Ozette Loop Camping Trip - Eagles, Petroglyphs, & Awesome Sunset!

Good thing I got that emergency whistle.

Three lovely ladies and I hiked the Ozette Loop last weekend and it was great. We started our little trek at Ozette Lake, which is set back 3 miles from the Pacific coast, near the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula.

On a fine Saturday afternoon, we traipsed through lady ferns, sword ferns, stitka spruce, salal, cedar, skunk cabbage, and Douglas-fir of the temperate rainforest. (Well, I don't think I actually touched a single fern because there were convenient boardwalks the whole way. They might as well have put out a red carpet. When trails are that well-demarcated, the whole idea of hiking and perhaps even getting lost is not really possible. In other words, my handy emergency whistle never came in handy.)

The woods gave way to prairies full of ferns as far as the eye can see. The prairies were the remnant of some Scandinavian families' failed attempt to build homesteads in this remote neck of the woods.

As we approached the beach, we were welcomed by the high-pitched squeak of some nesting eagles in the trees above. Eagles were practically as common as crows out here!

View from trail above Cape Alava.

Cape Alava, otherwise known as Cape Hot Lava by me, is where we and about 30 boyscouts set up camp. It's a little strange setting up camp right next to a bunch of boys who haven't quite figured out when puberty will hit. But, we found a nice campsite where we practically didn't notice anyone else. When the tide came in, it stopped about 10 feet from my tent. Now that's beach camping!

View from campsite, with tide way out.

We set off in the afternoon for Tskawahyah Island (also called Cannonball Island), the one that's accessible from a sandbar just north of the Cape. We didn't realize it at the time, but this island was probably a spiritual retreat for the Ozette, since several ritual artifacts were found there. There also are remains of a WWII Coast Guard station there. I was disappointed by two things: the utter lack of starfish in the tidepools, and the fact that I neglected to explore the Ozette longhouse above the beach.

The sunset was pretty much incredible. The sun set over the Pacific rim slowly, taking its time (this was the summer solstice after all). For over an hour, the sky just kept getting more sunset-y and more intensely colored until I thought my eyes would get sunburnt.

Beats watching the Fremont solstice parade.

Psalm 104: 12-13 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

 
The next morning, we walked south along the beach towards Wedding Rocks, where there are over 40 petroglyphs carved by those multi-talented Ozette folks 300 years ago. We saw 3 or 4 of them; they're pretty hard to spot. The ones we saw were all south of the large boulder at Wedding Rocks; I missed all the ones north of there, even with my handy treasure map with each one marked and drawn with great detail, courtesy of the ranger dude back in Port Angeles.

2 Whales and 2 Faces, petroglyph made by the Ozette at Wedding Rocks, circa 300 years ago.

Around Sand Point, the southern tip of the hike, we saw lots of eagles, herons, cormorants, and some sea lions hanging out in the sea stacks off the coast. The Flattery Rocks Wildlife Refuge is like a haven for wildlife - I wish I had brought my binoculars. We also saw a beached whale.

From Sand Point, it was another 3 miles back to the trailhead, making this an easy 9.5 mile loop spread over 2 days. The inland trails were well-maintained with boardwalks throughout, and the beach portion was just a little annoying because of all the downed trees. And, no starfish. Apparently they are out there; I guess I just didn't go far enough. If I had to do this trip again, I would add on Shi Shi Beach before or after this loop. There's also plenty to explore around Lake Ozette itself.

 

View more great photos from Jessi here.