Finding sanctuary on the wild Olympic coast - Olympic Peninsula, Washington

Sunset, June, 1995 by Steven R. Lorton

As you stand on the beach, the cold gray Pacific rolls in like liquid thunder, exploding into foam as it hits the shore. And in rain, sunlight, or fog, you feel the incessant presence of the wind. At the very edge of a continent - on Washington's Olympic Peninsula - facing the vastest ocean on the earth, is this place that native people say has been the same since "the beginning."

Except for nature's erosive sculptures, the landscape has changed little over the last 3,000 years - the time that archaeologists figure the Makah tribe has inhabited this stretch of coast. The often stormy shore, heavy rainfall (more than 100 inches annually), dense rain forests, and rugged Olympic Mountains all discouraged non-native settlement.

In 1953, much of the peninsula's west coast was added to Olympic National Park (established in 1938). The park addition saved the lush coastal forests from the clear-cutting that would eventually strip old-growth trees from much of the rest of the Olympic Peninsula.

Last year, the federal government added another layer of protection by establishing Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Sanctuary status should help ensure that the area's 128 species of birds, 30 species of marine mammals, and vast underwater forests of kelp will never be threatened by exploitive practices such as offshore drilling. The 3,000-square-mile sanctuary zone extends from Cape Flattery south to Copalis Beach, and from the shoreline as far as 40 nautical miles out to sea.

The coast's wildness makes it easy to find solitude, but its isolation makes it a challenge for travelers. Only a 12-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 runs along the coast, between Ruby Beach and South Beach. State and local roads cut through the wilderness to Neah Bay, Lake Ozette, and La Push. From where those roads end, you must hike to the beaches. Established trails are well maintained and relatively level, but walking for prolonged distances on beach sand and over the rocks can be tiring. Your efforts will be rewarded with views of some of the Pacific Coast's most spectacular scenery, and with opportunities to spot wildlife ranging from sea otters to tufted puffins.

Other challenges await you, too. The weather is capricious, so always carry rain gear. To avoid getting trapped against high rock cliffs by a rising tide, walk the wild beaches only during low or receding tide. Enormous drift logs litter the beaches. Smoothed by wind and sand, bleached almost white by salt-water and sun, the logs are handsome, but stay off them - they can shift and roll, and easily crush people.

MEET THE MAKAH AT NEAH BAY

Of the four Northwest native tribes that live along the coast, the Makah at Neah Bay are most able to accommodate visitors. The town of Neah Bay (about 145 miles from Seattle) sits on the north side of the 44-square-mile Makah Indian Reservation. With 1,400 residents, about 1,200 of whom are tribal members, the town is the center of the Makah Indian Nation. Be sure to visit Makah Cultural and Research Center, a repository of tribal air and artifacts. You'll see cedar canoes, including an eight-man whaling canoe, and a longhouse filled with dioramas of beach life.

You'll hear recorded conversations in the Makah language. Myths, legends, and stories in Makah are almost never seen in print and rarely heard outside the tribe because of an ancient form of copyright. In the Makah culture, stories are considered family property and are passed down from generation to generation.

In the center's gift shop, you can buy Makah baskets, carvings, masks, jewelry, and garments silk-screened with tribal designs of boldly stylized whales, ravens, bears, and other animals.

The center is open from 10 to 5 daily from June through mid-September. Admission costs $4, $3 for seniors, students, and ages 5 through 18; it is free for ages 5 and under. Groups of 15 or more can arrange guided tours, story-telling, and demonstrations of basket weaving and carving; call (360) 645-2711 for reservations.

From the center, a road leads through Neah Bay to a parking spot where you can walk to Cape Flattery, the northwest corner of the contiguous United States.

From U.S. 101, State 112 heads toward Lake Ozette. Hike about 3 miles to Ozette Village, a famous archaeological site where an entire village was discovered buried beneath a mud slide that occurred about 400 years ago (the dig is no longer open). From the campsite, picnic area, and ranger station at Lake Ozette, a pair of 3-mile boardwalks (one heads north, the other south) lead to the beach and link up to make an easy 9-mile loop hike. Backpackers can walk about 8 1/2 miles north to see dramatic sights like Point of the Arches and 4 1/2 miles farther to Shi-Shi Beach, where 200-foot monolithic rocks stand offshore. Along the coast south from Cape Alava, you can see the petroglyphs around Wedding Rocks especially well at low tide.

FROM RIALTO BEACH TO KALALOCH

Rialto Beach is the most easily accessible of the wild beaches, and you'll see dozens of large offshore islands and sea stacks. At Mora ranger station and campground, rangers give natural history talks in the Mora Campground Amphitheater on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from July 1 through Labor Day.