Olympic Ntnl Park – Ruby Beach

Ruby Beach gets it’s name because of the ruby like crystals that get washed to the beach from the fresh water flowing down the mountains and onto the beach. These crystals are the by product of the glacier activity that used to happen in this area.

Although the road leading to the parking area was fenced off, there were numerous cars parked along Hwy 101 at the barriers. I joined the crowd and hiked down to the beach on foot. No appearance of any Ranger offering warnings or citations.

Once down on the beach I snapped a few photos but an overwhelming urge to get to the other side of the fresh-water river cutting the beach in half occupied me for some time. The flow was only a few inches deep, but 30 feet across in one particular area. At first I tried tossing in some large driftwood logs, but they kept… well… drifting away. I had decided that I must get to the other side and knew I was going to have to get my feet wet. One question remained; will my boots and socks get wet too? Eventually I simply removed the boots and socks and waded over to the other side with my pants legs hiked up past my knees. Unfortunately, the beach was too rocky for me to travel without those boots and socks (which I left behind) so it was all for nothing other than the simple joy of crossing the river on foot. Clearly my Indian name would be “tenderfoot” as even these nicely polished rocks were too much for my prissy feet.