October 18th
Giants Campsite(506.8)-1km before Irwin Inlet Crossing(528.7)
Mileage: 21.9mi/35.3km
Campsite Elevation: 20ft/6m
I feel like a broken record starting my entry this way again, but it did rain some overnight. It wasn’t bad and I still got more sleep than I would have gotten in the shelter with five other people. I went to sleep early last night before finishing blogging because I kept dozing off. I knew I would wake up refreshed in the middle of the night, and that is exactly what happened. I woke up wide awake around 2:30am and did the blog for about an hour and then I went back to sleep. That seems to be happening a lot that if I’m too tired to write I just go to sleep early and then I find myself wide awake in the middle of the night, so then I can do the entry and go back to sleep. Hey, whatever works. I ended up quite awake and ready to hike well before 7am, which was when I had agreed to hike out with Mike. I figured I could pack up and then head up the hill a bit and post the blog where I knew I would probably get service just half a mile from camp. Ross and Barb were also ready early so I told them all I’d just be up trail posting the blog and we all ended up together by mid morning.
I hiked the first half of the day mainly with Barb, Ross, and Mike. It was a nice change of pace to chat with people for the morning and get to know them. It was quite a gorgeous day today. I took many photos the first half of the day, but near lunch Mike (trail name Hui), let me know that he would prefer to not be photographed and posted on the blog. That is understandable and I’ve had others request the same thing when they are personal people. It does make sense for people who don’t know the person blogging that they would not fully feel comfortable possibly with what may or may not get posted. I wanted to mention it, because I still wanted to use many of the photos he was in this morning, so I needed to be a little creative with the editing. I think you all will enjoy it…
More tingle trees.
Morning break with Barb and Ross.
I have my days mapped out for lower miles the rest of the hike, but tomorrow and the next day will have some rain showers, so I decided to do more today so I could do less tomorrow when the weather isn’t great.
Sand dune walking.
A stretch on the beach.
We all had lunch at the Rame Head Shelter, which was very nicely situated to have coastal views. We could see the rest of our day ahead of us. The track would go along the coast and then it would curve around into Peaceful Bay.
Hard to see, but looking ahead at coast line and Peaceful Bay.
With the great weather and inspiring scenery, I was really antsy to stretch my legs and just go. I said bye to everyone after lunch and headed out so that I could get my resupply box I had sent to Peaceful Bay Caravan Park. The other hikers were going to camp there or somewhere very close to there. I figured I would hike on until near dark with the great weather.
The hike coming into Peaceful Bay was wonderful. I felt like I was soaring with the scenery. The temperatures were perfect, and there was little wind. The waves were coming in more powerful than I’ve ever seen in my life. It was quite impressive to watch as they powered onto the shore and into the rocks spraying high in the air. Of course, photos don’t do it justice.
Later, as I was turning a corner, there was a side trail to a lookout. I chose not to take it because I had been seeing the same views all day and thought that I had seen what would be over there. A bit later, I checked the guidebook and it mentioned that spot had seals. I missed seeing seals! I kicked myself for not looking at the book sooner. There are many people who hike out here without the guidebook at all, it is quite wordy and detailed, which is great, but there are times that I just want to experience where I’m at and not be interrupted by reading every five minutes. The markers are usually so clear that they can be followed without the guidebook. I’ve enjoyed having it, but there are times that I just let it go so that I can be present and take it all in.
Looking back on where I came from.
A kangaroo on the coast. So surreal!
Heading towards Peaceful Bay.
When I got close to Peaceful Bay, there was a couple walking along the beach. When I got closer to them, I was surprised to find out that it was the same couple (Jan and Rory) I met at dinner when I was in Walpole two nights ago.
Jan and Rory
Jan and Rory are from Alaska, and are biking along the coast here. I knew they were headed this way, but the chances of us intersecting like this was quite rare. It was fun to see them. When I met them the other night in Walpole, I managed to not take a photo that night at dinner like I usually do. I think I was tired and got lax with photos that day. I always like to take photos because you never know who might pop up again. Of course, the one time I don’t take a photo, and I see them again two days later. They will be in my next town at the same time as me as well. Fun coincidence.
I stopped in Peaceful Bay to get my resupply box and throw it all in my pack. By the time I left Peaceful Bay, it was 4:50pm. I usually try to stop around 5:30-6pm, but I was willing to go later today until I found a good camp spot. I was hoping to find something with a coastal view because the track is paralleling the coast, but was out of luck. The wide track was obstructed and quite brushy on both sides, so I was not able to see the ocean unless I peeked over the brush, but I could hear it! At 6:10pm, I found a good spot tucked in a forest just 1km away from Irwin Inlet.
