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Oil City to Third Beach Hike (in 3 nights w/ Joan)
Click map for larger version (500KB) GPS DATAClick here for TOPO.EXE v3.4.3 TPO file. Click here for MAPSOURCE.EXE v4.13 MPS file. Click here for GPX output from MAPSOURCE.EXE v6.9.1. Click here for MAPSOURCE.EXE text file export of waypoint, descriptions and trackpoints. GPS data includes tracks and waypoints for water sources, inland passages, ladders, camp sites and potential campsites, toilets, trailheads, parking... Trip Report9/2/05 Fri Finally arranging a shuttle with Windsox (www.windsox.us) all via email. Contacted them about a week ahead but it wasn't enough for this busy labor day weekend and they were booked solid for Friday PM and Saturday AM shuttles plus I wasn't at all sure I could commit to being at the trailhead from seattle at any particular time (w/ traffic, ferry schedule, packing, road work, hood canal bridge repairs, etc.). Finally agreed that they would meet us at our exit point at 3pm on Tuesday (9/6) and do the shuttle then. Last minute packing - This is Joan's first back packing trip and I'm recovering from being gored (an outdoor adventure from two weeks ago), 45 stitches, removed earlier today. The doc who took them out has done this hike too and he said it was ok for me to go... honest ! so anyway, we're both concerned about weight. she ends up with 31 lbs. Kind of on the high end of what I was hoping for her but she says it feels ok. I have 39 lbs. I guess we'll eat well ;-) We leave town late, mostly because we weren't ready to go but also to avoid labor day weekend traffic and ferry crowds. We are the 2nd to last car onto the 9:20 pm Kingston ferry. Yes! we can finally relax. We're on our way. We camp in the back of the truck just off of hwy 101 on the Elwa River rd (west of Port Angeles). 9/3/05 Sat - on the road after a lazy breakfast that we brought with us. We stop at the ranger station in Forks for info and the ranger dissuades  us from taking
a fork form the trail in the middle of Hoh Head and camping on the beach. That's
going to add 3 miles to our first day. hmmmm. Also... bear cans required
everywhere on the coast... We reach the Oil City road turnoff south of the town
of Forks at about 1pm. 10 miles of mostly gravel to the trailhead. First surprise! while stashing my wallet and valuables in the woods, I find Chanterelle mushrooms. Yippee! We'll have to modify tonight's menu! I cut a few and add them to our load. After a little  more prep we're on our way at 2:20pm.
It's a bit over a 1/2 mile from the trailhead through pleasant forest, parallel
to the Hoh River, until you reach the beach. We break for a late lunch and
adjust our loads. It is a gloriously beautiful day, hardly a cloud, warm and
sunny. We pick our way through the drift wood to the beach and finally to the
rocky stretch around the point at Diamond Rock. I'd read that this was one of
the hardest parts of the hike and it was a pain - picking our way through piles
of barrel sized boulders to short beaches over and over and over. The max
passable tide here is 5 feet and we're close. I wonder if it would be any easier
at a really low tide. We finally round the last corner onto the 3/4 mile arc of
Jefferson Cove. We explore. This beach has a max passable tide of 4 feet but Joan
finds THE single nice camp site admidst rocks perched high above the beach (at
about 5:40pm). We find water at the NW end of the beach. We're looking at 5+
more miles over Hoh Head to the next beach camping so we decide to make the
first day easy and camp here. Mouth of the Hoh River
At Diamond Rock looking south
The "rook" from Jefferson Cove
Jefferson Cove and part of Hoh Head We have the whole beach to our selves! Nice. We set up camp. Fix dinner: Mary
Janes Pasta Alfredo (dry dinner) dressed up with fresh vegetables we've brought
and the chanterelle mushrooms (yes!) and some smoked salmon. Also a half liter
of Cabernet that I brought to surprise Joan. Bagels too. Very nice. Joan builds
a fire and we relax into the night. no moon. stars. warm!
