We hiked to Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches in Olympic National Park during the lowest tides of the year so we could explore the most distant tide pools. This experience never ceases to amaze us, and we see life forms that look like they evolved on another planet. This weblog primarily shows the hike through photographs, with a few words about our observations during our three-day backpacking trip in June 2018.
Point of Arches rocks at sunset
Shi Shi Beach was not as crowded as we expected, though by Saturday night it was pretty much filled up with people at the end near Point of Arches.
Almost all the people on the beach were millennials in their 20s, with few baby boomers until we saw some coming in on Sunday. Nice to see young people visiting. Everyone had smiles on their faces: exploring tidepools, photographing the sunset with smart phones, doing paired yoga poses, playing frisbee, and talking around campfires.
Perfect sunny weather; not too hot or cold.
Birdsong: lovely sounds of Swainson’s Thrush, Wilson’s Warbler, American Robin, Pacific Slope Flycatcher, and Pacific Wren floating above our tents. Pigeon Guillemot, Black Oystercatchers, gulls, ravens, eagles, and crows added their less musical but still atmospheric calls to the beach.
We waded through tide pools and climbed over barnacle- and mussel-covered rocks to get out to the outermost sea stacks. Getting near, we spotted a family (mother and two pups) of River Otters climbing the steep vegetated wall of a sea stack. A seabird was loudly calling out in alarm. Then, a pup fell 15′ down the cliff. The mother quickly descended with the other pup, dragging it along by the neck. When it got to the bottom, the mother rejoined the apparently uninjured pup, and then grabbed one of the pups by the neck and kept it from heading toward the sea. They quickly headed through one of the arches and we didn’t see them again. We could see their tracks where they explored the sea caves and arches. It’s good that the youngster had a resilient body; I would have been a heap of broken bones.
We spotted at least two Pigeon Guillemots high on the cliff above one of the arches, where we think they were establishing nests on ledges deep in rock overhangs. Hard to photograph with the sea spray and deep shade.
Most of the campers at our end of the beach went out in the tide pools, though few were as passionate about the natural history as we. Exceptions included a couple from Olympia who were on their 8th trip to Point of Arches in two years; and they went out of their way to show us an unusual tide pool animal. Another was a young woman who was incredibly interested in everything in the tide pools; we saw her over two days carefully inspecting small tide pools. Most everyone else was content to explore the convoluted arches and caves.
Counted 15 Black Oystercatchers at Willoughby Creek, joining the gulls in drinking and bathing (while photographing them laying on my belly a wave caught me and I was soaked).
We played a recording of a Wilson’s Warbler to attract one close enough that our companion, Joan, could see it. It came close indeed–zooming withing three feet of our heads in what seemed like a frontal charge.
The Olympia couple backpacked in with an REI Kingdom 8-person tent with garage and extra pole, which would have been 28 lbs. to hike with. The woman carried that, while her husband carried everything else.
Here are photographs from the weekend.
Blood Star, Henricia leviuscula, at Point of ArchesYellow Margin Dorid, Cadlina luteomarginata, aka Yellow-edged Cadlina, at Point of ArchesThree-lined Nudibranch, Flabellina trilineata, in a tide pool at low tide at Point of ArchesWoody Chitin, Mopalia lignosa, on a rock exposed during low tide at Point of ArchesLeaf Barnacles, Pollicipes polymerus, at low tide in a surge channel at Point of ArchesGiant Green Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, lacking algae in a dark microhabitat so it appears white, at Point of ArchesOrange Cup Coral, Balanophyllia elegans, in a tidepool at extreme low tide at Point of ArchesA feather-duster worm, aka fan-head worm: a plankton filter-feeder in the family Sabellidae, on rocky substrate at low tide at Point of ArchesUnderwater view of Giant Green Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, at Point of ArchesDriftwood logs deposited during fierce winter storms on Shi Shi BeachMy bare feet on Shi Shi BeachDwarf Purple Olive, Olivella biplicata, shell probably occupied by a hermit crab, among Coralline Algae, at low tide at Point of ArchesOchre Sea Star, Pisaster ochraceus, aka Purple Sea Star or Common Sea Star, at Point of Arches near mussel beds at low tideOpalescent Nudibranch, Hermissenda crassicornis, in a tide pool at low tide at Point of ArchesEmarginate Dogwinkle, Nucella emarginata, aka Northern Striped Dogwinkle, Nucella ostrina, on the rocks deep inside the arches of Point of ArchesShell and other body parts of a crab recently eaten by a Raccoon or River Otter (otters viewed, raccoon tracks seen nearby) at Point of ArchesGiant Green Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, at