Shi Shi Beach Backpacking Adventure
At 2 years and 5 months old, Hayden laced up his running shoes and strapped on his Thomas the Train pack for his first backpacking trip! Hayden and I teamed up with some of our favorite people in the world, the Burnett’s (Mischa, Danielle, Maddy (9 ) and Abbey (7)), for our journey. Our destination, Shi Shi Beach on the Olympic Peninsula.
The 2-mile Shi Shi Beach Trail meanders through the forest keeping kids entertained with 15 bridges, side trails through the woods, trees that have grown in wild, gravity defying ways, and, Hayden’s favorite, tons of banana slugs. The trail ends with a short, near vertical section that zig zags its way down a wooded bluff. Hayden held my hand and leaped off every root and took every turn like he was maneuvering his way down a mogul field up at Mt Baker, each leap a heart stopping moment for me fearing his airborne weight would somehow pull us both off the trail for the fast way to the bottom. But, the promise, made nearly a mile back on the trail, of one of Danielle’s homemade chocolate chip cookies when we reached the beach, had him running!
I released my grip on Hayden and let him run the final steep little strait away. He opened his little toddler stride and ran it out with Maddy and I close behind until we popped out of the woods and onto the north end of a beautiful 2-mile crescent shaped sandy beach. We stopped and took in the awesomeness of where we had landed. The ends of the beach were bookmarked with spires of black jagged rocks rising mysteriously in the fog. Driftwood of all shapes and sizes gave the promise of forts, lost treasures from the sea, and hours of exploring and entertainment. Abbey, Danielle and Mischa arrived minutes after us, and Hayden immediately whispered in my ear, “Cookie?!”
After refueling our engines with cookies we headed south looking for the freshwater creek about a mile down the beach. At this point, it was close to 5PM, we’d been on the trail for about 2 hours, and Hayden had not had his nap and quickly requested, “Up”. With Hayden in arms, a 55 pound pack on my back, and a mile to go, I was definitely missing Brandon!
We arrived at the creek and found a perfect little campsite right next to it. There were a few groups scattered along the beach and in the woods on either side, but, far enough apart you could forget they were even there. We immediately all fell into setting up camp… tents went up and cook kits came out while Maddy and Abbey entertained Hayden and collected wood for a fire. Danielle and I worked on dinner while Mischa built a fire and arranged driftwood logs around it for seating.
And finally, we sat and filled our bellies with warm food, and took in the beauty of Shi Shi Beach. Around 10PM, after a high energy, adventure filled day, Hayden fell asleep in my arms as we sat by the fire telling stories. We all decided it was time to turn in.
Hayden, my 5AM riser, slept until 8AM the next day! We woke to beautiful day with light fog and promises of at least a peak of some blue sky. No sooner had we got the fire going and coffees and cocoas and oatmeal in our bellies and the kids were off! There were buoys and sea weed to drag along the beach, waves to be chased by, tide pools to find and driftwood to explore. I quickly threw together a daypack with a few snacks and juice and followed the trio as they adventured down the beach. Hayden grabbed a piece of bull kelp, held it by the tail end, which he called the leash, and named it “Peace Man”. Peace Man spent the rest of the day with us, visiting tide pools and forts, climbing on rocks, and building sandcastles.
We awoke the third day to a thick wet fog. The ocean waves were fierce as they crashed onto the beach, the water beyond looked wind torn, and the jagged rocks that framed Shi Shi Beach disappeared into the fog. We huddled by our fire, ate some breakfast and while the kids let the waves chase them up and down the beach, Mischa, Danielle and I broke down camp and prepared for the journey home.
An ocean playground, in a gorgeous Olympic Peninsula scene, a short hike to get there…. there couldn’t be a more perfect place to bring your kids backpacking!!!
Happy Adventures!
Heather, Brandon and Hayden