Cape Alava - Int'l Coastal Cleanup

The past couple years I have had the privilege of participating in the Coastal Cleanup with Washington Coastsavers in the Spring time, little did I know there was an International  Coastal Cleanup that happens in the fall! Therefore, this past weekend Kelsie and I trekked out to Ozette to do our part in making the beach a cleaner destination. The last few times we've camped at Sand Point, the southern point of the Ozette Triangle, where we had either direction to choose from to explore and treasure hunt for every little misplaced item...although there is usually enough larger debris that searching wasn't like searching for Waldo. This weekend we opted for the northern point and camped up at Cape Alava.

I have only been here once before when I previously hiked the loop a few years back. An ideal benefit of Cape Alava versus Sand Point is that you can have a fire! This was a promising attribute to have this weekend as a big storm was predicted to come through. We never had a fire, even if we were to attempt to start one with whatever wet sticks we could find there was no way to keep it going as the beach was picked clean of most driftwood. Sure enough we had a wet 3.1 mile hike. Good thing we were suited up in our rain gear! It really wasn't a bad hike in, the boardwalk was a little slippery but thankfully neither of us slipped and we didn't see too many people on the trail or at the camp sites...only one other couple had camp set up; they were there the previous night and planned to stay through the weekend. They thanked us for sticking it out in the weather! Of course! We're beasts! ;)



With a friendly deer behind us

After quickly setting up camp to get all our gear stored somewhere dry there really wasn't much to do. The tree we took refuge under did its best to keep the rain out but ultimately we were drenched. There was no point in trying to brave the wind and rain to pick up trash Friday so we hung out under our tree and enjoyed the "view" and conversation. I decided this weekend I will buy some waterproof playing cards, it seems like a good idea for times like these.

Once the sun set (and let the record show we did, in fact, get a decent sunset) almost instantly the wet clothes stuck to my body and sucked out whatever heat they could. Thankfully I wasn't wearing cotton or I might have died! (ok I exaggerate) but it was REALLY cold! I don't know how Kelsie managed, she is such a trooper! She boiled us some water to fill our water bottles with and we cradled them like "water babies" as we wandered around to the next campsite just to check things out. Still only the one other couple camped out tonight. I don't think I have ever been more cold than I was Friday evening...when the water in our homemade heaters cooled down the shivers came for me! We called it a night and with Kelsie's help I was able to get dry and warm and we bunkered down for the night. It may be silly but a situation like that can definitely be life threatening. If anything worse were to happen we were lucky we were just a short walk from the car, on a trail manageable even in the dark...although it would have been tricky in the rain too! But everything turned out all right and I, for one, had a very pleasant sleep! Dry and warm...I love my little tent, it takes care of me!

Saturday was AMAZING! All we hoped for was a couple hours of sunshine, or at the very least no rain...we were rewarded for sticking it out through the night with an entire day of SUN! We were able to hang up all our wet gear to dry out and then with the clear skies we explored the beach and picked up some trash. We had to travel north a little ways because Cape Alava is gross. Well...not gross but the beach is covered in kelp there! Which along with it brings millions of sand fleas. It was like parting the water when we walked through as the bugs scattered at our feet, it was kind of smelly too.









Hiking along the beach up to the point we passed the ranger station, unmanned this weekend, and the Osett Memorial up on the edge of the Ozette Indian Reservation. The Osett Memorial is a small shack of a building with a giant plaque describing the area and the founding of the Makah Indian Nation...and the room is full of bones, many from larger animals like whales and seals!

Back on the beach we discovered a log, as far as size think of a telephone pole, washed up and covered in an unusual goose barnacles. They look like worms with little shells at the ends. The seagulls were having a field day with this one!

Once we gathered two bags full of trash each we tied them up to our packs and hiked them out to the trailhead. We were warmly greeted and pictures taken as the first of only 3 signed up parties for the cleanup at this location. Even though the turnout for Ozette wasn't as plentiful as it is in April, the couple manning the trailhead (I can't remember their names but they founded a coastal cleanup group that I also cannot remember the name of) were sure to catch every new day hiker and backpacker and have them sign in and take a bag to fill while they were out. Just about every hiker we passed had a bag and we saw them back out on the beach picking up! What a great sight!!





















On our hike back to  camp we also stopped at an old homestead, Ahlstroms Prairie. The barn is still in tact but if you venture farther into the spooky dark woods you will come across the remains of what is assumed to be the main house. It's maybe just under a mile from the beach and right off the boardwalk.

 

It was much nicer getting to bed Saturday night...it was dry! But sure enough the rain started and continued storming all through the night. IT never ceased come Sunday morning so we wasted no time packing up and heading home. This was the wettest hike I've ever done. We were soaked to the bone!! I was actually pruney from the hike! With everything soaked through and through we had to be creative if we wanted a dry ride home. Towels and long underwear made their debut as we fashioned outfits suitable for the drive.

Overall, even with the horrible rain, I would not have traded this weekend. It was a great way to spend my last weekend of the summer before school starts in a couple days and I am always glad to help out in any way I can! Of course getting out and doing some hiking with my friend is always a fun time!



Rattlesnake Ledge & Twin Falls

I’ve been wanting to check out Rattlesnake Ledge for quite some time as it’s reviewed as being very rewarding. The views definitely lived up to what I’ve heard!

