Overall: this trip was fantastic, what a lovely hike and weekend.
Parking: For overnight parking, there is a guy, name of Breeze, about a half mile before the actual trailhead, around the coordinates lat: 48.30 long: -124.66. Parking is $10/day ($20 for an overnight). He's very nice and very talkative, and told us that he saw a whale in the bay and that a cougar recently ate one of his cats (he wasn't very emotional about it - apparently he has 7 more).
Trip: The first mile or so is an easy, flat trail. There are some raised planks you hike on, I presume to avoid getting in the mud. The next mile assaulted us with mud galore and it felt at times the trail had turned into a creek. I have been told as a hike, you will have less of an ecological impact if you hike through mud & puddles (going around can worsen erosion and widen the trail). With good boots and a sturdy hiking stick, I did my best to follow that, stepping on sticks and logs in the mud to avoid sinking. However, there were places without any sticks, so my boots queefed/farted (is that the right term?) when escaping the mud. However, there were a few points where the mud was just too thick & juicy, and I had to go around left the depths of the muck might claim me.
About 2 miles in, you'll get to a sign saying you're in National Park territory. You'll turn right and go down the steep bluff to have the option of continuing on the trail, or hiking on the beach. My friend and I opted to hike on the beach, enjoying some sunshine and a cool ocean breeze. It was a bit warmer than I thought -- I had worn rain pants since there was a small chance of rain, but that wasn't necessary on 5/6. 5/7 I was glad I had them :)
Walking along the beach was a lot of fun, and there didn't seem to be reason to worry about the tides unless you want to hike past Point of Arches.
The campsite situation seems limited -- A lot of possible campsites looked to have been overgrown with ferns, perhaps due to Shi Shi trailhead being closed by the Makah Nation during the pandemic. There were some places with a bit of a clearing and a ring of rocks to start a fire, but the ferns were too thick and my friend and I decided to keep looking. We found a spot that seemed to be closest to the sea stacks, and we enjoyed a glorious view. Behind our space, it seemed like there used to be more camping room, but it was so full of ferns that it would be difficult to pitch a tent. I don't know if ferns grow very quickly, and this was my first time here, so maybe it's just always been like this. If you can set up a hammock, you may have more options above the ferns.
Saturday was gorgeous, the sunset spectacular, and we enjoyed the relaxing ambiance. Sunday the clouds and drizzle came in full glory. We wore all our rain gear, although once back in the trees we stripped off a layer. We got back to the car without incident (no shoes lost to the mud! Yay!).
All in all, my friend and I greatly enjoyed this excursion -- we had changed our plans due to a lightning storm in another area (Lake Chelan), so we're happy this worked out without too much weather drama.
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