A Weekend Camping on the Olympic Peninsula
“let’s camp!”
The moment has finally come! We have been itching all summer to go camping in the beautiful Pacific Northwest ! Why we didn’t camp in the prime Washington summer season you ask? Well it really took us all summer to accumulate all the proper camping gear for camping out in the Pacific Northwest (which is definitely a lot different than camping out in Ohio). We scored some incredibly rad deals at the REI Labor Day sale, garage sale and gear loft on camping pads, sleeping bags, and even a luxurious jet boil! And we also had found an amazing camping spot on Whiskey Creek Beach near Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. It was right on the water and looks out over the straight of Juan de fuca and was such an insanely reasonable price per night . And also close to some pretty awesome hiking spots. It was just too good to pass up! So we packed up our jet boil and sleeping bags and headed out for a weekend spent camping out on the olympic peninsula.
“flatter us!”
When researching things to do out on the olympic peninsula since we were already going to be camping over there, we weren’t sure if it was going to be worth it to drive the extra hour and a half (on top of the 3 we were driving to get to our camping spot) to check out cape flattery (the most northwest point in the contiguous United States, and known for its flattering views of the coast). After asking all our followers and friends it was 100% decided we had to go check out what all the fuss was about! Everyone kept telling us it was so worth the drive and it was spectacular. Ok, ok! You don’t have to tell us twice, I guess we’ll just have to go to somewhere magical and beautiful! Ok cape flattery, flatter us!
“roadtrips in the pnw are always beautiful”
I was so excited about our trip I think I had butterflies all week. We were up and at em’ at 7 am sharp to pack the car up and hit the road at a decent time so we had time to see cape flattery, hit up a grocery store, and set up camp all in one day. The drive was beautiful – sunny and magical. The sun had finally made its first appearance on that Saturday after a week of on and off rain in Seattle, so we were incredibly lucky to have such perfect weather that day. The drive from Seattle is always so beautiful. Highways encompassed by beautiful, tall pine trees. But even better yet, the highway links you to the pacific coast scenic byway on the olympic peninsula which is even more beautiful and magical. The scenic drives always makes the miles fly by way faster! Before we knew it, we had gone 2 and a half hours. But, I’m not going to lie. I was getting pretty ansy by the end of it. I was so excited and impatient to see cape flattery already!
“flattered”
We finally arrived at Cape Flattery trail and we were so excited! I had so many butterflies in my stomach and was so ready to see what this trail and view was all about. We started our hike, which is a very, very easy one! 1.2 miles and 219 feet of elevation, woah now watch out! We hiked (well I pretty much frolicked / ran – no need to conserve energy on this trail) through the beautiful, dense forest. The golden sun peeked through the denseness, and lit up the forest floor. There were little wooden bridge walkways that guided you through the trail and forest. There was really no anticipation for this trail, because before you knew it, you could hear the roar of the ocean and see the trees clearing ahead. The view was indescribable. The strong, powerful waves crashing up against the jagged rocky edge. The deep blue and vibrant turquoise water churning and bubbling below. The warm, glowing sun glistening across the ocean. Massive evergreen covered stacks. We were truly flattered. We hiked around and explored different paths that branched out from the trail and found more and more amazing views. We climbed out on rocky cliff edges, and felt the adrenaline rush through our veins. Oh the thrill, this is what it’s like to feel truly alive. We let the sun warm our faces and soaked in the view. We could’ve stayed there forever. Really. But it was getting late, and we still had to drive an hour and a half back to our campsite AND get groceries for our overnight camping stay. We said our goodbyes to the unbelievable view, and headed back to our car. But we will definitely be back! And I’m hoping for a moody pacific northwest cape flattery next time! (Not that the sunny day wasn’t perfect, but capturing the cape in rainy, foggy, more moody weather could also be epic…I can’t even imagine what the waves would look like then)!