I had a standoff with this dude for a couple minutes. He looked tough!
Evening track walking.
There are many inlets coming up in the next few days and all are different as far as if they are passable or will require something different to get across. For example, the Irwin Inlet, which I’ll do tomorrow morning, has canoes sitting on shore for people to use to cross the 200m inlet. I’ll explain more on this tomorrow, but here is a great shot of the inlet this evening before I dropped down to the forest.
Irwin Inlet
Well, once again I’m struggling to stay awake, so I’ll stop there for tonight. Excited about the canoe tomorrow morning!
Such stunning scenery . Down in that area , there is almost a surprise around every corner . Just don’t be tempted to get closer to the ocean by standing on rocky outcrops that are subject to the power of the sea ,because the surprise might be bigger than you want ! Thanks for another couple of days of taking me along on your ” walk ” . I’m loving it .
What a glorious day wending along the coast…no rain, bright skies, yippee!! And your Mikey minion stand-in is seriously hilarious and SO well done!! Perfect poses. Love the poles in one, exuberant Wired-esque leap in another, bright oversized body leading the sand trudge (walking backwards, or waiting to greet the slowpokes, maybe), dwarfing the tiny human hikers. He even looks like he’s wearing a headlamp in broad daylight, the goofus. What a stitch. Necessity the mother of creative blog genius. Will be re-enjoying this particular entry many times.
Hope you had a successful canoe trip with no wavelets swamping the boat. Wish someone were around to take a video. Maybe Minion Mikey can lend 2 teeny hands.
Oh you are cracking me up! I just finished the crossing! Intimidating for me, but thankfully I did not have to do it twice to bring more back to the other side. They are heavy! Sadly I did put the camera and phone deep away because I am not confident in my canoe abilities and didn’t want to risk it.
I had a strong wind blow me in my canoe upstream from the landing place and as I had the last canoe from my side, I then had to make two more crossings to leave one on the other side. A really nice fisherman in a tinny (small boat) saw me struggling to launch the two canoes in the wind and came across and towed them back for me. What a top bloke. I’ll never forget him for his kindness.
Oh man, that was my fear. I knew many were behind me, but they were so heavy and I wasn’t confident in my skills to do it two more times and get my arms tired moving them all alone.
Loved Mike’s stunt double. And “The Standoff”. How does this coastal walk compare to the northern Lost Coast Trail?
No comparison. I really didn’t like the Lost Coast and felt like I could have walked that type of beach anywhere. Out here is much much grander and more enjoyable.
Anyone who only tunes in to look at the photos is gonna be a little freaked out… haha! Love the ocean shots, just beautiful.
So are there rules for dealing with kangaroos like we have with bears?
I’d say they are more like deer. AT Donnelly River where they were everywhere, they were treated like a dog as they tried to get food and had to be pushed away. They have claws and can kick!
I would certainly not want to tangle with one.. especially Mama Roo.
The minion! Lol. What a great day you had x
Love the creativity of Minion Mike 🙂 I’d enjoy the roo sightings, so unique for us.
Ahh, this made me smile.. the coast, the large kangaroo, the minions…
Kangaroos on the beach?! Love it! Great pics! This trip is inspiring and it’s good to see you enjoying this section more than “swimming” through the last week!
There is actually a spot to go swimming today and it’s still in the 50s so I have no interest in that side trip at all!
Great pics, the coastal part of the track looks beautiful. That Roo certainly has style. It’s very rare for them to attack people though I wouldn’t get too close. Here’s their fighting style. I reckon this is where kick boxing came from. Enjoy 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCcLMNcWZOc
Oh man, that was really good!
Omigosh!
I think maybe they are potentially more dangerous than deer if they happened to dislike you.
That 8 foot tall dude was scary
The little Joey just floated but he was smart to back down from that larger ‘roo.
I love your blog, Erin, and I love the comments too!
That editing is too much — maybe you should throw an edit in every now and then and let the readers try to guess what is behind the Minion!!!! Sorry we haven’t emailed before but we are following you from out here in rainy (and much colder than where you are at) Oregon
Good to hear from you two!
The Minion just made me laugh so hard!!! Thanks.
The ocean does look angry and when it is like that it can surely be dangerous. Giving it a wide birth is always best as mentioned above.
Loving this section along the beach.
Cheers