Sunday, August 9, 2009

Cape Alava Loop (Lake Ozette) 8/8/09

In keeping with my goal to hike beyond my "home" area (anywhere between US2 and I-90), I woke up at 4am on Saturday morning and headed to Edmonds to catch the first ferry of the morning to Kingston.


Four hours later I arrived at the trail head by lake Ozette on the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula. I hadn't ever hiked along the coast before and was looking forward to a nearly flat hike. I started the trail in a cool and persistent mist. Following my guidebook, I took the 3 mile Cape Alava trail out to the coast.

The trail is mostly boardwalk, with a few ups and downs via stairs. The boards on this trial looked pretty beat-up in areas and several were missing. Care needed to be taken so as not to slip on the wet boards or trip on the broken/missing ones. About 90 minutes later I broke out of the woods and was faced with the mist shrouded Pacific ocean. I headed south for the 3 mile beach portion of the loop. Hiking on the beach requires a sense of balance that I do not possess. The sandy bits were fine, but I slipped and slid on the rockier parts, despite wearing good hiking boots. I passed several groups on the beach, most headed north.


While rounding the second headland, about a 1/2 mile from the Sand Point trail head, my luck of walking on the rocks left me, and I found myself falling fast on a wet, slick boulder. I landed on my left knee (This knee has taken a beating this summer. It has a large scar on it from when I tripped while on a training run for a 1/2 marathon) and jambed my right thumb. Making the whole episode not only painful but also embarrassing was the fact it all happened in full view of another hiker. Thankfully I was perfectly fine and was able to make my way to the Sand Point trail head down the beach and complete the 9.3 mile loop.

When I got back to the trail head the rain was really coming down. I decided to eat my lunch in my dry car and headed to the restroom to wash my hands (they were pretty muddy from my fall). Leaving the restroom I headed down the ramp towards the parking lot. Half way down the ramp, I'm suddenly sliding and falling flat on my bum. After quickly looking around to see if anyone had seen (they had not), I limped off to my car. A quick inspection of my bumps and bruises back at the car revealed I had a large and protruding knob on my left knee, which made it look like I had a second knee. Other than that I was in good shape.


Despite the falls I really enjoyed this hike. It was something different from my usual mountain trails. If you wanted to just hike out to the coast and skip the loop, the Sand Point trail is in better condition than Cape Alava, but the scenery isn't as interesting, so depending on what you want from your hike, choose accordingly.

Fifteen hours, 355 miles and 3/4 of a tank of gas later, I made it home. I'm glad I ventured out to the Olympic Peninsula and National Park. I've already picked out a couple more hikes I'd like to do out there before the end of the month, so I will definitely be going back. Hopefully with slightly fewer slips and falls!
Miles Hiked Today: 9.3
Miles Hiked for the Month: 17.8
Number of Falls: 2

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