“1/10,000”
On our drive back to our campsite near Port Angeles, we found a local grocery store to pop in and get groceries and camping essentials (firewood, s’mores…and maybe some wine…essential) real quick so we wouldn’t miss the sunset at our campsite. Daylight while setting up camp is always nice, and who doesn’t want to capture some beautiful coastal sunset photos? We gathered all our loot, plopped it in the back of our car, and b-lined it to the campsite. We arrived at the cutest little secluded spot that has a few campsites and cabins along a beach called Whiskey Creek Beach NW. I ran inside a cute little house to check into our site. The nice guy gave us directions to where our spot was and I purchased more firewood. It was going to be a chilly fall evening, and we wanted to keep the fire a-going. And really, you can never have enough firewood. The nice guy at the counter also gave me the code to the gate to access the campsites and scribbled the numbers down with a pen on a piece of paper to give to me. Um say whaaaaaaaa’ The code to the campsite was our anniversary date and the exact pin to get into my iphone. The chances of that happening (and yes we nerdily did the math) was 1/10,000. That’s .0001 % if you wanna get a bit nerdier. I kid you not, I see our anniversary date numbers freakishly a lot. Like it’s weird. I always think I should start taking photos and recording how many times I see it. Our anniversary date is also the date on the calendar emoji. SO WEIRD, and fate that this was going to be our home for the night.
“campfire ninja”
We drove down a gravel road, and we spotted a small cape jutting out along the coast where our campsite was. It was a wood platform to set up our tent, and a firepit with a picnic table. There was an outhouse within walking distance and you could pay a small fee if you wanted to take a shower (we were good with living the smelly, dirty camp life 😉 ) It was the most beautiful campsite ever. Right along the ocean, you could hear the waves crashing against the pebbly shore. We began unpacking our car and setting up camp as quickly as possible so we could relax and enjoy our campsite as much as possible. Not only is Kevin a driving ninja (see previous blogposts) he is also a campsite setting up ninja. We tag teamed our campsite. I was in charge of setting up our campsite and deciding where everything went (with my interior design skills) and kevin was in charge of setting up the tent and making a fire. We snacked on cheese (obviously) and glugged red wine straight from the bottle. As we were setting up camp, the bright sunshine faded out and the sky turned purple-y, pink. A thin layer of fog rolled in, and made for a beautiful view. You could see the mountain silhouettes in the distance as well as mount baker! (shout out to gabby.cy on Instagram for identifying it as mount baker)! Oh and Kevin is also a campfire ninja, because he did that in a cinch too! We successfully set up our little abode, put on warmer, cozier clothes and settled into our campsite for the night.
“red lights are for stargazing”
We watched the purple-pink sky fade out into a hazy gray and warmed up by the campfire. We roasted bratwursts over the fire and talked. We shared and swiped through photos we took of our day (yes swiped because we don’t have a cool, fancy camera to take photos with…yet) After dinner, it’s only necessary that when you’re camping you have to have s’mores for dessert (or heck! even as your dinner). We roasted our marshmallows (crispy and burnt or bust) and enjoyed our camp-y dessert. We also scored an amazing jetboil at the rei garage sale so we also made hot chocolate and sipped the warm and cozy drink by the fire. It was chilly out, so the hot beverage was heavenly. The night sky and atmosphere around us soon turned pitch black. So we wore our headlamps on our heads so we could navigate our campsite easier. I was flickering through all the settings on my headlamp and came across the creepy red light one. I didn’t realize it was for stargazing until kevin told me (headlamp noob). So we both clicked on our red lights on our headlamps and looked up. It was partly cloudy and not totally clear. But we could still see SO many stars. Kevin saw a super bright shooting star too! None for me, womp! He said it was extremely bright and glorious (kinda jelly)! But I can’t wait to do more stargazing in the pacific northwest. Our dream is to see/capture the Milky Way – how dreamy would that be?! We propped our feet up on the warm fire pit basin and gazed.
“warm”
It had been an incredible and long day. We were spent and ready to cozy up in our tent. I had brought with me my grandmothers hot water bag, one of the most prized tokens I have in memory of her. She would always use it for sore muscles or just to keep warm. But it’s the one thing that always reminded me of her. We used our jetboil and made hot water and poured it into the hot water bag. I embraced the warm, floppy bag and sunk into my sleeping. I knew grandma was keeping me warm tonight. We fell asleep warm and cozy to the soothing sounds of the waves crashing along the shore next us.
“rain”
We woke in the middle of the night to a soothing and familiar sound. Something we only could hope would happen while we were camping inside a tent. RAIN. The sound of rain paddling against a tent while you’re cozy and warm inside of it. Well, there’s nothing quite like it. We snuggled closer and fell back asleep to the soft pitter patter of the rain against our tent.
