Ketchup ~ Shi Shi and a Day at the Beach

At the end of September I grabbed a long weekend at Shi Shi Beach.  I love my little Bullman Beach Inn Unit 5.  So relaxing, so quiet.  I woke up in the night wondering what all the road traffic was about, car after car going past.  Then I realized it was the waves hitting the beach at low tide

woosh...woosh... woosh...

The Saturday was forecast for fair skies, even on the coast, so I knew it was the perfect day for a beach hike.  Shi Shi is the only choice and I was determined to finally get down to Point of the Arches.  Last November I was turned back by high water in one of the creek crossings.  Wet feet and all that...

I am an early bird by nature, so it was great to be first of the day hikers on the beach.  I could see several camps further down the beach.  I cannot imagine camping here on the coast except in the fairest of months.  We have a rain forest just east from here. 

Notable today were the piles and piles of molted crab shells on the beach.  I did not notice the huge numbers last I was here and figure this is a seasonal event.  Certainly speaks to the healthy Dungeness crab population offshore.

These Whimbrels have plenty of food opportunity here.

Point of the Arches is only about 2 1/2 miles down the beach, and the time flew quickly.  All of the creek crossings were trouble free.

When I reached the Arches, it was time for a sit and an early lunch.

By the time I finished other hikers started trickling in.  It was nice to chat with folks about what they had seen.  One group had camped north of the beach access and said they saw a Sea Otter the night before.  I have never seen one in the wild and that would be a treat.

It was here we had to turn back.  The beach to the south of the Arches is not passable except under the lower tides.  People who through hike must time their journey with the tides.  There are programs for this area of the coast that will tell you when to break camp in order to time your passage to the different beaches safely.  Something about those distant rocks makes me want to get there next time.  Sort of "the bear went over the mountain" effect.

Returning up the beach I chatted with the gentleman who had the camp with the fire you see in the picture under the Whimbrels.  He was waiting for some through hikers and said they would not arrive off the south beach until 6pm.  He had a pretty nice set-up with the right amount of driftwood and several tarp and tent arrangements to protect from the weather.  Other campers were not that smart and found they had to hike inland a bit to find dry wood for fires. 

As I was walking back I took note of the beach art that campers had made around their spots.  Wood and kelp made for some eye catching arrangements.

Egg in a nest

Kelp Drapery

Fierce Beach Monster

I found this molt of a Kelp Crab

I love this place.  I noticed that the beach did not yield near as many fine shells and rocks as they did last time.  Not sure if it is season or if it is just that there are more people passing and tucking treasures away.

Sunday the bad weather was rolling through.  The TV said for the inland, high winds were predicted.  I was hopeful but for Neah Bay, it was bands of weather but nothing fierce and stormy.

It looked promising at first light

but just turns to gray mist

After this mist passed, I did a stroll on the beach in high tide.  Lots of kelp, piles of it.  Not a lot of treasure.

After lunch another band of weather passed and then the sun really came out.  Just in time for low tide and another stroll.  The gulls were taking advantage of the lower water and the kelp piles to look for goodies.

I caught sight of a Semipalmated Plover

This wonderful boat is obviously constructed with scraps of wood found on the beach.  It has some old water bottles added for a bit of flotation assist.

I only found a handful or shells.  I arranged them to show off their spirals.

At the Inn, people leave beach treasure they find.  It was here I found that bit of wood that looks like a whale.  I always love looking at the treasure.

By late afternoon it was as clear as it was going to get.  I was sorry to not have a terrific storm to enjoy.  Inland the winds were coming down the east side of Vancouver Island into Puget Sound, totally missing us.

Resident cat joined me in watching the sun go down.

Good Night.