Olympic National Park - Day 4: Ozette Triangle

We had an early start today -- got to the Ozette ranger station's parking lot around 7:50am.  It was almost an entirely full parking lot!  Was surprised about that.  And lots of gnats.  Low tide was around 9:45am, so we gave ourselves plenty of time to reach the beach.

We headed north first, towards Cape Alava.  Majority of the trail was a boardwalk, either made of wood or a slippery metal.  There were a lot of clear, exposed areas, and we could see the sun starting to peak out through the clouds.  We didn't pass many people...must've only been like four people on this 3.1 mile stretch.

Sand Point or Cape Alava?

Slippery boardwalk along Capa Alava trail

It was a little after 9:30am when we arrived at the beach.  It was incredible.  Very raw and rugged.  Seastacks everywhere, tidepools galore for exploring.  It was pretty busy with campers around the trailhead.  Even walking south along the beach, there were many other people who passed by.

Seastacks everywhere

I wasn't quite sure where the petroglyphs would be located, so I kept an eye out most of the time.  One man was kind enough to point out the Wedding Rocks and various petroglyphs around there though.  It's pretty incredible that they still exist, and are in great condition.  I wonder the background and stories that they describe.  We saw a handful -- some leaves, a man, a face.  Really interesting and fascinating.

Eventually, our legs started to get a little tired during the middle of the beach stretch.  The sand was soft and it was hard to walk without exerting double the energy.

The clouds eventually cleared up, and it felt great.  We were near the Sand Point trailhead, when we saw deer!  A mother and two babies.  They were adorable, and not at all shy of people.  Everyone gave the deer their space.  It was pretty amazing, I could not stop just watching them.  Then, there was another adolescent deer that came and tried to follow the little family.  As we walked further south, we saw yet another couple deer.  Around this south part of the beach trail, there were numerous eagles as well.  I lost track of how many there were!  Nature is amazing.

We passed the trailhead, and decided to climb up a grassy hill to check out the view.  What a great decision. An incredible view, with two beach views.  It was really special.

View at Sand Point.  Two beaches.

Turning back, we started the 3-mile trek on Sand Point trail, and really enjoyed this stretch.  The boardwalk setting had more of a natural feeling.  The sun was out now, and it got warm.  We were pretty tired by the time we got to the car.  It was such an amazing hike.  Such a variety of scenery.

From Lake Ozette, we drove 1.5 hours to the La Push area, where we would be staying for the next two nights.  Our little cabin was in between La Push and Forks, on Mora Road.  It was part of the Three Rivers campground.  What a cute place!  A tiny cabin, complete with stove, kitchenware, bathroom.  It was perfect.

Cute spot for the next couple nights

Instead of going anywhere that evening, we relaxed and just rested, read, and played games. The next day would be our last full day to explore -- Hoh rainforest was next.