Olympic Peninsula - Rialto Beach / Hole in the Wall / & 2 Bonus Waterfalls

[NorthwestWanderer]

Hello all,

Got to get out in the nice sunny weather. Still don't quite have the time for backpacking yet but we do have time for some nice day trips. My wife and I went to where I proposed to her. A long Rialto Beach near Hole in the wall. A Rock formation with a literal "hole" in the wall. Though we didn't wait for lower tide to recreate our photo we still enjoyed ourselves amongst lots and lots of Eagles. The waves were insanely big 10~15 feet tall at times and the tide was the highest up I've ever seen it. Most of our hike was done in the woods as the beach was almost all covered in the surf. The power of the ocean is mystifying and very humbling. Everytime I visit the coast though I always have tsunami panic in the back of my head just waiting for the tide to rapidly retreat and the though of "oh crap, run back to the truck!" Despite the size of the waves, it was really hard to capture their scale on camera so the light rays coming through the trees got more love from my camera than the massive waves.

After hole in the wall we originally wanted to hike the Dungeness Spit for a coast/mountain view combo but it was PACKED, more so than usual. Not being big fans of the crowd scene we retreated further south to two waterfalls we really like. All in all it was a good day but it hasn't quite sated me. I really need to get out backpacking soon or I'll go insane in the brain.

Love the almost heartless message from the park service.

Bugger off humans.

Hole in the wall

Avoiding the surf.

Washington drift wood mrk.2

I love light rays

At the campground we used on our engagement trip.

Rocky Brook falls. So far my 2nd favorite waterfall in Washington. Behind Palouse Falls.

 

[Jackson]

Looks like you caught some great weather out there. Awesome shots with the sunlight coming through the trees.

 

[chandlerwest]

Who can't smile seeing those light rays!!!

 

[Miya]

Awww what a great place for a proposal!
Great share! Hope you get to go backpacking soon!

 

[Stephanie B]

Enjoyed your photos.

 

[Titans]

The weather was just fabulous for a whole week in the NW! I was wondering, if you made it out to the ocean last week-end. We also saw unusual big waves, very high tide and the ocean was wild. There was also an official 'sneaker wave warning' on Monday. I never fully realized, that those rogue sneaker waves could easy lift the huge driftwood logs and pin someone. We saw a very sad poster in Bandon about it.

Did you see much more driftwood than normal on the beach? We saw tons of driftwood last week and a local guy explained that all the wildfires cause more trees to get displaced and float down the rivers into the ocean.

Great photos and nice to catch the 2 Bald Eagles so well- thanks for sharing! (Yah, I also have the tsunami fear in the back of my head, especially when we stay in Crescent city, but in Bandon too.)

 

[NorthwestWanderer]

The weather was just fabulous for a whole week in the NW! I was wondering, if you made it out to the ocean last week-end. We also saw unusual big waves, very high tide and the ocean was wild. There was also an official 'sneaker wave warning' on Monday. I never fully realized, that those rogue sneaker waves could easy lift the huge driftwood logs and pin someone. We saw a very sad poster in Bandon about it.

Did you see much more driftwood than normal on the beach? We saw tons of driftwood last week and a local guy explained that all the wildfires causes more trees to get displaced and float down the rivers into the ocean.

Great photos and nice to catch the 2 Bald Eagles so well- thanks for sharing! (Yah, I also have the tsunami fear in the back of my head, especially when we stay in Crescent city, but in Bandon too.)

Yeah now that I think of it there was A LOT more driftwood than what I remember. Super sketchy about sneaker waves. I forgot about those lol. Another thing to have on my mind when by the coast!