Pacific north wonderland
Adventures and photos by Ben Matthews and Joe Haeberle.
Seldom sunny and forever misty--if you are lucky enough to call the Pacific Northwest home, please don't ever leave and let us stay with you! From the Oregon shores, to the Cascades in Washington, all the way up to British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest is a pocket of stunning mountains, challenging trails, beautiful beaches, and a whole lot of hipster. Mother nature was clearly picking favorites, and they have the greenery to prove it.
We asked MOBsters Ben Matthews and Joe Haeberle, professional photographers and adventurers, to tell us about some of their favorite adventures while spending time in the Pacific Northwonderland--they took an epic road trip and filled us in on their favorite PNW spots below!
Cannon Beach
After making our voyage from the high prairies and mountains of Wyoming to the state where it’s illegal to pump your own gas, Oregon, we were stoked. We knew that salty water was in our near future. After a quick stop in Portlandia, we made the short drive to the coast to the quaint little town of Cannon Beach, OR.
For some of us, it was our first time in our lives to see the Pacific Ocean. It was a magical moment to see that seemingly never-ending water and the large rocks that appear to come out of nowhere in the water. We walked down on the beach and let the crisp water touch our feet and quickly realized that the Pacific is, indeed, much colder water than its eastern loving brother, the Atlantic. We were only there for a few minutes before the rain came in, strong and sideways. We took shelter back in our cars and waited for it to pass. It didn’t seem like it was going to pass, so we started the car and got ready to leave. Just as I was putting the car in reverse to pull out of our parking spot, the sun came out and the rain started to trickle off and stop.
Obviously, we got back out of the car and went back on the beach. The way the sun was shining through the clouds and onto the beach was incredible. We ran around like crazy people, whooping and hollering, running into the water a little too deep… all of us had sea-soaked pants by the time we left that place. It was awesome.
More information here on the ins and outs of Canon Beach. Get directions here.
Third Beach
Our jaws dropped as we walked onto Third Beach. Six of us had been crammed in a car for the past eight hours and we were jonesing to get out and go. After driving across the Northern Rim of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, we’d seen all the road we needed.
We got our bags packed halfway around the peninsula in Port Angeles, WA, so everyone had their packs ready to go. All we had to do was step out of the car. In Olympic National Park alone, there are 611 miles that await you. We decided to do a shorter hike to Third Beach.
At first, right out of the car, there was just forest. Not that we weren’t impressed, but we wanted more. After about a mile and a half hike, we hit the beach, and man, was it amazing. With huge pillars of stone sticking out of the water, a waterfall, and the perfect beach to camp on, we were in heaven.
We spent the night lounging around in the beauty around us. We set up each of our tents, and I was actually able to celebrate my 21st birthday surrounded by friends, on a beach, hammocking. The only worry I had was the weather; it would be too cloudy for sunrise the next morning. To me, that was perfect.
Trail information on Third Beach here.