Cape Flattery

(August 2009) If you look at a map of Washington state, you’ll see that far northwest tip of the state. It’s actually the farthest northwest point of the contiguous United States. That was our next destination.

Cape Flattery sits on a point of land where the Strait of Juan de Fuca empties into the Pacific ocean. This area falls within the boundaries of the Makah Indian Reservation and is the northern boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The Makah’s have done a marvelous job of preserving this beautiful area as well as making it accessible to the thousands of visitors during the year. However, during the winter months it would truly be a miserable hike out to the Cape, since the trail goes out thru the rain forest of the Olympic Peninsula. Since we were there in August, it was warm and dry and beautiful!

To get to the Cape Flattery trail head you have to follow Highway 112 thru the towns of Seiku (see-q) (this is where Bob goes fishing with his retired plumber buddies) and then the native American town of Neah Bay. It’s a narrow, two lane highway along the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On a clear day you can see the outline of Vancouver Island, British Columbia across the Strait. As we traveled along this day we also saw some of the locals….

This mom and her twins seemed to think this was their territory so we slowed down and let them take their time.

They headed up into someone’s yard to munch on their flowers, no doubt.

They claim the trail is one half mile long……both Bob and I disagreed. We think it’s probably closer to a mile. We’ve both here before and walked the trail but we were both younger and more fit.

At first it was an easy stroll. It did become a little more difficult but the beauty of our surroundings helped us to continue on.

In some places the dirt trail gave way to a boardwalk trail.

In other places is was a little rough.

At about this point my right knee was starting to scream and the trail was only getting worse. So it was here that I found a nice log in the shade to sit on and gave Bob my camera. I hated not making it out to the Cape but we both agreed that if I messed up my knee it would be a nightmare getting back up to the truck. I had walked about 2/3 of the way by this time.

The pictures from here on were taken on my camera by Bob. Next time I’ll wear better shoes and take a walking stick.

And the one big thing I missed by not going out to the end of the trail. A large gray whale was frolicking in the water, just off the shore and right below the overlook.

It was an exhilarating day, I was disappointed that my bad knee held me from reaching the end of the trail. But while I was sitting and waiting on that log, I enjoyed the beauty of the forest around me and also really enjoyed visiting with those who were coming and going on the trail. Many took advantage of my large comfortable perch to sit and catch their breath. When Bob came back up the trail huffing and puffing, he sat and rested for a few minutes and then we made our way back to the truck. At the trail head we looked back down the path at the beautiful natural forest where we had just spent several hours.

Heading back to Port Angeles we pulled into Neah Bay. Besides being a native American community, it’s a great destination for avid fishermen.

Back in Port Angeles we checked into our spot in the far corner of Albertson’s parking lot. It had been a long day and we were so tired.

To be continued~