Point of ArchesGiant Green Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, lacking algae in a dark microhabitat so it appears whitish, at Point of ArchesMossy Chiton, Mopalia muscosa (L), and Hind’s Mopalia, Mopalia hindsii (R), at Point of ArchesGiant Green Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, with Pink Rock Crust, Lithothamnium pacificum (or related species), aka Encrusting Coral, at Point of ArchesOchre Sea Star, Pisaster ochraceus, aka Purple Sea Star or Common Sea Star, with arms around an anemone, at Point of Arches near mussel beds at low tideOchre Sea Star, Pisaster ochraceus, aka Purple Sea Star or Common Sea Star, and Six-rayed Sea Star, Leptasterias hexactis, at Point of Arches near mussel beds at low tideMan walking in the morning sea spray mist on Shi Shi BeachHikers and Point of Arches rocks at sunsetFeather Boa Kelp, Egregia menziesii, stranded and casting shadows on the sand of Shi Shi BeachThe rocks of Point of Arches nearing sunsetPattern formed by water rushing back to the ocean as a wave recedesKaren Rentz hiking on Shi Shi BeachColumbian Black-tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus, near backpacking tent on Shi Shi BeachAn athletic young backpacking couple having fun on Shi Shi BeachBlack Oystercatcher, Haematopus bachmani, gathering at Willoughby Creek, a source of freshwater on Shi Shi BeachBlack Oystercatcher, Haematopus bachmani, at Willoughby CreekCommon Raven, Corvus corax, strutting on Shi Shi BeachNorthern Kelp Crabs, Pugettia producta, aka Spider Crab, in a tide pool with a lot of hermit crabs at Point of ArchesFrosted Nudibranch, Dirona albolineata, in a tide pool at Point of ArchesSmooth Bay Shrimp, Lissocrangon stylirostris, aka Sand Shrimp and Crangon stylirostris, found in tide pools at Point of ArchesLeather Star, Dermasterias imbricata, out of the water at low tide at Point of ArchesRed Crab, Cancer productus, in a tide pool at Point of ArchesGiant Green Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, with marks in sand where tentacles withdrew as tide went downStriped Dogwinkle, Nucella emarginata, aka Emarginate Dogwinkle, with barnacles on rocky substrate at low tide at Point of ArchesChanneled Dogwinkle, Nucella canaliculata, laying eggs on rocky substrate at low tide at Point of ArchesSix-rayed Sea Star, Leptasterias hexactis, during an extreme low tide at Point of ArchesBlack Turban, Tegula funebralis, aka Black Tegula, snails in a surge channel at Point of ArchesGiant Green Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica, with Pink Rock Crust, Lithothamnium pacificum (or related species), aka Encrusting Coral, at Point of ArchesKaren Rentz inside a sea cave of Point of Arches at low tideRock formations with a large arch at Point of Arches at low tideRock formations with a large arch and photographer’s shadow at Point of Arches at low tideCouple holding hands while walking on Shi Shi BeachRock formations of Point of ArchesCalifornia Beach Flea, Megalorchestia californiana, males fighting over a burrow near the high tide line on Shi Shi BeachPoint of Arches rocks at sunsetPoint of Arches rocks at sunsetPoint of Arches rocks at sunsetRock formations of Point of Arches with a tide pool along Shi Shi Beach at low tideSandy shore ripples of Shi Shi Beach at low tideRock formations of Point of Arches with the sandy surface of Shi Shi Beach at low tideRock formations of Point of Arches with the rippled surface of Shi Shi Beach at low tideBull Kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana, stipe stranded and dried and casting curving shadows on Shi Shi BeachWooden pallet that has been at sea for a while, as evidenced by its load of large barnaclesBy-the-wind Sailor, Velvella velvella, aka Sail Jellyfish, stranded on Shi Shi BeachWet sand on Shi Shi Beach after a wave subsidedBull Kelp, Nereocystis luetkeanaBoardwalk along the trail through the Makah Reservation forest on the way to Shi Shi BeachTraditional technique of removing strip of Western Redcedar, Thuja plicata, bark (for use in basketry and other crafts) from trees along the trail through the Makah Reservation on the way to Shi Shi Beach
If you want to visit Shi Shi Beach and Point of Arches, you need three permits:
Olympic National Park’s Wilderness Camping Permit. You can get this permit and a mandatory bear canister at Olympic National Park’s Wilderness Information Center at Port Angeles. The cost is $8 per person for overnight wilderness camping as of 2018.
Makah Nation’s Recreation Permit. As of 2018 this was a $10 per year hangtag for your car.
Parking Permit Bring cash of $10 per dayas of June 2018; this link also has great detailed information about the hike.
In addition, you really need to know how to read tide tables, both for safety and to get the most out of a coastal hike. Go to tides.net as a place to start, using the nearby Tatoosh Island and Cape Flattery tide charts. We prefer to explore tide pools when the tides are minus tides, such as -2.3 ft. or thereabouts. Read up on tides.
This is one of the premier nature hikes in North America: GO!