Leaving Jefferson Cove and climbing onto Hoh Head
Leaving Jackson Beach During the night it rains pretty steady but by morning it is high
overcast and dry. After a lazy (really lazy!) morning we rise and make breakfast
and then spend the morning low tide exploring our beach, the rocks to the SE,
and tide pools on the NW end. We finally break camp and hike north at 12:45pm.
High tide (7.2 feet) is at 2:16 PM and the waves are just now barely
Sunset at Mosquito Creek
Cave south of Mosquito Creek
Back at camp, Joan is feeling better. We make a lazy breakfast, break camp and
are on the road again at about 1:20pm. Not wanting to repeat my fiasco from last
night, We break down and take a little water from the mosquito crk "pond" and it
seems ok. We figure we'll find more water on the way. Our destination is Toleak
point which looks impossibly far away but today will have lots of beach walking
and we're looking forward to the easy ground.
The beach north of Mosquito crk stretches on and on and makes for pleasant walking. After about a mile we find a small stream. I make a little dam and replenish our water supply and we continue. At about 2.5 miles north of Mosquito crk we encounter the
next headland. A trail heads up but the rocky point in
front of us has a natural arch so first we investigate. We climb into it and
pass through to the other side but we can't pass any further at least at the
current tide levels. So back to the trail that leads... up. We follow it inland.
Almost immediately a faint trail leads down to the beach on the north side of
the point we just passed... something to explore next time... eventually we
reach Goodman creek. I had read that this can be a deep crossing if the tide is
high but the inland crossing is at about 100 ft elevation and the creek where we
crossed was just a riffle. I suppose at lower tides, the previous point is
passable, and that direction might lead to a crossing at the mouth before
heading inland. My understanding is that the headlands here are not passable...
The Falls creek crossing occurs shortly after and was equally easy. The trail
ascends again and in about a half mile yields our first spectacular views
through the forest of a long, straight beach that leads to Toleak point. A
couple ladders later we're back on the beach and looking for our next camping
spot.
to a spot to filter water - a pleasant surprise
compared to my adventure at Mosquito Crk. After Joan's allergic reaction to the
turmeric in the dried mexican dinner she's not interested in our last dried
dinner which is curry... so, with our remaining fresh vegetables we create a
culinary masterpiece out of two packs of Top Ramen. Joan wants to know what's
for aperitif tonight. Now isn't that just like a woman, you treat her to
something nice a couple times and she grows to expect it ;-) The top ramen was
pretty good. We dine to yet another wonderful view of the ocean, sea stacks,
beaches stretching off forever to the south, Hoh head in the far, far distance.
Have we really come that far? Inconceivable! We play a game of finding critters
hidden in the nearby sea stacks - dog, bored cat, howling dog, reclining man,
reclining woman, camel, snake, owl... We finish dinner in the dark by the fire.
No moon again tonight. The skies are clear and the stars are out and wild.
The north side of Toleak point has lots of forest camping. This side is also
where the pit toilet is located. Here you would have unobstructed views of the
sunset (we were in the shade on the south side) but you wouldn't get ANY morning
sun. Also it's a long walk to water from the north side unless there's a trail
through the woods...
Giants Graveyard area looking south. "Teton Island" from the side has the double spikes
Keep an eye out for the circle sign signalling places where you can pass inland.
We reach the Scotts Bluff area which appears to have only forest camping. The tide is above the 1 foot max so we do the relatively quick (.3 mile) inland trail around the bluff. There's a nice short beach on the other side that is maximally passable at 4 feet and we're close to that now but continue without problem. This leads to the base of Taylor point, the last headland crossing. We lunch here very quickly, estimating that we're only barely on schedule to make our 3pm shuttle. The trail over Taylor Pt passes several sets of very new looking stairs (pretty "cush"!) to reach the plateau on top. We're back in known territory now, having explored this area on a previous trip. The forest is beautiful just like I remember. We pause briefly at the top of the waterfall. (A good camp site can be found a bit later.) We enjoy some nice views of Third Beach before descending the triple set of ladders to the beach. At the creek here, we pause one last time and bask in the glorious sunshine.
