave sounds had apparently also crawled back into the sleeping bag, as the morning had a peaceful silence. I assumed our tent was in the same place as all was dry.
Sun morning was almost a different world when looking out of the tent, since we woke up to a low tide (-2 ft) with pools scattering the landscape. You could see where the tide had crept up during the night, which was about 20 ft. from our tent door; luckily we were perched on a lily covered ridge that did not have visits from salt water very often. Temperatures were perfect for camping: generally warmer days (mid 60's?) and nice cool nights (50's?). Sunday morning it started to drizzle after breakfast, which consisted of oatmeal, hot chocolate, coffee, and homemade banana bread. We climbed in the tent to do some reading and look over the map to see what kind of day hike options existed. Once again, after peeking a head out of the tent, the incoming tide had transformed the area into a new environment. We hiked to a water fall about 1.5 miles south of where we camped, which was located in the depths of "liquidy" green foliage, mud that enveloped your feet, and moss covered trees. After a few quick photos we were headed back to camp. Dinner consisted of a Thai chicken and rice dish, each served in its own, small Ziploc freezer back, making for an effortless clean up. Desert included slow roasted marshmallows over a campfire lightly pressed between two toasted graham crackers and melted chocolate (and yes--I'm trying to make smores sound a little better).
Monday morning brought a heavy drizzle, so we quickly grabbed breakfast on the go and packed our stuff. The hike out at low tide once again provided for another unique landscape as we made our way back to the car. A longer than expected stop at a Forks diner provided a brunch of hash browns, toast, and eggs. I did my best to stay awake (since I was driving) as we drove to Seattle.
