The Most Beautiful Story and photos by John D’Onofrio
T
he Olympic Coast is a sublime strip of wilderness beach that stretches for 60 miles, from the mouth of the Hoh River in the south to the legendary Shi-Shi Beach in the north. It is widely acknowledged to offer some of the best ocean-front hiking on Planet Earth, including three glorious point-to-point traverses that are, each in their own way, spectacular. Perhaps the best known of these is the traverse from Lake Ozette to Rialto Beach, a 23-mile trek. This hike was briefly world-famous in 1958 when Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas led a group of 72 people on a three-day excursion along the wild Pacific to raise widespread opposition to plans to build a highway there. His highly-publicized effort successfully drew attention to this threat, saving the wilderness (see page 14). I wanted to see this portion of the coast for myself, so along with a pair of old hiking comrades, we set out from Lake Ozette on a spring evening, backpacks crammed with provisions for five days beside the sea.
Kayostia Beach
22
The heartbeat of Cascadia
>>> Go to
AdventuresNW.com
to read ANW