Decending from Taylor Pt.
We're about to start the last 1.3 miles through woods to the trailhead when I
spy something no boy could pass up - huge dead critter on the beach! We have to
investigate this! A recently dead, enormous, young sea lion on the sand is lying
on his back, arched (in ecstasy?), sporting "wood" (?!) with huevos the size of
rancheros! I guess he died with a smile on his face. Joan wasn't impressed but
she has high standards ;-) I guess it was a guy thing... The last stretch to the trailhead goes fast and we arrive with 5 minutes to
spare. Our shuttle captain (from Windsox) has just arrived and speeds us back to
our car at Oil beach (about 35 miles and $40). He is a font of information about
important indispensable information: like good showers at the Town Motel (south
side of Forks, west side of the road, 3$ per person and they supply towels) and
where the best burgers are (Sully's, north side of Forks, west side of the
street). After luxurious showers we gorge on burgers, already reminiscing a
wonderful trip and planning the next one. On the way home, despite construction
delays on the Hood Canal bridge, we catch the 9:35pm Edmonds ferry with minutes
to spare. A perfect ending. Related links: Olympic National Park map Shows mileage markers and trails Neah Bay tides Tide charts Olympic National Park home page (NPS) Olympic National Park info re hiking the beach trail Olympic national park NPS maps http://www.windsox.us/VISITOR/yfood.html- good info re food ideas. http://www.windsox.us - commercial shuttle coastal weather and tide chards Way, way, way cool aerial photos of the whole coast Washington State Ferry Schedules Wilderness Information Center 360-565-3100
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covering
the entire beach at the NW end. We pass w/o problem. I suspect that (at least
this season) this point is always passable if you're willing to get your feet
wet... we filter our travel water at the stream there and begin the 3.5 mile hike
over Hoh head. This begins with one of the (in)famous ladders but we both climb
without problem. About half way up is a cool very little tent site perched on
the edge of the cliff with a stupendous view looking back at our "private"
beach. The trail quickly attains the top of the head and winds through
beautiful, giant hemlocks and a forest floor covered with lush ferns. We cross
good water in a creek about 1.5 miles in the woods and then a couple good camp
sites. We break about a half mile later for lunch. I'm curious that we never saw
the fork that my map shows going down to the beach. Joan spends an
hour reading
in the sunshine while I walk about a half mile back looking for the fork. I walk all
the way back to the creek in the ravine. On my return I lower my standards for
what might be a fork and explore several potential paths that were probably just
beaten by others looking for the same fork. No success. at about .4 miles N of
the creek ravine is a pretty large potential camping spot (the northern most of
two big campsites in the area). You can (almost) see
the beach from here and a little path heads that direction but peters out into
an overgrowth of ferns. This could probably be pushed the rest of the way to the
beach... I rejoin Joan and we continue on immediately passing next to a fresh
slide - mud, clay, trees akimbo apparently all the way down to the bottom.
(Maybe the missing trail is under this mess !?) About
two more miles and we reach Mosquito creek at about 6:15pm. (one of the Forest
Service "designated camping areas"). I've read reports where people complain
about the hike over Hoh head, being long and lots of up and down, but I thought
it was a beautiful stretch of trail. 
over painful, sharp rocks. I regain the
path on the other side and eventually find moving water. I fill my water bags
and begin the ordeal of recrossing the stream. Not wanting to make multiple
trips (the wise thing!) I cross With arms full of too much stuff: my boots, two
water bags AND an open pot filled with water. I teeter and totter slowly,
painfully, carefully across. This could have been a 3 Stooges episode... except
that there was only one of me... Amazingly I succeed in crossing without
dropping anything though the whole process takes a long time and Joan is worried
when I arrive back late. (some light sandals or water socks would have been
useful here!)
