The Shipwreck Coast

Washington has a wild coast, in case you didn't know. Not a Miami Beach bar scene kind of wild - but a "this ocean wants to kill me" kind of wild. A desolate wild...and untamable wild...a heartachingly beautiful wild...and the kind of wild you have to work for if you really want the full experience. 

The Washington Wilderness Coast is fifty miles long from Oil City to the Shi Shi Beach, and it shares 38 of those miles with the PNT. Cape Alaza is the PNT's glorious ending - or beginning if you prefer. Not knowing anything about the PNT, I had already done those last (or first) three miles years ago when I did the Ozette Triangle.

So, this time the plan was to go southbound from Sand Point and finish at Rialto Beach - a section affectionately nicknamed the "Shipwreck Coast." Of course, we would need to stop and see the memorials along the way that commemorate the loss of 36 lives from two different shipwrecks...this is a wild and deadly coast for sure. 

The Chilean Memorial has seen better days

I had a couple wild women with me, and on a wild hair we bumped this trip up a week early. President's Weekend be damned...we would be leaving on the 6th. We all heard the Spirit's whisper of "go now"...and thank God we listened. The following weekend had snow, and less low tide time, which surely would have made a much different experience. The experience we did end up having? Well, it was just about perfect. (Which you can read the itinerary below.) Happy "wild in all the right ways" trails!

Log: Day 1

6.5 miles: 10:30 am meet up at Rialto parking lot with the shuttle van. Terrible looking weather made us feel a little queasy as we left, but the last half hour to Ozette made us feel ACTUALLY queasy. (Very bumpy...not having to drive that a second time to pick up a car was already worth the $200!) The weather was much improved up north, so we quickly started to feel better. An easy three miles of boardwalks (though they are getting busted up and can be slippery) and you are at the beach. Another couple easy miles of beach walking and you hit the first danger point. Pretty sketchy through here, so be sure you have a 5 foot or less tide or you'll be swimming through the smaller, lesser known hole in the wall like Laura Croft. (Yes, I played Tomb Raider back in the day, and no, of course you would never attempt to swim through it...it's a joke.)

No swimming here!

Day 2:

7 miles to Cedar Creek. High tide around 11 am, so we got a late start. As soon as there was a little beach showing, we were off. Slow going on the upper rocky beach, but by the time we reached our next caution point (before Norwegian Memorial) the tide was just low enough...though we did do a little waiting before then. So many rocks! By the time we reached the first camp at Cedar Creek, we threw off our packs and called it good. Thankfully we hadn't set up our tents when we realized we would have to ford the adjacent creek at high tide in the morning, and since crossing log jams is NOT my jam, we begrudgingly hauled our packs back on and splashed through the low tide creek to get to the campsite on the other side. This worked out well not only for us, but for the only other group we came across who were going northbound so they wouldn't have to ford the creek either. 

Beach walking is the best

But you will get your fill of rock walking!

Day 3:

9.5 miles back to Rialto Beach where our car was waiting. So, I had actually got our permit for a spot at Chilean because I didn't want such a long day out. I realized before we left that my plan of 11 miles on day 2 was never going to work (we quite possibly could have died if we tried it!) but I didn't have time to change it. I figured this time of year nobody would be out there and stopping at Cedar was no big deal, and it wasn't. Besides that one group at cedar, the only backpacker we saw was a solo female going south. She flew by us - an obvious total bad ass! This is not a trip I'd want to do solo!  Anyway, the 9 miles were tough, and with the late start because of tides, we didn't finish until right at sunset. But after passing Chilean, I have to say I would NEVER recommend staying there. It was stinky and ugly, and we honestly couldn't figure out where in the world anyone would set camp. Oh, and if you think you can go up and over the headlands at high tide with rope detours - think again. The hillsides look to have been pretty much washed away - I really don't think it's possible to climb up them, rope or not. 

Take my pack off? Phish...hold my beer

You can thank Julie for hauling this boat cushion up from the beach

I thank whoever made this awesome swing!

There is one non-optional rope climb that's still in good shape

Our minus tide was a life saver and helped us get those 9 miles in fairly quickly. (Though certainly not fast; plan on a mile an hour to be on the safe side.) Ellen creek was our last obstacle, though even at low tide we really should have taken our shoes off. But because we only had a mile left, we took the "fuck it" step into the drink and finished with wet feet. The last mile blues were pretty harsh with cold heavy feet and loose sinking sand. Though the truth is, I wouldn't have done this trip any other way, and I think it will always be one of my all-time favorite adventures.