“aw yeah hot chocolate season”
We awoke to a grey and foggy yet beautiful Pacific Northwest morning. The mountains were covered by a thick fog in the distance and the rain continued to pour. Leave it to me to not bring my good raincoat – but there was only a 10% chance of rain a day prior. But I should’ve known. The Pacific Northwest has a mind of its own. We skipped the breakfast we were going to make with a pan and our jet boil of eggs and bacon. It was just too rainy! So we made hot chocolate (aw yeah hot chocolate season) and coffee instead and decided to do a morning low tide walk on the beautiful beach below us. The long pebbly beach stretched along the coast. It was beautiful and relaxing. Just exploring the salty shore with a warm cup of hot cocoa in hand. Before we knew it, it was 10 am and check out was at 11. So we packed up our tent and camping supplies (which some we left out in the pouring rain overnight WEWPS, camping noobs) and packed back up our car. Kota also decided this weekend to not be his typical clean and orderly self and plopped right down on the rainy, and very muddy ground. Face palm! But thank goodness we brought wilderness wipes (that’s what their called!) so we could wipe him clean! They are seriously a life saver. And then we headed out to our next adventure on the olympic peninsula.
“food!”
We were starving. Incredibly, ravenously hungry. We hadn’t eaten too much in the past two days and we were well overdue for a meal. Just a few minute drive from the site was the cutest local cafe called blackbird cafe. I walked in and ordered food and coffee to go (since we had a wet and a little bit muddy of a dog) to eat in the car. The nicest, most welcoming hometown people worked in the little cafe. They made our food and packed it with care and love. We got thickly stuffed omelettes (mine with mushrooms and swiss) with a side of home fries and toast. And it was heaven in our mouths. So darn delicious. We fueled up and devoured our food in the car and then headed just 5 minutes to a hike nearby called Spruce Railroad Trail.
“devil’s punch bowl”
The trail was known for it’s beautiful crescent lake and something called devils punch bowl that has this magical bridge that we just had to see. We arrived at the trail and hiked a short 1/2 mile in until we reached an old railroad tunnel. Which was huge! I felt so small standing next to this historic tunnel. At the tunnel, instead of going through it, you take a left turn onto a dirt trail. And that is the trail that leads you down to devils punch bowl. It was a very short hike on the dirt trail until we were transported to a magical realm. It was so dreamy. The day was just the opposite of the sunny and bright day before. It was magnificently moody. The blue lake was surrounded by a thick fog that rolled through the tall evergreen trees. There was a majestic bridge that connected you over devils punch bowl to continue on the trail. We stopped at the bridge for a long while (because we wanted to stay there forever) and took photos and peered out into the massive lake and at devils punch bowl. Devils punch bowl plunged down extremely deep, which is why in the summer it’s known for cliff divers! Which we definitely need to come back and witness in the summer (no cliff diving for me..heights..blegh). We tore ourselves away from the heavenly bridge to continue hiking around and to search for the a place to pitch up our new hammock.
“perfectly imperfect”
During our search (going off trail to find our spot) we came across a beautiful beach on the lake. The beach didn’t have sand or pebbles. It was thick rock that was carved away by the glacier that melted and created crescent lake. We explored the beach and played fetch with a stick by the lake with kota. After much searching, it seemed to be impossible to find the ever so perfect and picturesque hammock spot that had two perfect trees to hang up to. What we did find was the most perfectly imperfect spot to hang up and relax. We rocked back and forth in the hammock as the forest covered us from the gentle rain. As much as we wished we could stay there and run away into the forest, it was time to head back home.
“ferry good weekend”
On our rainy drive home we picked up some coffee and snacks for the drive back. We were trying to avoid taking a ferry home since it makes your travel time a little bit longer. But somehow our maps got mixed up and led us to the ferry. It would be too long to back track, so we decided to go with it and take the ferry back into seattle. And man I am so glad this happened! We got to turn our car off and just relax and chit chat and edit photos while the ferry took us across the beautiful blue water and passed by magical pnw islands. It was a ferry amazing weekend (ba dum chhh). And we cannot wait to go back again next summer and camp at Whiskey Creek Beach and explore the Olympic peninsula again! It will definitely have to be a summer or fall staple.