Road to the TH from the parking lot

It’s much different making a trip out to the Cascades. First of all the city traffic sucks! Leaving in the morning after rush hour it was still quite busy and backed up in places, I’m sure that wasn’t nearly as bad as it could be. I’m used to the nice single lane roads that bring us out to the Olympics! We headed up to Bellevue to pick up Stephen and then east towards Snoqualmie. We planned on doing 2 short hikes, Rattlesnake Ledge and Twin Falls, and if time allowed maybe another short one in the area.

At the first view point of the lake about halfway up.

Justin at a switchback.

Justin is visiting from Hawaii where he is an avid hiker has an awesome group called the Hiking Oahu Trailblazers (H.O.T.) It was so nice to have the opportunity to join him on the trail here in Washington…even though with my sense of direction I ended up having to follow the tourist to the trailhead! Lucky me I got a fancy shirt to represent here in WA, thanks Justin! Look him up if you ever visit HI and join him on the trails! The Rattlesnake Lake park was very nice, and already busy on a Friday morning. There were so many diverse groups on the trail, from a group moms carrying tiny babies, high schoolers, families young and old, frat boys drinking beers as they hiked and it even looked like what could have been a couple field trips! Definitively not used to so much action on the trail, but because it is so popular I’ll admit the trail was well

maintained and in excellent condition. I might have been able to drive my car up it even! ;P

Last stretch to the ledge

A couple view spots along the way where you could see Rattlesnake lake below as we climbed up the constant incline towards the top. There’s some switch backs on the way, but nothing drastic. There is only one downed tree over the trail, it’s thin and easily ducked over and I don’t think there’s a plan to remove it since it seems everyone carves their names into it.

We noticed off trail there was another trail in spots through the trees. Looking it up now I see that there was an old trail that made the trek to the ledge a little shorter and steeper. I wonder how old that was because the main trail is definitely established and mainly used. We didn’t see anyone going on the other trail through the trees.



Be careful of the gap on the ledge



Emerging at the ledge it was a happening place, even with all the people we passed coming down it was still a full ledge! Everyone taking pictures and relaxing with lunch to take in the view. After we took a few pics we explored a little more and headed down the ledge that was vacant. The guys ventured down a little trail through the trees and brush to get to this bottom ledge, I didn’t spot them until they were already down there so I took what looked like a little trail down the rocks…it was quite slippery with all the loose rock and I halfway scooted on my tush since slipping so close to the edge was not on my to do list. It was nice having a spot all to ourselves, we couldn’t even see the crowds from down there, they must not have seen us either because no one came down our way the whole time we took a bunch of silly pictures. Before heading back up to the trail we took the chance to snag the geocache hidden in the woods down there. J

Lower ledge off to the side

Rattlesnake Lake and the parking lot below.





Stefani, Stephen & Justin on Rattlesnake Ledge





Discover Pass kiosk



We considered heading up another couple miles to see the other ledge but then just decided to head down and check out Twin Falls since it was just up the road a couple exits. The TH was busy here as well. You need a Discover Pass here and I was skeptical how one would purchase a pass if they didn’t already have one…turns out they have a fancy pass machine at the TH that will print it out right then and there for you! Wow. This trail was just like the last, busy with all walks of life. I have never shared a trail with so many people before, the closest would have to be Mt Townsend. The path to Twin Falls is pretty flat along the river at first then the incline starts. The mile seemed longer than it should have been, but that’s probably due to just finishing the hike up to the ledge right before. There were a couple park benches along the trail to take a breather, if you can find an empty seat.

Almost to the falls the trail splits…there is a staircase heading straight down but we first continued heading up the trail where it turns into a boardwalk of sorts with a few stairs and coming to the bridge that goes right over the falls. They were very pretty but for some reason I expected it to look different. Still fun though. We headed up the trail a little ways more before deciding there really was no point since it met up with another trail and we had no reason to go that way since we had already made our destination. On the way back down the trail we took the split down the stairs…this is the view I was expecting! The lower part of the falls is outstanding. Make sure you take the stairs down to the viewing area. I wonder if most people pass this part up not realizing it’s also a spot to view the falls because it seemed most people were hanging out up at the upper viewing. You can only see one fall from each of the view points, I wonder if that’s why they call it Twin Falls?

Back at the cars there was a Sherriff patrolling. I don’t think he was ticketing anyone because there were quite a few cars without passes and when he left we didn’t notice and tickets on those cars. I’ve heard there is a lot of theft and vandalism at the THs out this way…that’s unfortunate. On the map at the TH we noticed there was another falls another couple exits down the freeway. We decided to go check it out but as we were getting close and didn’t find the road we voted to skip it since we were famished!

Heading back to the original exit for Rattlesnake we stopped up to get some food at the BBQ place located inside the 76 station. It was surprisingly good for being a restaurant in a gas station! The portions were generous and the food was tasty. I would recommend trying it for a quick bite after a hike in the area. It’s closer than going back into North Bend or continuing on over the Pass.

It was a great day to go hiking! It is very apparent now that I am totally biased on the Cascades versus the Olympics.…I completely enjoyed the hikes and the views were amazing but the freeway of people is a bit much. Can anyone suggest some less crowed trails over on that side?! I know there has to be some out there!!