SHI SHI BEACH HEADLAND at POINT of ARCHES

The huge cave in the above photo is a familiar and welcome site at Shi Shi Beach...it's the sign that you've reached Point of Arches, the southern headland of Shi Shi Beach. Note the smooth light gray sand. It's the smoothest sand I've seen at a Pacific beach. What's even better is that there are no tire tracks in this sand like there are at so many other public Washington State beaches further to the south. You can reach Shi Shi beach only by way of a three-mile trail. Shi Shi is considered by many to be the most primitive beach on the West Coast of the U.S. When you see my next post, you'll see how primitive it looks in the coves to the south of Point of Arches. When you're here you feel like you've stepped into an ancient epoch.

The photos would have been more impressive were it not for the cloudy skies that day. A sunny day at Shi Shi is hard to beat. At least we didn't get any liquid sunshine on our trip to Point of Arches.

This view from the southern opening of the cave reveals that it's larger than it appears to be, and that it's more of a tunnel than a cave. Just to the right of the opening you will see my sister, Brenda Williamson. The image of my sister gives you a perspective of the size of the cave. How was it formed? The most obvious explanation would be wave action. If it was created by wave action, it would be a true demonstration of the power of breaking waves over eons of time.

You have to time your trips to Point of Arches. If you're some distance south of Point of Arches and you're trying to get back to Shi Shi and the tide is coming in, you could be in serious trouble. Some have been pinned by the waves against the rock cliffs and drowned.  Long beach hikes in this area require careful planning because of the tide.

Have you seen my other blog? Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy

TROWBRIDGE TREK to SHI SHI BEACH

Every summer I look forward to treks into the Olympic Rain Forest wilderness where Mrs. Trowbridge once lived. My last trip was to Shi Shi Beach, on the Pacific Coast in Washington State, a stretch of coastline considered to be the most rugged and untamed on the West Coast.

The above view from atop the 150-foot high bluff overlooking the beach offers the first glimpse of this fantastical realm. There are more sea stacks here than anywhere on the West Coast





















As we hiked southward along the 2.3-mile long crescent shaped beach toward Point of Arches, I kept an eye out for a patch of forest just off the beach where I could begin sketching, and writing the words you are now reading. I found the perfect spot that you see above. It was almost as if a little patch of pristine forest had been prepared for me. I'm writing this in longhand while sitting on the log in the foreground. The grass in front of me looks almost like the domesticated grass in my back yard. The large-leaf plants growing from the grass are Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus). The steep high bank begins abruptly, where you see the sword ferns (polystichum munitum) growing. The entire hillside above is an enormous sword fern garden.

There was a purpose for our trek to Shi Shi. I have suspected that Mrs. T and her family visited Shi Shi on their summer treks to the shore over 200 years ago. I have seen a number of her sketches that resemble the features of Shi Shi Beach so I wanted to see the beach for myself to confirm my belief that she was here many years ago.

Shi Shi Beach is not just another beach. One visit is all it takes to realize that this is a very special place. As part of the Olympic National Park, Shi Shi Beach is an Unesco World Heritage Site. The Travel Channel named it the "best nature beach". And it was declard one of the Top Five Wilderness Beaches in the World.

Next episode: Point of Arches at Shi Shi Beach

Have you seen my other blog? It's called Bron Smith's Flights of Fantasy