We've been traveling for 3 weeks, and today turned into a day of rest. We were still sleep-deprived from our night shooting the Milky Way. We got up, had breakfast, paid bills, caught up on some news, did a little cleaning, and went back to bed. It probably didn't help that the stock market was down 300.
Second Beach
When we woke up in the mid-afternoon, we ate lunch, listened to the ocean, and relaxed. We left camp at 6:30 to shoot Second Beach
at sunset.
The parking lot was packed, but someone was leaving just as we made our second "go-around." The trail down to Second Beach was
3/4 of a mile each way. It was wide and maintained to be the super-highway of trails. Most of the trail was crushed rock that had been hauled in,
and it was built up to ensure there would be no mud holes to cross. The final descent to the beach was widely-spaced steps that dumped us out
on a huge, flat beach. The tide was very low, so the beach seemed to stretch to the horizon; especially to the south.
It was still an hour before sunset, so we walked south to the first mini-headland with the Quillayute Needles just off shore. Teahwhit Head stood another 1/2 mile to the southeast across the wet sand as the southern terminus of Second Beach. The beach was incredibly flat, so it felt like it stretched forever.
People were camping amidst the logs all along the shoreline. They had to backpack everything in, including all their water. It wasn't far, but water is heavy. Still, looking from the shoreline across the wide expanse of beach sand to the ocean would be a pretty good "front yard." Many of the campers were sitting around campfires, and one group was singing camp songs.
As sunset approached, we strolled back north to photograph the sun setting behind the sea stacks. Second Beach is a very popular sunset spot for photographers. Tonight, a workshop from Colorado crowded together to shoot the final minutes of the sunset. They had been scattered around the area earlier, but as sunset neared, they congregated within a 20' x20' area to shoot. They were right on top of each other (and us).
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There were no clouds or anything to prolong sunset, so we left shortly after the sun dipped below the horizon. It took us about 15 minutes to get back to the Explorer, and we were back in camp before 10:00.
Second Beach is a beautiful, flat beach. Its short trail and close proximity to camp made it even better.
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