Cleanup Info
Oil City/Hoh Head topo Map
What to Bring?
Final Plan
2002 trip report
2003 trip report
2004
trip report
2005
trip report
Treks Home!
Recent Trip Reports!
Pacific Treks! |
Once again the Washington
Alpine Club participated as a club in
the annual Beach Cleanup. This is our Fifth year! We had an excellent turnout and
fantastic weather!The Olympic Beach Cleanup
is the idea of our good friend Jan Klippert. He was hiking the Olympic Coast and noticed a variety of
debris that had washed up on the beaches. The current across the Pacific
Ocean carries objects from as far away as Asia! Jan went home and started
making phone calls. He now has a growing annual event with over 650 volunteers
participating, as well as the Park Service, Cities of Port Angeles, and
Forks, and even the Makah Indian Nation. The Washington Alpine Club is also one of the
sponsors.
 |
Gary and two volunteers carry
a huge tangle of fishing line up from the beach. We
found many of these. Some were half buried in the sand and rocks and
very difficult to cut out. |
The Trailhead at Oil City is at the end of a dirt road,
at the Olympic National Park boundary. Most people don't know it, but there is no city, nor any oil, at Oil
City. At one time it was a drilling prospect in someone's crazy dream. Now
it is only a place in the Hoh Rain Forest, at the mouth of the Hoh River.
The Hoh River begins it’s journey high above on the Blue Glacier of Mount
Olympus. Oil City is an ugly name for an extremely beautiful place. The
silver lining in the name Oil City? It helps keeps folks away!
It is less than two miles to
the Hoh Beach and the Pacific Ocean. As usual, we set up camp above the high
water line. The beach had changed a lot since last year. With the warm, dry,
sunny weather we set up camp with a ocean view. We had a group
kitchen area, one fire, and the tents dispersed following large group camping
procedures. We practiced "Leave no Trace". Bald Eagles perched in
the Sika Spruce high above, while others soared at the edge of
the sky.
 |
John Sargent at Diamond Head.
Sea Stacks. Were these part of the shore when Captain Cook sailed by?
|
Hoh Beach is interesting in that large amount of logs
and driftwood accumulate on the beach each winter. They wash down the Hoh
River, and are deposited on the beach by the high storm tides. Each year the
beach has a different character as logs and wood are washed away or
deposited. What is
a sandy beach one year, might be a huge pile of logs the next.
This year the low tide was at
2:40 PM. This was perfect as it gave us time to work Hoh Beach before headed
North along the beach and cobbles around Diamond Head to Jefferson Cove.
Diamond Head can only be passed at low tide.
We have learned from our friend the NPS Ranger that the
styrofoam and plastic were the worst of all the debris, as it continues to break down into
smaller and smaller pieces, and leeches into the water.
Armed with trash bags we
picked up floats, styrofoam, plastic bottles, rope, pieces of fishing nets,
a door, and huge tangles of fishing line. We did find a few pieces of metal,
but not as much as in previous years. Karl found the rib bone of a whale!
 |
The pleasures of Jefferson
Cove. A big smooth sandy beach, and a perfect blue sky! The temperatures
were in the 70's! Chris rolls a tire to the cache, and John
enjoys a power nap. |
We hoped to carry all the
debris from Jefferson Cove to the trailhead, but there was way to much so we
carried it to the far North end of the beach where we made a big cache high
above the High Tide Line. We had a tire, and some huge floats, fishing line
tangles, and 8 bags of floats and assorted plastic bottles. Jan arranges a
vessel and a Zodiac, or helicopter to come and pick up all the backcountry
caches.
At the North end of
Jefferson Cove are some wonderful tide pools at low tide. They are full of
starfish! This is also the place where a ladder takes hikers off the beach
to the trail that goes over the impassable Hoh Headland to Mosquito Creek.
17 miles, two creek crossings, a waterfall, and two other Headlands later
hikers exit at Third Beach. Michael, Karl, and Gary explored the overland
trail. As expected, there was lots of mud, and downed trees.
 |
Lucas descending the ladder
from Hoh Head.
Hoh Head can not be rounded even at low
tide. Hikers must take the trail overland to
Mosquito Creek.
Our Jefferson Cove rubbish cache is to the
right. The Park Service will use a zodiac or helicopter to pick it up. |
The famous Japanese Glass Floats are still found
occasionally along our Ocean, but not near as many as in times past. Jan has
found one!
Evening saw the team have some great fun!
We had a big Beach Fire and enjoyed appetizers all evening. We
ate fresh mussels (supplied by Chris), deluxe Jiffy Pop prepared by Luke and
Chris, and absolutely the
best Smores ever! We watched some Gray Whales go by on their way to Alaska.
The lighthouse far offshore on Destruction Island came on exactly at sunset.
Destruction Island has been the scene of many shipwrecks in years past. We
saw the lights of several fishing boats out at sea. Our fire burned all night, and served as a signal passing
ships. There was no moon, and the stars were bright overhead!
 |
Jefferson Cove and its big
smooth sand beach. This all disappears at high tide.
A stunningly beautiful wilderness beach! |
Sunday morning saw the
sunlight streaming down the Hoh Valley and lighting the sea stacks in the
Pacific Ocean. Soon we were basking in the warm sunshine on the beach.
Bald Eagle
Info!
