Second trip to Cape Alava with my six year old son. The inland heat dropped off considerably as we hiked out the board walk to the beach and remained pleasant through the weekend. The trail is in great shape and it looks like the blue trex decking will last much longer than the standard cedar. However, I wonder how slick it gets when wet? Mist and fog were a constant presence for the next two days, with patches of blue teasing overhead. Even with record heat in Seattle you can never predict what you will get out on the coast.

We hiked around Canonball island and found the decomposing whale carcass on the southern side. VERY interesting but the smell is not for the squeamish. Another decomposing whale was beached up north near the Ozette river. Seals were on the next island west and barked at all hours. We also ran into otters, deer and plenty of crabs.

In spite of the long drive, permits and daytime crowds I'd rank this hike way up there for anyone wanting to introduce their kids to the wilderness. My son decided next year we should expand the trip a bit and come to Cape Alava from the north via Shi Shi beach.

Three trips to the wilderness coast of ONP in five weeks, I'm one lucky slug! This time it was to Cape Alava, Wedding Rocks, and Sand Point with my friend Yetiman.

We got on the 7:10 ferry out of Edmonds on Sunday morning, exhilarated by the beautiful weather that appeared ahead of us, glad to leave the snow behind. The roads were in good shape all the way to Ozette. The really curvy roads from Port Angeles to Ozette can be a nightmare if icy, but we made good, safe time. We paid our $15 parking fee and our $9 wilderness permit fee, and we headed down the boardwalks to Cape Alava, with heavy packs and wallets lightened by the removal of so much cash. Since we had stopped on the way for lunch, it was noon when we hit the trail.

The boardwalks were not that slippery, which in my opinion just lulls you to sleep and then you slip and fall on the next slippery patch. We both had Stabilicers (spiky soles for your boots) and put them on to avoid trouble and to speed forward progress. I always enjoy the long boardwalks, there's something almost dream-like the way they wend through the magnificent forest for mile after mile, passing through so much otherwise impenetrable growth and swamps.

Reaching the beach at Cape Alava is like entering an alien world. The bright sun after the dark forest is blinding, and the rocks, rocks everywhere, no sand, the water a long way away across the rocks (at low tide), it's bizarre. We headed north to find a campsite, since we were going south the next day anyway and we wanted to check out the area since it was Yeti's first time, and our packs were heavily laden with beer and luxury food. There are numerous fine campsites, but the one we picked was right exactly at the border of the park and the reservation. Perfect grassy tent sites and pre-made fire pit furniture added to the site's incredible views of the various islands and sea stacks in the area. We gathered up all the remnants of a hailstorm that happened before we arrived at the trail head, and used it to refrigerate the beer and perishable foodstuffs. We then commenced the business at hand, that is enjoying the incredible natural beauty of the surroundings.

Dinner was rib-eye steak, fire-roasted salmon, fresh vegetables, and a crusty loaf, with organic oranges for desert. The sunset was very cool. There was a narrow band of clouds just above the horizon, so the sun disappeared right before setting, but then at the last minute it came out underneath the cloud band, and sunk slowly into the ocean. At the very last, as the final crescent of the sun's disc plunged hissing into the icy Pacific, the last sliver turned first a lime green, then a forest green, then was gone. Magical.

We of course had a raging bonfire of salt-cured cedar driftwood, and the winds and temps were moderate, so we were comfortable deep into the night. The stars were very bright, no competing light in the sky, and the occasional dark cloud that drifted by seemed like a giant patch of nothingness blotting out the resplendent heavens.

I slept from midnight to 9am, cushioned by my grassy nest, waking to find everything dry, not even any tent condensation. I was able to walk around on the grass in my socks. We decided to have coffee and breakfast at Wedding Rocks 1.5 miles south, so we stuffed down some left over bread, packed up and were on the way south at 10 am, with an outgoing tide on our side. The morning light made for some nice pics of the off-shore islands, and the ""beach"" is mostly rocks with lots of fallen trees retarding progress, so we made very slow time, but it was all good.

We got to Wedding Rocks at 11:30 and had brunch, sandwiches, leftovers, coffee, tea for Yeti, then started exploring for petroglyphs. We found the easy ones on the south side, then went to the north side and found a bunch there, including one that was new to me after two previous trips. It was of a man hunting a wolf, or perhaps hunting with a dog, but it sure seemed like the arrow or spear was aimed at the dog-like creature's head. We were unable to find the sailing ship, one of my favorites, even though I found it once before. Some of the petroglyphs are easy to find, others require extensive searching. Then it was back to the south side to find a specific glyph of an orca with several nearby faces. Yeti found it right where my info said it would be. Yeti also looked at glyphs I called ""jumping ladybugs"" since that's what they looked like, but I didn't really think that's what they were, and he saw them immediately as fish swimming in wavy water. I then saw them that way too, and it seemed pretty obvious after it was pointed out.

Eventually it was 3 pm and time to head south, so we said our goodbyes to that incredible place. The beach was still difficult walking with lots of soft sand and occasional rocks, but as you approach Sand Point it suddenly becomes firm sand, perfect for walking. We went up on top of the sea stack at Sand Point, perhaps the single sweetest spot on the Washington coast. There were deer grazing on the stack, but they seemed to ignore us completely, coming with 15 feet of us at times. The views from up there are superb, and Sand Point is very scenic, with huge sandy areas at low tide (which it was) and an enormous amount of driftwood. There is a curious wind shadow effect on top of the stack which made it warm up there even though it was cold and windy down on the beach.

At 4:30 we sadly bade farewell to the Pacific and scooted through the now-freezing wind to the shelter of the woods and the boardwalks back to the trailhead. The boardwalks back from Sand Point are not as good as those that go to Cape Alava, but at least they were almost dry. I wore my Stabilicers, Yeti didn't wear his. He had one good slip, but otherwise was OK. We were walking too fast for me to keep up without the perfect traction of the 'icers. We got back to the car at 6 pm, pretty tired after 7 miles with full packs and lots of rock-hopping. We stopped for the sunset at Pillar Point Rec area on highway 112, which was very cool. Dinner at Taco Time in Port Angeles left us plenty of time to make the last ferry out of Kingston at 11:10 pm. It was an incredible trip, perfect weather, not a drop of rain, and fluffy white clouds decorating the blue sky. Pictures are posted at www.flickr.com/photos/slugman/

Walked the loop starting early the morning of Dec 26 to take advantage of what low tide there was. There are a number of trees down across both trails, and fresh slides and trees across the beach as well, but nothing too difficult to get around. There are a LOT of logs piled up deeply on the upper beach, particularly around Sand Point. At higher tides the beach will be pretty impasssable.

Had some graupel fall during the day. Saw some nice, fresh, mountain lion tracks on the beach at Cape Alava, as well as small canids (coyotes?), and only 1 or 2 raccooon tracks. The usual winter wrens, oystercatchers, harlequin ducks, scoters, mergansers, eagles, crows and such. Saw no people.

Headed to the coast to enjoy a 3 day weekend and to hike the ""loop"" in a clockwise direction this time. We managed to find a day with low tide about 1pm so it allowed us to have a leisurely breakfast and head out. Running shoes worked great on the boardwalks but were not quite as good on the beach cobbles. The boardwalk changes texture many times. Many different generations of repairs and slightly different materials. Wow, what an amazing bit of trail work! (It's the Washington version of the pyramids!) Some blowdowns on the beach but half the fun of this hike is negotiating the obstacle course and finding interesting stuff. Isn't it? Foggy weather makes for pleasant hiking and an eerie feel.