Pacific Beach Hike - Shi Shi

I revisited the Olympic Coast to check out Shi Shi beach and Cape Flattery. The hike to the beach is just an hour so I took the opportunity to bring lots of camera gear. There are super scenic sea stacks and sea arches on both ends of the beach and the sunsets were well worth schlepping the camera gear.

I timed the tides and got to where I turned around on my visit last year coming from the south and Ozette Lake. While I didn’t meet another (human) soul during two days of my hike last year Shi Shi Beach was more popular and I had a couple of cups of tea with four fellows from Seattle.

Just like last year the noise of crashing waves only meters from my tent at high tide kept me awake and wondering. When ocean kayaking we always camp at calmer spots… it makes landing kayaks a whole lot less painful.

Shi Shi is accessed through Makah tribal land and there are fees for a recreational permit and overnight parking in addition to the National Park backcountry fee. Things to remember: map with tidal heights and ferry booking.

"Spring" Olympics in Vancouver, February 12-28

Cherries in blossoms, spring-like temperatures and snow from Manning Park - that was Vancouver in February 2010. Not very wintery, but we enjoyed the Olympics in Vancouver more than expected. Since we didn’t have to travel downtown and everybody else seemed to be on vacation or work from home, traffic was much lighter than usual. We ventured downtown a couple of times and immersed ourselves into the Olympic crowds, went to a women’s hockey game (very exciting as it was tied 2:2 until the last few minutes) and I even got close and personal to an olympic torch (no longer lit).