I'd been creeping the past rainy days on the wonderful resource that is WTA.org's trip reports and one in particular caught my attention in particular Damon Point, in Ocean Shores. Not only would it be a welcome trip to the coast.. but what really sucked me in was the brilliant photos of snowy owls in every trip report. Well duh.. as a member of the Harry Potter generation, how could I pass up the chance to see Hedwig out in the real world? The answer was.. I couldn't.
The trip was going to be about a two-and-a-half hour drive from the Seattle area, so in a more impulsive decision, I packed up the car for a beach overnight complete with an insane amount of layers and sleeping bags. My destination for the evening would be Ocean City State Park. If making the trek to the coast in any situation, this state park has a good location. Just outside of Ocean Shores, it's also right off SR115 so it's both easy to find and easy to continue towards the owls from. Beware though, as with many winter coastal campsites, there was a large amount of standing water and flooding which made choosing an actual site a bit more challenging.
I managed to arrive just as the sun was setting and could put up the tent while it was still light. The tent I grabbed in the flurry of packing was a generic 2-3 'backpacking' size that we've had for a couple years. It's great with more people within, but was a bit of an access just for me. Also got quite a very double-takes setting up my tent among all the 5th-wheelers. With the tent set, dinner consisted of a cup-o-noodle and salmon jerky. My shameless plug at this point would be for my little Sterno stove. Heated up so incredibly quickly, the water boiled in a jiff, in fact before I could even get much into my book! A pleasant surprise to be sure, since as the light left the temperatures began to plummet.
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| Evening festivities. |
I think the highlight of the evening was certainly polishing off an entire book from within not one..but two sleeping bags and the peek of some of the brightest stars I've seen in awhile. You head to the coast and you forget that the stars may be just as bright as the wilderness, but accompanied by even the crashing of the waves lulled me right to sleep, even in below freezing temperatures.
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I awoke just before the sun to a little winter wonderland. My tent was covered in frost and everything outside crunched under my boots, makes sense as it was 28F. To keep warm and get a good start on the day I followed the park's beach access trail for a short walk to beach first thing out of the confines of the sleeping bag(s). It was a refreshing decision. Never had I been on frozen sand before, and the bright blues of the sky accompanied a soft layerings of pinks purples and yellows as the sun rose. I also was lucky enough to watch a Peregrine falcon catch it's breakfast.
I didn't bother with much of my own food to begin with; just the tried and true peanut butter sandwich with some instant coffee that was started as I packed up the campsite back into the trunk of the car. Owls awaited.
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Took about ten minutes to get there, following the easy directions provided in the hiking guide for Damon Point. Parking was free (hooray!), and the descriptions of the RV park and deserted hotel were helpful in spotting the entrance. Heading east, the fog was just beginning to clear as I started down the beach. Chilly with the wind, the first bit of the hike is rather uneventful, the beach rocky and with driftwood, you can just see the more interesting, brushy area ahead so hang in there. (Or if you're lucky to catch a glimpse of the Olympics from across the bay).
As recommended by a previous trip report, I followed the beach rather than the old road and was rewarded almost instantly as I approached the brush. The trick for finding the owls if at first you don't see their bright white and grey fluffy bodies.. Look for the photographers with the telephoto lenses and where they're pointing. Now I may have looked a bit silly following up with my point and shoot camera, but half the time I was too flabbergasted to do much else. You see one of these gorgeous creatures fly and you can't help but play the Harry Potter theme song in your head. AND they are absolutely MASSIVE, also not something you realize until you're out there.
If you're headed out there, I certainly advocate for a pair of binoculars or a camera to see these beauties up close, because while some owls were mellow and sedentary, others were fairly skittish. Normally found on and around the driftwood, I was most lucky when I made the trek back down the road and encountered some roosted in the tops of trees. Much less threatened from their higher perches, I got to enjoy the owls to myself and for a longer amount of time. Overall there were somewhere between 2 and 6 owls around while I spent an hour or two traipsing around, and it was well worth it. Next time I'll pack my earphones to play 'Hedwig's Theme' to make my life complete.
Tempted?
Here's some helpful links:
Damon Point Hiking Guide
Ocean City State Park
Hedwig's Theme Song
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