The second leg of the expedition begins next Monday. Hobuck Beach to La Push, and we’re looking over the maps to try and determine our main survey beaches along the way. It’s a moving target – sort of – it’s hard to know exactly what the best spots will be until we can actually put our eyes on them.

The idea behind the whole venture is, for the most part, we want to examine the places that are difficult (or impossible) to access any other way. We may change the scope at some points, but that’s the main criteria. If there’s a beach that is obviously more covered than others, we might stop and do a survey there, even if it’s a beach that can be reached on foot or by another sort of boat. But the guiding principle is, except in a few special cases, we want to focus on the places that are the most difficult to get to.

Sea cave north of Portage Head (note the kayakers in the entrance). Photo: Ken Campbell

Our first night out from Hobuck will be spent in the neighborhood of Portage Head. It’s just to the south from our put-in, just around the corner, but it’s a world away. The trail to Shi Shi Beach runs through the woods high above and the little beach that we’re planning to land on is nestled between two rocky points that can’t be rounded on foot. Rock gardens make the approach from the water problematic too, although with kayaks, we shouldn’t have too much trouble.

Of course, if there is a big swell on…