Shi Shi, Instead: The Sequel to a Previous Post Titled "If at First You Don't Succeed..."

To make up for the unfulfilling experience that topped off with camping at Birch Bay State Park (a.k.a. - a condo without the condo), we made a trip out to the Olympic Peninsula with Brad and Jessica. We backpacked in to Shi Shi Beach and set up camp just inside the woods. This stretch of the Pacific Coast is lined with gigantic sea stacks. The densest chunk is called "Point of the Arches," which we hiked to on the second day. Here's a fun shot of Jessica hikin' in:



While taking a walk on the beach, we saw four sea otters playing on the shore. Instincts kicked in when they saw us, and they hid in the water, but I was able to get a rough, over-zoomed shot for proof:


We also saw plenty of jelly fish, and, of course, there was no shortage of gulls. You can see the Point of the Arches gracing the background of this photo:



We did some hard-core wood gathering. Dad, you'd have been proud.

You'd have been even prouder, Dad, if you could have seen Brad teach me the ways of the Kaminski Cannal, which resulted in one nice fire.


Now, one thing that made this journey important was that it was Mike's and my first trek with packs on. We need to learn to carry some weight, see. One thing that made this journey unforgettable was the surprises Brad and Jessica brought; a.) a Pooh party (salami, cheese, and cartons of wine wrapped in a Winnie the Pooh towel)...


...and, b.) extra firewood (in case the beach wood was too wet) and s'more fixin's. It was funny, because their packs were super heavy and full for a simple overnighter. Mike and I wondered why, but wrote it off to that they wanted to practice with more weight. We didn't expect the weight to be so rewarding to our stomachs and spirits. Thanks, Brad and Jessica. You guys are awesome.


Our camp:


Hiking down to Point of the Arches the next morning in a lot more fog than the afternoon before:

I wish I could say we built this, but, the credit is not mine to take:

Mike and I learned how to filter water. Cool, huh?

Arriving at Point of the Arches: (To get a better grasp on this spatially, note my height in the bottom center of the picture. Remember, I'm nearly 6 feet tall.)

And, some videos:

This post is sort of slight in words and certainly creativity compared to some, but my English degree didn't prepare me with skills worthy enough of a place like this. The pictures help, but still, this beach was epic, and so was the company. Let's just leave it at that.