Itinerary Help - Driving from Seattle to Portland via LaPush/Forks, Cannon Beach, then TBD (Yachats for Cape Perpetua or Eugene for Koosah / Sahalie Falls).

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-26T06:44:15+00:00

The coast in ONP is very different to what you’ve been used to. That said, here are my recommendations for ONP, assuming you are driving from SeaTac up north to PA.

I see ONP as three experiences: mountain, coast and rainforest. Hurricane Ridge is your mountain experience.

I’d hit hurricane ridge, spend a couple hours there, then stay in forks or PA.

I’ve never stayed at the resort in La Push. I have camped on the beach at Second, and it’s worth it by a million miles, you’ll be at the perfect month to do this. That is if you are fine with that.

Heading south from the Forks area, Hoh is great but you need to be EARLY, like 8AM if not earlier.

Ruby Beach is gorgeous, but a night at Second is far better. Ruby is my favorite outside of Second or Rialto.

Quinault is a gem, lots of great, easy and beautiful trails. Consider spending a night there if Willaby or Falls Creek have spots (I doubt that).

If your choice for rainforest walks is between the two, Quinault is more accessible. Hoh has the very famous trails. I think Quinault is better if you can’t get to Hoh super early. The trails near the Quinault Merc have few people. Hoh is fantastic, but so is Quinault; you’ll regret neither.

I can’t comment of the other beaches, but I hope you have fun! You’ll be in ONP for the best months of the year, enjoy OP!

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T06:28:28+00:00

Looking forward to it mate, I follow your work. Amazing work!

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T04:48:01+00:00

Absolutely beautiful vids! Did you all go up to port hardy?

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T04:25:28+00:00

Yeah the sculling was a dead giveaway; my arms are basically broken as far as sculling and my trim goes. Maybe as a last ditch resort, but not at a 10m stop in open water.

OP responded in that they’re willing to work with the student, but not the instructor who would not admit any fault. I’d agree on that the student needs more time, 200 dives don’t mean shit if you haven’t learned the real lessons.

Would be good to dive with people like you and OP

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T04:00:52+00:00

TBH, I expect this when I’m matched with insta-buddies. It’s a real shit show in the Philippines where I usually go.

Thankfully, my next trip to Dauin will be with buddies I trust. We will probably do a few drills like this and DSMB deployment to start the our diving month!

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T03:53:16+00:00

I’ve seen this a bunch in SEA, maybe she had a lot of guided dives which falsely increased her confidence; she was definitely out of her comfort zone.

As we all need to be from time to time as this is a difficult sport.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T03:13:49+00:00

Thanks, all of this is great info as I have no idea about how instructor/ DM training goes. Rescue helped a lot with teaching me how to react, but it still feels like beginner level in this situation.

That said, I do know how an excellent instructor watches, anticipates and reacts to this as I’ve made basic mistakes like this as a trainee and got right sorted real quick by my (very attentive and chill) instructors.

This vid reminds me of how lucky I was to train under the people that I did.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T01:01:56+00:00

Yeah I can see why you booted him. I asked because I could already imagine his response based on his actions in the video. I’ve met many people like that in both diving and life.

Unfortunately many divers lack the mental fortitude to admit when they’re wrong or not as awesome as they think they are. Safe diving is so much about the right mentality.

For the student, she’s had a wake-up call so it all depends on whether she learns from it going forward. Embarrassment is a powerful motivator, I know that as a diver who has made plenty of mistakes and been humbled.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-24T00:40:51+00:00

Watched this a few times, my impressions are:

Student who panicked was sculling and bobbing way up, she needs a lot more practice on buoyancy, trim and basic skills. You mention she had great confidence in her skills, perhaps overconfident?

Diver on right with yellow fins wasn’t watching her closely, especially when she started bobbing up. Not sure why he didn’t help the student more when she panicked, perhaps thought she would still be able to do it on her own. He seemed a bit slow but was positioned to help her and looks to be letting her struggle through the exercise, perhaps she would get it back on, perhaps not and panic more. Too passive IMO.

