<p>Shi Shi is a crescent beach, about 2.5 miles long, on the southern end of Makah Bay. There’s a parking lot, for which you must buy a permit, on the southern end of the reservation. From there it’s a two mile walk to the beach. Much of the first part is on a boardwalk. After that, it can get muddy. The path goes through dense forest and ends with a 50-foot steep downclimb to the beach. 
</p><p>Shi Shi beach was going to be the high point of my trip because of the numerous little islands and sea stacks at both ends of the beach. In particular, I wanted to get to Point of the Arches, down at the southern end. When I got to the beach (the trail reaches the beach at the northern end), I could see Point of the Arches in the distance and headed down the beach in that direction. 
</p><p>The light was on the wrong side, so all of the shots I took on the approach (including this one) had bad light. When I reached the point, the tide was receding but still rather high. I tried to make my way through the rocks to the south side, where the light would be better, but I didn’t get very far. Footing was poor on the moss, grass, and barnacle covered rocks.
</p><p>I could have waited for better conditions (lower tide, sun farther in the west and lower in the sky), but I was tired. So I turned around and walked back to the truck. 
</p><p>So it was a bit of a disappointment. I want to go back better prepared, with the tides in mind.
</p><p>On the trail I saw several groups carrying big loads on their backs, going out to spend the night. Some were families with small children. If I ever get back there, I want to camp there for a night.
</p>
From the comfort of my living room, the prospect of a multiday hike along the coast seems appealing. Olympic National Park stretches along the coast for about 50 miles, from South Beach to Makah Beach. Logistics would be complicated, because there’s no place to buy food, and you need to plan for fresh water where streams empty into the ocean. And there are a few places where you must climb up and down steep rock. And you need somebody to drop you off at the start and pick you up at the end. So I won’t ever do this hike, but I can dream, can’t I?
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/53986933@N00">John Fowler</a> from Placitas, NM, USA
CC BY 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/snowpeak/7887976564/">Point of the Arches</a>