Backpacking Olympic National Park: The North Coast/Rialto Beach to Point of the Arches

Spring Break seems like a dream three weeks after I was self-emerged in loneliness along the Olympic National Parks wild coast. I focused this 7day/6 night backpacking trip on the North coast section of the Park, which runs from Rialto Beach to Point of the Arches and Shi Shi Beach. I only saw about 5 day hikers the entire trip and enjoyed every camp along the way to myself. I wanted solitude and got it.
Some of the best sunsets of my life were witnessed on this trip as well as a ton of wildlife encounters. On really low tides as well as really high tides this coast line, pock marked with tide pools and studded with sea stacks, is a magnet for all sorts of life. I also enjoyed some hot crackling fires under cold and clear star lit nights, lost in my thoughts but found in spiritual arrival. I really enjoyed staying up late till the flames burnt down, leaving red hot coals and a shadowless forest. I never once felt alone or lost while sleeping amongst the trunks of great spruce trees.
The lasting memory I will have is the presence of the Pacific and how it never goes away. The Ocean's energy never stops. It is the main character on this type of adventure and left me feeling vulnerable, alone on what seems like the edge of the world. You grow use to its pounding booms, hissing gravels, gentle laps, gushing rivulets, and constant roar. It is a great place for perspectives and reminders of the limits of man.

[@NorthwestWanderer]

awesome documenting on an incredible trip. The pacific has some heavy hitting sunsets. Nothing like a fire by the beach in the wake of the most powerful force on the planet!

[@aaronfulwider779]

Thanks Andrew. Great word choice and very descriptive. It would be cool to share a trip like this with you in the future. Getting pumped up for summer!

[@danielmccue4292]

That was an absolutely great video. I watch a fair number of backpacking videos on my lunch break, and this one was immediately one of my all time favorites. Loved all of the wildlife and the great feeling of isolation and raw beauty. I visited Olympic National park a couple of times in the late nineties but only went to the coast once, you definitely have me dreaming of returning.

[@aaronfulwider779]

Thank You. Glad I could inspire some dreams. It is a wilderness that grows on you and leaves one wanting to return more and more.

[@ryan_steele_mcginnis]

Beautiful video 🙏🏼

[@aaronfulwider779]

Thank You. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@mountainwanderer]

What an awesome adventure! It's so different than anything I've hiked. Definitely being wet is part of the deal, it's just a matter of how wet you're going to be! I'm guessing that this was your spring break! This is a proper way to spend a spring break!

[@aaronfulwider779]

Thank You. The coast is definitely a good training ground for dealing with wet, both mentally and physically. Big rain storms can be a potential looming presence. Lucked out with only one good day of it. One of the best spring breaks ever spent.