3 night trip from Rialto northbound to Ozette. Absolutely beautiful, stunning wilderness. Definitely some tough walking on slimy, slippery rocks - but worth it!
Friday (Day 1): Setup car shuttle and hike to Hole-in-the-Wall
Drove to Ozette and parked the car for the end of the route, then drove 1.5hr south to start at Rialto. Starting at 6:30pm, hiked 1mi to Hole-in-the-Wall and setup camp. This is pretty popular, of course, but a lot of dispersed camping to find among the large driftwood above the high-tide mark. That said, waking up in the middle of the night and seeing the ocean a mere 10ft from your tent is nerve-wracking, even though you know you're protected above the high-tide mark!
Saturday (Day 2): Hole-in-the-Wall -> Norwegian Memorial
Woke up early and started hiking at 6am to ensure a safe low-tide window - our goal was to get to the final low-tide-only passing point (2mi before Norwegian Memorial) by noon at the latest (high tide at 3pm). We did just fine on that pace, getting there around 10:30 and arriving at our campsite around 11:30am.
This leg was rough and slow going for the first 4ish miles, as you navigate slippery rocks, wet rocks, slimy rocks, barnacle rocks, small rocks, large rocks, seaweed-covered rocks, algae-covered rocks, and large-puddles-disguised-as-seaweed-patches. We all slipped several times and wound up with some scrapes and bruises. Trekking poles and good-traction shoes are an absolute must. There was also no water for the first few miles of this segment.
When we emerged onto glorious hard-packed sand beach for the second half of this leg, it felt like a miracle like no other feeling in the world. Some really beautiful sea stacks in this segment.
Note that the water source near Norwegian Memorial is a solid half-mile walk south, and well-hidden in the woods behind some other campsites.
Sunday (Day 3): Norwegian Memorial -> Sand Point
Started this hike at 6:30am for our low-tide window. Again, first 4 miles were a slog across rocks and gravel and downed trees. Some really interesting cliffs and rocks to navigate, and so many whale bones and skeletons washed up on shore! Incredible to come across rib bones longer than I am tall, and vertebrae bones larger than my head. Felt truly prehistoric.
No water for the first half of this hike. Second half was on beaches again, and that was a nice break from the slick rocks. Arrived at Sand Point around 10:30am to the expected high quantity of day hikers. There's a lot of campsites in the woods here, but we set up on the beach to enjoy one final night beach life (and getting sand in our tents).
Around sunset, a black bear walked up the beach right past us, scrounging around for food on the low-tide debris. He turned and walked into the woods through the campsites there as well and to the other side of the beach. Other campers said this was his regular routine, and they'd seen him the previous night as well. We were extra careful about our bear cans.
Remember that bear canisters (not bags, or sacks, or any other device) are required in Olympic National Park and for all the campers we saw not abiding by those rules - you are the reason that Sand Point campground is likely to be closed by park officials due to bears getting access to human food. Please don't be the people we saw breaking fire ban to have a beach campfire near Chilean Memorial. Look up the guidelines ahead of time and be a good wilderness citizen.
Monday (Day 4): Sand Point -> Ozette Ranger Station
Started at 6:30am for the quick 3-mile jaunt to the trailhead, on the trail which is more boardwalk than trail. Arrived at our car at 7:30am, and after driving back to Rialto for the second car, headed home early to beat the Labor Day traffic.
Overall: Absolutely stunning. Although there were always other people at the campsites, we passed few other hikers, and there were so many miles of walking where it was just us and the empty wilderness beach stretching on in both directions. Walking through tidal swamp and slipping around on slimy rocks was worth it for this one.
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