The Pacific Northwest coast is rugged and wild. Ruby Beach is a magical place- definitely visit if you have the chance!

I decided to stop at Ruby Beach to cool off after hiking the short Moss and Spruce trails in the Hoh Forest. It was hot in the Hoh. Sun beating down. Trails dry as a bone, except for splashes of human sweat. While it was very interesting looking at the vegetation with the sun shining through the canopy, it didn't really feel like a rainforest today. It was quite a contrast to the clouds and cool breezes found along coast. As I hiked out to Abbey Island, the sun broke through the clouds briefly.

We have visited Ruby Beach many times but never had the chance to hike the beach all the way to the mouth of the Hoh River until last Friday. We showed up right around low tide and had an easy time combing the beach all by ourselves. We didn't run into single soul between Abbey Island and the hoh river on our way back. The weather was pefect. I love Ruby Beach. When we got to the Hoh River we followed it to the ocean and hung out for a while on the bank of rocks. There were lots of sea birds there including some type of Pelicans, I think. The hike was slightly more difficult on the way back because the rising tide forced us onto rockier ground but it wasn't too bad. When we got back an eery mist was covering the beach near Abbey island. The tourists wandering aimlessly through the mist -wrapped sea-stacks looked like the zombies they truly can be at times. Check the tides before making this six mile hike.

Early in the day discovered the parking lot at the trailhead to be busy due to the large number of out-of- state visitors wanting to see the Washington Coast. Vehicle turnover was rapid as most in their flip-flops and short sleeve shirts discovered the beach to be too foggy and cool. After we cleared the beachcombers at Ruby Beach we hike the three miles to the Hoh River. Much of the time we were in fog but the sun broke at the last mile near the Hoh River and we viewed bald eagles, sea birds, sea stacks, beautiful driftwood and a long rocky beach. We sat on the driftwood near the Hoh River for a snack and then hike back towards Ruby Beach. We only viewed two other hikers the entire time. The tide was coming in so we had to hike much of the time high on the beach in the loose rocks. This proves to be fatiguing as you slip and slide with each step. Made it back to Ruby Beach about 45 minutes prior to high tide and had to scramble some rocks to avoid the surf but nothing dangerous. I have now learned that when Western Washington is hot the Coast is often foggy due to off-shore flow.

My wife and I went to the Olympic Peninsula to celebrate our anniversary. We hiked Ruby Beach twice (both directions) and enjoyed the formations. We camped at Lake Quinault, hiked several waterfalls, saw the world's largest Sitka Spruce, and took pictures of Kingfishers and beautiful sunsets. On the way home we hiked to Marymere Falls near Port Angeles. This is a 1.5 mile RT hike to a unique and lovely cascade. This is a great area with many excellent trails. We will return...