My husband and I hiked from Rialto Beach almost all the way to Chilean Memorial (where we intended to camp), but turned around and ended up camping at Ellen Creek instead. The hike to Ellen's Creek was at low tide, the hike back to Rialto the next day was at high tide.
Weather: Rainy but relatively warm (50s during the day). We had a glorious break in the rain Sunday morning.
Wildlife: 1 sea otter and 3 bald eagles. Lots of little beach jumpers (bugs) at night which seem attracted to light and/or heat. Thankfully no mice or raccoons for us at night though I saw raccoon footprints near other campsites the next day.
Trail & Tides: At low tide, the hike out to Hole in the Wall was an easy beach stroll. At high tide (~8ft for us), we had to partially walk in the forrest & walk on beach logs to avoid the ocean swells, especially past Ellen Creek. Beyond Hole-in-the -Wall en route to Chilean Memorial, there was another rocky point to round that I wouldn't want to be doing unless it was low tide. Ellen Creek Crossing wasn't too bad, but warranted some caution (we crossed on humungous logs). I think this crossing would be easy with a daypack, it was a little cumbersome with our backpacking packs & trekking poles.
Initially, even though it was close to low tide, we still couldn't walk through the hole in the wall, had to use the overland trail. But once on the North side of Hole in the Wall, this formation was easier to access. Seems like the tide has to be pretty low in order to walk straight through the hole (we were able to on our way back, which was right at low tide (~2.5ft). From hole in the wall to Chilean Memorial, the trail gets pretty rugged, involving walking on lots of rocks, some of which are really slippery. This is the part I really wouldn't want to do at high tide. We turned around so we wouldn't be stuck at Chilean Memorial until ~3PM the next day, when the tide would be low enough for us to pass through more comfortably.
Overall, this was a rainy but adventurous and fun beach hike! Would love to come back another time and make it all the way to Chilean Memorial & beyond!
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