Ozette Loop, Olympic Peninsula
It’s become tradition to camp along the far side of the Olympic Peninsula the weekend following Vantage. Last year we snuck away with our best buddy, Patrick, to Shi Shi Beach. This year Dusty and I made the long trek ourselves, but Patrick was there in spirit every step of the way! 
We left work early Friday afternoon to catch the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston. From there we drove as far west as we could before nightfall. We ended up staying in the Olympic National Park that night. The campground is made up of several loops, but only 3 of them were open — the rest had been barricaded off. Proof of Dusty’s amazing people skills, he convinced the camp hosts to let us (and nobody else) set up camp on one of the unused loops, far away from anyone else. We found a beautiful spot along the creek and settled in for the night.
Early the next morning we made our way to the Port Angeles ranger station. To camp along the ocean you need a back-country permit, a pass if you’re staying on reservation land, and a bear canister for storing all your smelly-ables. About three hours later we made it to our trailhead at the north end of Lake Ozette. The loop trail is 9.2 miles: 3 miles to the Pacific Ocean, another 3 miles heading north along the beach up to Cape Alava, and the final 3 miles back to the car. This hike is great for hikers of all ages and abilities; both legs of the trail heading to and from the Ocean consist of well maintained boardwalks — complete with stairs, hand rails and bridges! Compared to our hike into Shi Shi, this was a breeze!
We passed centuries old petroglyphs and a rock formation called Hole in the Wall. At about the half way point we decided to set up camp and relax. We explored tide pools and more of the shore line before calling it a night.
ScenicBoys: Ozette Loop, Olympic National Park 2008 from scenicboys on Vimeo.
The next morning we arose to a male mule deer sniffing around our camp. It’s kind of nice waking up in such a peaceful environment, where a little deer will come a check you out. After chatting with the deer we eat breakfast and broke down camp.
It took us about 2 hours to make it back to the car, and then another 4 hours to drive home. But this hike was totally worth the drive. The Olympic Coast is truly a beautiful, magical region. Spending time in a place that has little touch to modern society is an amazing experiance. A complete disconnect, just the way we like it.
Fellas — another great video. Dusty whats going on with the Elvis hair mate!
Looked like real nice drive — the mountains and low cloud with the pines looked very inviting. Strange hearing you guys talk about the Pacific Ocean on your west coast!
The bird calls and sea lion at the end rounded the trip out nicely..Looking forward for a bit more heat down under to get away.
Keep it real fellas…u Have to come down under!
Vin
I am currently at work. This post has me completely relaxed with all its beauty. Thank you.
What an amazing trip you both had.
Awesome as always. The video answered a lot of questions. I was wondering about “that land mass” out in the ocean, for example. You are great story-tellers and do a great job of explaining things. It was fascinating to see the mule deer and the bald eagles. PLEASE keep these travelogues coming! Even if it seems mundane to you, it’s fascinating to someone like me way on the other side of the country. This is a vast and diverse country in many ways. Thank you, Garret and Dusty!
Best regards, Bart
Those deer can be tricky. Once in Glacier NP while hiking, we came upon a deer in our paths. We were very quiet as we approached, taking lots of pictures. As we got closer, we started to realize the deer was not afraid of us. In fact, we had to shove it a bit to get it off the path.
About a half mile later, the path led into a parking lot and there were six other additional, unafraid deer, licking the antifreeze off the parking lot. Cars were honking at them. They wouldn’t move. So much for nature’s allusions.
Boys,
I bumped into your sight today as one does thru another blog entirely. I love your sense of adventure.
Ah to be young a beautiful.….and it doesn’t hurt that your gay also.….
Hey guys! I am Lucien and Olivier’s friend, Kari. I am actually thinking of taking this hike over the weekend with a group of friends after they were telling me all about it. You have intrigued me:) I will let you know how it goes.
Seriously, you make couch potatoes like myself want to get out and explore! Then again I grew up on the rez and have been living in nature since I was a kid, so I’ll stick with my cable and wireless internet. lol.
peace
Great job on the movies. Can you tell me.… who is the artist and title of the second song on the soundtrack for Ozette Loop video?