I've never been up to Shi Shi before, and with the sunny weather I figured why not?
Camped at Kalaloch friday night to make the 4.5 hour drive from Lacey a little more manageable, and enjoyed a slightly icy drive up to the overnight parking lot. No envelopes in the bin, left the $20 for overnight parking and a small donation with a note. It's a 0.6 mile road walk from here to the actual trail head.
The 2.5 miles from the trailhead is split between a really nice (if slightly slippery) boardwalk, and super heavy mud I've heard about. My assumption that a few days of no rain and very low temps would mean the mud would have been firmed up a bit was not exactly correct. Still, in waterproof shoes my feet stayed dry enough.
Once on the beach conditions were phenomenal!
Much has been said about Shi Shi and Point of the Arches, and I have to say it lived up to the hype! I secured a campsite in the trees about 1 mile down the beach, a little before Petroleum Creek. From there it was lunch and then a walk to the sea stacks during a receding tide!
The arches were absolutely phenomenal, and the tide pools lovely. I did end up getting my feet wet, but it was worth it (even though temps were just slightly above freezing overnight). Hike out was fine, ended up setting off while it was still dark in the morning, which was fine since this stretch of beach doesn't have a ton of obstacles prior to the sea stacks. Interestingly it must have been colder at Neah Bay than the beach because my car at the trailhead was caked in ice.
Timing for things worked out perfectly that sunset shining through the arches coincided almost perfectly with low tide!
Didn't see too much wildlife. TONS of barnacles and muscles, anemones, a couple of crabs. Quite a few starfish too. Bird wise a black oystercatcher, as well as the usual seagulls and bald eagle.
Water sources were dubious for those looking to stay longer. I always feel weird about coastal water, but there is Petroleum Creek. I ended up just packing 4 liters and a filter just in case, which was about a liter more than I needed.
One question for anyone who knows a bit about the local geology: at the sea stacks there are these weird rock formations, where the rocks are all lined up in perfect little rows like corn. These don't appear to be deposits, especially since they're sitting perpendicular to the waves, and while I can't see under the sand are these a solid mass rather than individual boulders? Any insight to what I'm looking at? Basalt/ Gabbro bedrock? I didn't get a lot of time to poke around.
Oh also hit up Cape Flattery, since it's only about half an hour away. SOLIDLY recommend this. Short 1.2 mile round trip and the view is lovely.
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