Kaleberg Archive for Keyword: second beach, Page: 1

For more on Second Beach, see our Second Beach web page.

06/14/11 - Second Beach Driftwood Report We were out at Second Beach around low tide on a gray day. We could smell the salt air as we descended to the beach from the rain forest. The driftwood pile at the beach was there, but it had changed since last autumn. The two big logs that formed the waterfront rampart were gone, presumably washed out to sea. The structure had changed in other ways as well. Our familiar clamber to the sea was gone. We had to figure out a new series of ups, downs, overs and alongs. The payoff was as wonderful as ever. The beach was broad, flat and firm. There was a bit of mist in the distance, but otherwise we had good clear views. We made our way south, avoiding the puddles of left over ocean and admiring the huddled star fish and anemones as we explored. It was pretty easy going. The beach had lots of sand, so it was easy getting to the little cave. We lacked the energy to go much farther, not really wanting to deal with the barnicle and seaweed encrusted rocks. We saved our strength for the climb out, a clamber back over the driftwood and then a brutal 200 foot or so climb out. If we're sounding pathetic here, we apologize. We often go to Second Beach when we are tired. It's a great place to recover with some sea air and spectacular scenery. This was no exception. We came back much invigorated by the sea.

Keywords: second beach

09/05/10 - Second Beach Report There was less driftwood at Second Beach than we had to clamber over last time. Presumably, it's been washing out to sea. In contrast, there is more sand on the beach. We were able to walk to the little sea cave at the south end of the beach without walking on any rocks. Our path was all sand. There was even a little ledge of sand that we could sit on while we ate our sandwiches.	There's less driftwood than last time.
Sort of dreamy landscape	Tide pools
Sea stacks	Lots more sand
Decorated with feathers ...	and little stones and shells and ...

Keywords: second beach

05/04/10 - Second Beach We'll start by apologizing for some of these photos not being quite level. The wind was just too fierce to hold the camera steady. That said, the scenery was pretty spectacular at Second Beach the other day. Even at low tide, the waters were wild, and the wind had the sea foam flying. We didn't even walk all that far down the beach. The winds from the south were just too much for us. On the plus side, the big pile of driftwood seems to be shrinking. The clamber out to the beach was much easier than we had expected, and several of the really big logs seemed to have drifted back out to sea.	Fewer logs than last time
Low tide	Wild weather
The arch	A starfish
Wild water	Gray skies

Keywords: second beach, weather

02/22/10 - Second Beach Have we mentioned that we're having great beach weather? This is Second Beach, our favorite west end beach.	The driftwood maze
Tidepools and seastacks	The reflected sky

Keywords: second beach

01/25/10 - Second Beach There were some good tides at Second Beach, so we went for a walk. The driftwood wall has been rebuilding, but we still managed to clamber out to the beach. This time there was brilliant light and a faint haze.	More driftwood
Oooh, arty!	Lens flare - too much Star Trek: The Reboot
A wide, wet beach	More wide, wet beach

Keywords: second beach

01/08/10 - The Driftwood Is Coming Back To Second Beach The driftwood is coming back to Second Beach. If you click on the second beach keyword, you'll see that we last reported an almost complete lack of driftwood between the trailhead and the beach. In fact, you could just step down from the trail to the beach with no further ado, but now the driftwood is coming back. It's nothing like it was last summer where one had to clamber over log after log, but there is a nice collection of logs piling up.	The view from the trailhead
Pretty	More pretty
The wild beach	Seastacks down near the cave

Keywords: second beach

11/13/09 - Second Beach and Winter We took advantage of a brief break in the clouds and a good afternoon tide to visit Second Beach, one of our favorite West End beaches and well under a 90 minute drive from Port Angeles. We made our muddy way through the woods and encountered our first surprise at the beach. We had been expecting the usual clamber from the trail access to the beach proper, but all but a few of the logs were gone. Just as they had been mysteriously washed ashore some years back, they had been washed out to sea some time since our last visit in July. We arrived to mixed cloudy skies and a falling tide, but to the west we could see the clouds and pillars of rain closing. We sat on a log and ate our tuna salad sandwiches from Good To Go. A fellow visitor warned us the weather was changing. Then we headed south along the beach. The sky grew grayer and darker. The water was a bit high to make it to the sea cave and the wind was rising from the south. We turned about and headed back. The drizzle started, then turned to rain. At least we didn't have a monkey playground of wet logs to clamber over. We dodged to the muddy safety of the woods and made our way home.	A real weather sky
You can see the rain showers coming in.	The sky was mixed when we arrived.
The sky turned gray as we explored.	More gray skies.
How the trail access looks now - just a few logs	How it looked before - lots of logs

