Three Days Backpacking Wilderness Ocean Beaches in Olympic National Park

With lots of life going on, I needed a brief reset! My choice was to backpack the short loop from Lake Ozette to Sand Point to Cape Alava and back to Lake Ozette. This trip in Olympic National Park has a lot to offer, including the farthest west point in the contiguous United States and beautiful wild ocean beaches. The route can be busy during the summer in spite of its remoteness, so I decided to go mid week. There were still plenty of people, but overall it was not too bad having to share the 2 mile long beach with 18 people.
My original plan was to focus simply on relaxing in a wilderness setting, not to create a video. However, as I found myself taking my usual collection of photographs, I decided to stitch the stills together and share my experience.
The boardwalk and beaches I took are definitely familiar to me as I have hiked them many times since I was first introduced to the Olympic wilderness beaches over 40 years ago. I still find joy in the journey and, oftentimes surprising to myself, I discover changes and new things to experience - in other words, the trip never gets old (although I seem to be getting there way too quickly)!
An equipment note: the tarp I used (instead of a tent) was made by Oware and I am really happy with my purchase. Not shown in the video is a light bivy with bug net at the top that I slid over my sleeping bag. The combination was perfect - light, comfortable, and just right for me. In case you are interested in similar well designed products from a cottage manufacturer, their website is at bivysack.com/

[@dianeaxworthy4995]

Way to stop and smell the roses, as the saying goes. Nature is healing; thanks for 'taking us along.'

[@LyndaHart-n9p]

Beautiful pictures of a real natural hike, Thanks for sharing : ).

[@alltherox]

Very nice! I haven't been there in probably 35 years.