The wanderings of a West Coast girl

I emerged from the dark cocoon of the coastal rainforest into the sudden expanse of sand, shocked by a blast of warm salt air and the vastness of what stretched before me. To the right, the rocky headlands separating me from the rest of the coastline. To the left, a full mile of sandy beach. In front of me, nothing but water and horizon, dotted with sea stacks thrusting out of the ocean.

Shoes off, I meandered left, enjoying the feel of my feet sinking into the sand and the extra effort needed to move forward. The crashing waves of the north side soon gave way to the rhythmic shhhhh of calmer water that made reflections of the rocky sea stacks, at once doubling their size and shrinking mine.

The outside world shed away as I walked, with only the far end of the beach and the smattering of other beachcombers in sight. The clouds inevitably descended, replacing blue with white, then grey. The layers of shadows merged into one, erasing the reflections, shrinking everything back to normal, then further, as the horizon and forest became hazy.

The rain fell, though briefly. We all scuttled for shelter—the campers to their bright domed tent, the rest of us to the forest edge. My t-shirt was soon joined by two more warm, dry layers as I huddled under the canopy of a cedar tree, my back nestled into smooth driftwood.

Sunshine poked through again, the falling rain replaced by rising steam. There was camaraderie in the storm, giving us travelers something to discuss. The curt head-bobs of earlier greetings were now replaced with “that was some downpour” or similar. Then the trading of cameras for group shots and the shared examination of tide pools and sea birds.

The sun set as I retraced my route. I inhaled a deep ocean breath, turned, and was swallowed back into the forest.

Travel tips: With 5 days or more, consider a loop from Seattle to experience three distinct ecosystems: rainforests, beaches, mountains. You can take pictures of odd place names like Dosewallips and Humptulips, and puzzle over how many syllables Sequim and Quilcene have (1 and 3).

Travel essentials: It rains here. A lot. Up to 12 feet in parts. The Pacific Northwest uniform of fleece and Gore-Tex is essential. Flannel is optional.

Travel warning: This is Twilight territory. If you are a single woman traveling over the border from Canada, you will be grilled about the purpose of your visit. You will not convince them it’s for the landscape, not the books. Trust me. I tried.