Keywords: beaches, good to go, second beach, weather

07/19/09 - Mysterious Second Beach Sea stacks are always mysterious. They rise from the beach, but anything could be up there. Sometimes one sees roses or wild strawberries, but, since we are not great climbers, what ever else is up there is well hidden. There could even be farms and towns and forests, like the ones in New Guinea, waiting for discovery from the air. Sea fog only makes them more mysterious, so we made the most of the gray on our most recent visit to Second Beach.	The view from the mouth of the sea cave
Mysterious sea stack	The sky tries to turn blue
Another mysterious seastack	Starfish and tide pools
Misty forest	The coastal view

Keywords: second beach

05/20/09 - Second Beach and Pacific Fog

It was a sunny day in Port Angeles, and it stayed sunny as we headed west, but as we approached the Pacific, the sky turned gray and the sun vanished. On our last few trips to Second Beach, the sky had stayed sunny, but this time we got to enjoy the Pacific Fog. In some ways, we could see more with less light, because there was less glare. The cliffs seemed more jagged, the barnicles fiercer and the forests atop the seastacks greener.

On our way back, the sun returned as we journeyed inland, and we had a sunny journey home.

Keywords: second beach

05/01/09 - Springtime at Second Beach Second Beach is also showing signs of spring. There was a good low tide, so we went exploring. To start with, the beach is huge. The spring tides bring in sand, so we had lots of beach to explore, and the rocks and caves at the south end of the beach were easy clambering since so many of the rocks have been buried and little pools filled in with seasonal sand. There were also a lot more starfish and anemones, or at least more anemones visible.	A little starfish
The big beach	Starfish waiting out the low tide
We'll call these cocktail olive anemones.	This is a hollow tree an the trail to the beach. People have placed shells on its shelves as offerings.
Skunk cabbage in bloom	Now that we've been sensitized we are seeing trilliums everywhere.

Keywords: second beach, spring, tides, trillium

03/06/09 - Second Beach Update

We were back at Second Beach the other day. There weren't exactly signs of spring, but winter seems to be receding. To start with, there was a lot more sand around the entrance to the sea cave. There are still a lot of rocks, but the summer sand is coming in. Also, there were lots of starfish, hanging out on one of the rocks for the low tide.

As we said, not quite spring, but things are changing.

There was more sand around the entrance to the sea cave.

Keywords: second beach, spring, winter

02/05/09 - Winter Beach Second Beach is a winter beach, but there is still a lot to explore at low tide. The beach is broad and sandy, and there are even a few starfish in the tidepools. There is some rough going at the south end of the beach since so much sand has washed out for the season. Check our tide tables and look for a good mid-day low tide at Second Beach or Rialto Beach. (You can also see upcoming good tides in the left column of this web page).	The hole in the wall
Seastacks and a broad beach	Tidepools
Starfish are back.	More starfish
More seastacks	It is a rocky road to the cave entrance without sand.
Rough beach and seastacks	We don't know who has been making little leaf faces and leaving them on various trails, but hello again.

Keywords: rialto beach, second beach, tides, trails, winter

01/18/09 - Second Beach There are not a lot of great tides at Second Beach this time of year, but there was a two foot low tide a bit after noon so we hit the road. Second Beach was busy. We've seen it quieter on summer weekends. The beach was warm and sunny, a pleasant change. There were even people out in their bathing suits splashing in the shallows. Second Beach is otherworldly with the sun, the mists, the seastacks, the low flat beach and the massive trunks of driftwood tossed with abandon along the beach.
Amazing mist at the south end of the beach	Amazing light as well
Seastacks	The cave was barely visible until we were nearly upon it.
A mysterious channel
Driftwood at the mouth of the trail from the parking lot

Keywords: second beach, summer, tides

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