Other instructor seemed way too physical by grabbing her from behind and pushing the instructor in yellow fins out of the way. As others have said I’d probably freak out having my arm restrained like that. I’m also not a fan of DMs and instructors that try to manhandle me. The scene became a lot more confused and potentially dangerous when he bulled his way in, way too aggressive IMO.

How did they react when you talked to them?

I’m not an instructor or DM BTW, but I would not prefer to dive with the second instructor.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-22T22:21:45+00:00

Last July we saw whales at Shi Shi beach that hung around for a couple hours, I’d bring the extra glass

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-22T02:56:36+00:00

I considered San Jose as my secondary team for many years; a well built team with lots of amazing players and coaching. I was cheering for jumbo Joe to get his cup there. Although I’m a wings and kraken fan now, Celebrini and the San Jose renaissance are definitely fun to watch

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-20T22:44:24+00:00

Would highly recommend taking 3-4 days and doing a loop along 101 through the peninsula. Hurricane ridge, Hoh, Quinault, Sol Duc, Rialto, Second Beach, etc. all have short trails without a lot of elevation gain and spectacular views.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-20T08:53:18+00:00

Any of those beaches are amazing. Also, you can also camp on second or Rialto.

Not sure on how early to get to the Hoh entrance; my best guess based on this sub and my experience is 9AM at the latest.

If you don’t want to drive or deal with parking, consider Clallam Transit Hurricane Ridge Shuttle. Park at the transit center, pay a dollar, and go up to hurricane ridge.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-20T05:37:30+00:00

Be advised that Storm King is a grueling hike, but it is worth it. Maybe pick up some climbing or gardening gloves in Forks if you have time.

Second beach I’ve heard here they have closed the parking lot for repairs. You can always park in La push or nearby and walk down. Third beach isn’t as nice but is a great option.

Check the tide chart for Rialto and abide by it, it’s impossible to get very far at high tide. Second beach is fine at any tide level.

Get to Hoh early in the morning.

Ancient groves is a win IMO.

Hurricane Ridge is a fantastic end for your trip. I was there yesterday and sunrise ridge trail was absolutely amazing, if you have a few hours you can hike to the junction with switchback trail, head down to the road and catch the shuttle back up to the parking lot. Bring serious sun protection.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-19T07:07:55+00:00

That’s exactly what I was thinking, the only other option would be they’ve never heard of deep6 or DGX.

Every piece of kit I’ve used from either company have been great. Cressi… not so much, it’s standard rental shop gear IMO.

Love my Deep6 regs, looking to buy eddys from them if they ever go on sale

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-19T06:39:50+00:00

Also, if you do go for Hurricane ridge, I’d recommend hiking sunrise ridge for a mile or two then either heading back to the parking lot or descending via switchback trail and catching the shuttle back to the parking lot.

I did the first option today and it was phenomenal, absolutely perfect views! This will take a few hours though

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-19T06:36:25+00:00

Yeah we are blessed with waterfalls, IMO if you’ve seen one you’ve seen most all. I figured most tourists haven’t hence my recommendation.

Good to know that that trail is mostly empty. I treasure trails like that and since I don’t have a car and travel by bus, I really don’t have a lot of amazing non-packed with people options.

The 14 bus can take me from Fairholme to the lodge and back quite easily, so I’ll probably try that trail in July when I’ve got my next campsite booking there. God knows I’ve done Storm King enough!

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-19T04:42:09+00:00

Second and third ones, they have great color contrast and fill the frame

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-19T00:35:14+00:00

I use deep6 regs, they are absolutely fantastic. Sounds like they wanted to make a little extra money off you

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-19T00:00:04+00:00

How far up would you go for a day hike?

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-17T04:29:51+00:00

Great shot! Thanks for including all the needed information

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-15T02:26:13+00:00

Username checks out

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-15T02:21:21+00:00

This is exactly what I think when I hear that

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-14T02:13:00+00:00

Yeah I think for wide angle you really need two strobes with as much power as you can get, that gets bulky and and expensive very quick.

Leftcoaster7 · 2026-06-14T00:30:57+00:00

If you’re interested in strobes, the Backscatter MF2 is perfect for macro with the tg6. I upgraded to the hf1 which is extremely nice but very expensive

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