ScenicBoys

Shi Shi Beach - Olympic National Park

This beach is truly one of our favorite places to visit in the world. All four seasons of Scenic Boy Adventures, we've ventured out to this remote wilderness beach to enjoy the magical energy that radiates from the area. This beautiful location is just below the northwest tip of Washington's peninsula and is protected within the boundaries of Olympic National Park.

Scenic Boy George finally made it on a trip this year, along with our little buddy Adam. Kate, the tokin' lesbian of the group, brought her str8 brother Paul who was visiting from Montana. This was his first trip to the Pacific Ocean and Kate's first to Shi Shi Beach.

The trail begins in the Makah Reservation, where we had to get all the appropriate passes to be on tribal land. Since the entire western half of Washington's peninsula is a temperate rainforest, it's trails are usually a wet and muddy challenge. Thankfully we were all prepared with hiking boots and made it through the 3 mile hike to the beach.

The day was clear, blue and sunny, perfect for an afternoon of beach combing. We chose a nice place in the sand a few miles from where the trail came to the beach. After cracking open some Rainier Beers and boxed wine, we began to let the creative juices flow and built and wall of drift wood and sea treasures around our camp. It's amazing what washes up on the beach. We found some cool Japanese bottles and more bouies than we knew what to do with.

The Point of the Arches is the highlight of visiting Shi Shi Beach. Giant sea stacks, arches, and caves all covered in amazing sea life. But by the time we got to the arches the tide was already coming up. So we enjoyed it while we could and decided to explore the rest early the next day.

Back at the fort, we relaxed, rested, laughed and eventually made dinner and dessert (both of which were freeze dried, but very good). As we were eating we noticed that a few groups of people were stacking drift wood into big pillars. Realizing they were making bon fires, we quickly put one together ourselves. Over all the years we've been coming here this is the first time we've seen others making these awesome fires. So right at sunset the torches were lit and the wooden towers were ignited. 

The heat given off by this mighty blaze was enough for a few of us to strip down to our skivies and dance around it like a bunch of crazies. This whole time we were trying to get  Paul to join the fun, mostly to see him in his underwear. It didn't take much for him to decide that if we all ran into the Pacific Ocean, he'd strip down and do it with us. So strip down he did and we all took multiple runs to the water and back to the warmth of the bon fire. 

Scenic Boys: Shi Shi Beach 2010 from scenicboys on Vimeo.

Don't miss part two of this coastal adventure!  We'll put up the second half after we get back from Burning Man 2010!

The Enchanted Valley - Part 2

Earlier this summer the Scenic Boys took advantage of an extra long weekend by hiking into the heart of Olympic National Park. From the beautiful Lake Quinault area, we hiked 14 miles into the famed Enchanted Valley. It was a warm and sunny afternoon when we arrived and all around us were towering peaks and flowing waterfalls. 

Scenic Boys: Enchanted Valley part 2 from scenicboys on Vimeo.

With the beautiful weekend weather, we weren't surprised to see quite a few other backpackers in this valley. But we did manage to find an awesome camp spot tucked away from everyone else. We were right on the banks of the Quinault River, with the 4,000 foot sheer rock face right in front of our camp. Flowing down this rock face were multiple tiered waterfalls that were so huge and stunning that it was hard to look anywhere else. 

There were signs of bear all over the place! Claw marks in trees where bears had stretched and sharpened their claws, monster piles of scat, and tracks all around our camp. We asked a young lady if she had seen any bear... she laughed and told us that a bear walked right though her camp the day before.  They had to make a huge ruckus with pots and sticks to get the bear to leave. We were very excited at the possibility of seeing a bear. :)

Until suppertime we enjoyed the sunshine by getting naked and splashing around in the refreshing mountain water. The water was a bit chilly, but felt so great after a big day of hiking in 90 degree weather. Plus it was nice to have a chance to work on a tan without the worry of tan lines. 

Just as the sun fell behind the snow frosted peaks, the entire valley became saturated in the most beautiful sunset pink color. Everything had a soft glow of pure happiness and just as we realized what was actually happening the color faded to grey twilight colors. Then as we got up to find more of that pure pink sunset, we look toward one of the waterfalls and see a BEAR!

About 500 feet away from us was a big black bear foraging in the brambles. We watched in awe as the bear wandered down the riverbed, then disappeared in the willows. Seeing a bear in the wild is an incredible thrill! In our four years of Scenic Boy Adventures, we've only seen a bear once before and that was in Yosemite. Don't worry, we practice bear-safe ethics in the backcountry.

The next morning we slept in a bit, ate oatmeal for breakfast, and enjoyed the amazing waterfall view in the new morning light. Temperatures were rising and we had a long hike out. It took us two days to hike the 14 miles into the Enchanted Valley, and our plan was to hike the whole way out in one go. By the end of the hike, we were sweaty, hungry and fully enchanted by the this wonderful valley in the heart of the Olympic Wilderness.

The Enchanted Valley - Part 1

Stretching over 900,000 acres Olympic National Park is Washington's largest and one of America's most diverse Parks. It is protected under the Wilderness Act of 1964, it has been designated an International Biosphere Reserve, and more recently became a Wold Heritage Site. Most visitors enjoy the breath taking views from the Hurricane Ridge visitor's center, or walk the Hall of Mosses at the Hoh Rain Forest ranger station. Only the well prepared and highly adventurous travel into the heart of this pristine wilderness Park.

The Enchanted Valley has been on our list of places to explore since we got our first Washington Road Atlas and saw that it was listed as a "unique land feature." Towering rock faces, with countless cascading waterfalls and guarantied bear sightings... we thought this would be the epitome of a Scenic Boy Adventure.

We'd saved this trip until we could devote at least 3 days; we wanted to have as much time as possible in this Enchanted Valley. We found a great camp spot near the trailhead with an unobstructed view all the way to the Pacific Ocean. We ate a very yummy dinner and drank our wine as we watched the sun set into the ocean. 

The next morning we woke up early, ate a big breakfast at a local diner, checked in at the ranger station, and got to the trailhead by 11am. It was already fixing to be a HOT day and our packs were heavy with gear and beer for our 3 day adventure. The first 2 miles were pretty easy. The trail looked as though there was once a road, but after many years nature has almost completely reclaimed it. 

After 2 miles we came to the first designated camp area called Pony Bridge. The Quinalt River flows though a narrow gully with walls painted green from ferns and moss. The view from the bridge to the water below looked like a poster image of what a temperate rain forest should look like. We climbed down to the river to fill water and cool down from the heat of the day.

Continuing on we followed the river for 5 more miles to the next camping area. As with most National Parks, backcountry campers can only stay in designated areas. This helps keep the Parks clean and wild. It was about 5pm and very hot when we decided to set up camp. Thankfully the river helped us cool down a bit and even allowed us to shower under a small private waterfall. We couldn't have asked for a better camp for the night.

The next day we had another early rise and were on the trail by 7am, hoping to beat the afternoon heat. The farther into this hike we went, the bigger the trees got. We hugged a few that were at least 40feet around. Standing under some of these trees, you couldn't help but feel the world slow down to a crawl. There is even an ancient Western Red Cedar that had many years ago blown down. It was a perfect photo op, so we climbed the roots and both of us stood in the heart of this mighty fallen giant.

It took us a day and a half to reach the our destination, and we have so much great video footage that we had to split this adventure into two parts. Check back next week for the second half of this amazing trip and see why it's call the Enchanted Valley.

Scenic Boys: Enchanted Valley part1 from scenicboys on Vimeo.