Common Name: Bald Eagle
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus species: Haliaeetus (sea eagle) leucocephalus (white head)
Size: 1 m (3 ft.) in height; 2.3 m (7 ft.) wing span
Weight: males 3.5 to 4 kg (8-9 lb.), females 4.5 to 6 kg (10-14 lb.)
Description: Adults at 4 to 5 yrs. are identified by their white head and
tail, solid brown body, and large, curved, yellow bill. Juveniles have
blotchy patches of white on their underside and tail.
Life span: up to 30 years in the wild, longer in captivity
Sexual maturity: 4 to 5 years of age
Incubation: 31 to 45 days
Habitat: live and nest near coastlines, rivers, lakes, wet prairies, and
coastal pine lands Washington and in North America from Alaska and Canada
south into Florida and Baja, California.
Diet: prefer fish swimming close to the water's surface, small mammals,
waterfowl, wading birds, dead animal matter (carrion).
Status: listed by USFWS as threatened in all but three of the lower 48
states and protected by CITES; populations are healthy in Alaska
Fun Bald Eagle Facts
1. The
Bald Eagle is not
really bald; it actually has white feathers on its head, neck, and tail.
Bald is a derivation of balde, an Old English word meaning white. The eagle
was named for its white feathers instead for a lack of feathers.
2.
Bald Eagles may use the
same nest year after year, adding more twigs and branches each time. One
nest was found that had been used for 34 years and weighed over two tons!
3. The
Bald Eagle can fly 20
to 40 mph in normal flight and can dive at speeds over 100 mph.
4. Bald
Eagles can actually
swim! They use an overhand movement of the wings that is very much like the
butterfly stroke.
Conservation
Bald
Eagles are a very
important part of the environment. By eating dead animal matter, they help
with nature's clean-up process. Bald Eagles are also hunters, so they keep
animal populations strong. They do this by killing weak, old, and slower
animals, leaving only the healthiest to survive.
The
Bald Eagle is our
national symbol, so when it became threatened with extinction in the 1960s
due to pesticide use, habitat loss, and other problems created by humans,
people took notice. For years the bald eagle was listed as endangered under
the Endangered Species Act. Now the number of Bald Eagles has increased so
much that in June, 1994 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that
they be downgraded from endangered status to the less urgent status of
threatened in all but three of the lower 48 states. The success of the Bald
Eagle is a tribute to the Endangered Species Act and is an incentive for
increased awareness and conservation everywhere.
The northwest coast of North America
is by far the most dense area for Bald Eagles. They flourish on the Olympic
Coast because of the salmon. Dead or dying fish are an important food source
for all Bald Eagles. More about Bald Eagles at
http://www.eagles.org/moreabout.html
 |
Sea Stars in a tide pool below Hoh Head.
Sea stars walk using their tube feet to move
themselves along a surface. Their tube feet have suckers on the ends,
which they use to attach themselves to rocks and to trap prey items. |
We even saw some Gray Whales
swimming by on the way to Alaska!
Beginning in
February you begin seeing whales migrating back to Alaska with their newborn
babies by their sides. There is sometimes what appears to be an overlap in
migration patterns with some whales still heading south while others are
moving north. On their northern migration they swim close to shore, with
their babies on the shore side. It has been said this is to protect them
from attacks from Great White Sharks. This is often when the best viewing
can take place because they are moving more slowly because of their young
calves and also they are swimming against the current.
 |
Karl participating in the
beach log throw, an event in the Highland Games competition! |
More info on Gray Whales
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/graywhl.htm
 |
Yummm!
Fresh mussels cooked up and ready to eat!
Delicious! |
Planning a trip to the Olympic Coast? You'll need to check the
Olympic Coast Tide Tables
 |
Smores!
Served open faced, with a perfect toasted
marshmallow!
The best ever! |
We didn't see any but the giant
Pacific octopus lives along rocky shores in tide pools and in areas from the
low-tide line to depths of 1,650 feet. It can be found along the Pacific
coast from Alaska to southern California.
More info at
http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/marine_wildlife/octopus.asp
 |
Doerte and Chris
(Doerte is enjoying a smore) |
A leisurely morning and then
a leisurely hike out on Sunday. A grand time was had by all.
 |
Doerte, Rosie, Karl, Luke, Michael, Gary, and ??? on
the way out carrying the last loads. |
Everything collected on the
Hoh Beach has to be hauled out to the Trailhead for pickup by volunteers
from Port Angeles. We left them a large load of 12 bags, a door, other
assorted rubbish, and big pieces of plastic.
 |
Chloe and Lee Parsons on the
hike out. |
Thanks always to our leader Jan Klippert
for organizing this huge event!!!!
 |
12 Bags, cooler, fishing
line, a tire, a door, and other assorted rubbish our team carried out to
the Oil City Trailhead! Karl and
Mike |
Thanks to Larry Colagiovanni, Michael Balise,
Lee Parsons, Chloe Parsons, Karl Huber, Rosie Huber, Luke Huber, Chris Sargent, John Sargent, Gary Schmidt, Doerte Mahanay, Mike Mahanay,
and late comer Vivian Darst for taking time out to participate
in the cleanup, and making these two days so much fun!
For more information on visiting our wild Olympic Coast:
http://www.nps.gov/olym/wic/coast.htm |
email at
mikem@rem0vethisgrandcanyontreks.org