I backpacked this in the reverse direction as described by the WTA trail description. Here was the situation:
We had 3 people and 1 car, so we decided that I would be dropped at Oil City TH and hike north and the other two would drive to Third Beach and hike south, meeting to camp and key swap somewhere in the middle and then continue in our respective direction in the morning. Then I would drive back to Oil City to pick them up.
Overall, this hike was amazing, fun, diverse and beautiful, to say the least. But, if doing it in 2 days, it’s likely going to require 1 very long day of hiking depending on how you break up the hike and which direction you are going.
We decided on a middle point of Toleak Point, which looking back at it now was a vast under estimation of the difficulty of the portion of the trail between Toleak and Oil City vs the portion from Third Beach and Toleak, regardless of direction hiked. In any case, it was approximately 11 miles for me heading north and 7 miles for the pair moving south.
Another thing to note is there are 3 “significant” stream fords on this entire route, significant meaning in some cases they are impassable due to season, tide or both. When hiking north from oil city... Mosquito, Goodman and Falls creeks stand between you and Toleak, in that order. Goodman and Falls lying back to back about 9 miles in, so just short of Toleak.
We looked at tide tables for La Push, for both Nov 27/28. In both cases, the highest tide (9ish feet) was between 10:30 and 11am and lowest tide (.8 to -.8 feet) between 4:30 and 5pm.
Knowing and timing the tides is a requirement for passing two spots around Strawberry point, and several spots in the Diamond Rock Tidal restriction. The ONP website recommends 2 feet or lower for the Diamond Rock area and around 4 feet for the area around Strawberry Point. See here for the ONP description of the segments of the trail which is quite accurate.
Okay so, knowledge of the tides aside, with the short late fall days, we decided that starting at high tide around 10-10:30am was best, since making progress and having to wait was better for maximizing hiking during day light, sunset was around 4:50pm. Staring at oil city at 10am on the nose, 1 mile in I was met with a 2 hour wait just as you get to the beach at the mouth of the Hoh. The water was crashing into two large trees that fell off the bank/cliff, blocking the path on the beach. Moving through this area and the subsequent Diamond rock area was dicey just 2-3 hours after high tide, but doable if you are patient and wait/don’t risk it. I had to ensure I was staying high on the rocks and had to wait 30 or more additional minutes in 2 areas to let the tide go out such that water wasn’t smashing against the cliffs/rock. I safely passed in all cases, only getting a little splash or two on the feet at times when the tide ran slightly higher than it was supposed to. At this point it was nearly 2pm, so I had been out for almost 4 hours, with a little more than an hour of actual hiking/moving. DRTR dumps you into Jefferson Cove which leads to a steep ladder/rope up to the longest overland of of the trip, about 3.5 miles in length. It honestly is pretty miserable with tons of fallen trees, roots, mud and ups and down to traverse. You’re treated to a river ford (Mosquito Creek) at the end before the large stretch of open beach. This ford was easily up to my mid thigh.
It was almost 4pm, by the time I crossed Mosquito Creek, right around mile 6. I had just under 4 miles left, and I was moving around a 30 min/mi pace, which meant I had about 2 hours left, leaving about 1 hour in hiking in the dark where head lamp was needed to get to Toleak Point. It also meant I would be fording two streams in complete darkness, but atleast it would be the absolute lowest tide.
The stretch of beach leading to the overland that takes you to the two creek fords was pleasant and easy to walk, but it was getting dark, so I was doing my best to move as quickly through the easy parts as possible. By the time I got into the overland and to Goodman Creek it was completely dark. Goodman was tricky in the dark, it wasnt obvious where to cross so first I tried an area with some logs which was a bad idea in hindsight. I just so happened to spot where the water was running a little “white” due to rocks and that was the spot to cross, water was only about mid shin high.
Falls was much easier but I quickly learned that crossing streams in the dark is honestly kind of scary. I proceeded from Falls feeling good that I only had the backend of an overland and a stretch of beach at low-low tide between me and camp. It was 5pm at this point, leaving about 1 hour left. I proceeded to hit a particularly overgrown part of the trail going up hill from Falls. I was required to bush whack in a few different directions to try and find the trail. It took me an extra hour before finding the trail again. I wasn’t lost, but I just had a lot of trouble finding things in the dark. I’m sure it was much more obvious in the light. (See my track, it’s obvious where I got “lost”).
It also begin raining fairly heavily while I was lost, luckily I had full rain gear but by the time I made it to the beach after the the last overland it was 20-30mph winds and rain. I walked the remaining mile, unable to see more than a few feet in front of me to meet my friends on the north side of Toleak point in the trees just before 7pm. Setting up camp in the rain and eating a snack/going to sleep nearly immediately.
I awoke the next morning to an absolutely gorgeous sun rise and not a cloud in the sky. I only wished I had more time at Toleak in the afternoon/evening. It’s a truly amazing spot.
The trail between Toleak Point and Oil City should not be underestimated. I awoke the next morning to find out my friends had made it to Toleak by 2pm, just under 4 hours of hiking when I still had about 5 hours remaining after 3 or so hours of hiking/waiting.
This fact was bolstered by my hike from Toleak to Third Beach and their hike from Toleak to Oil City. They started at 10:10am and I started at 10:40am. I was to the car at Third Beach by 1:50pm. I drove 1 hour, to Oil City, arriving just before 3. I ended up waiting for my friends until 6pm. They also were forced to hike in dark for the final 1.5 hours or so.
While it was tough, I loved the challenge/adventure. I’m sure this hike would be way easier in a different season and/or if it is done in 3 days rather than 2.
If you are going to do a key swap like we did, I would recommend meeting to camp at a spot further south then Toleak. Possibly on the overland right after mosquito creek. However, it’s pretty undeniable that Toleak point is definitely the safest/best spot to camp that is right on the beach but has cover of the trees and no fear of tide.
All in all, do this hike it’s amazing! But depending on your ability levels and the time of year you do it, learn from my experience to have an even better time.
the Gaia track I provided is incomplete, I turned off tracking to preserve battery in certain locations.
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