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OLYMPIC PENNINSULA BASECAMP

Building a base for slug seekers, tide witches, and intertidal dreamers.

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Overview

After years of wandering the Pacific Northwest with Mi-Shell (the trusty Tacoma), documenting the living neon scriptures of the intertidal, I have finally acquired a small slice of land on the Olympic Peninsula. This project is the beginning of a physical headquarters for exploration, community-building, and deep observation of the coast’s most intricate life forms, especially nudibranchs.

The goal isn’t a polished resort. It’s a wild, DIY, scientist-witch outpost designed for those who want to wake up at 4 a.m. for minus tides and return kelp-covered and spiritually cleansed.

This land will serve as:

  • A glamping-style field station for 6–8 visiting slug enthusiasts

  • A launchpad for expeditions to La Push, Second Beach, Sekiu, and dozens of hot spots (all within about a 30-minute drive)

  • A proof-of-concept for low-impact, creature-centered coastal exploration base

  • A place to cultivate stewardship, research, and a little bit of weirdness

Vision

The Basecamp will be:

  • Part tidepooling HQ

  • Part community science hub

  • Part mystical slug sanctuary

  • Part glamp site for people who live for low tides

Visitors won’t just sleep on the land, they’ll contribute to documenting and understanding the region’s marine biodiversity.

This is where data, art, science communication, and citizen science merge.

Guiding Principles

  • Creature-first ethics: Exploration without harm. Education without extraction.

  • Minimal footprint: Rain catchment, composting systems, thoughtful infrastructure.

  • Community-driven: Built with the skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm of followers, friends, and fellow slug fans.

  • DIY where possible: A shoestring budget, a dream, and a wild determination.

Project Phases

Phase 1 — Foundations (Now–Early 2026)

  • Land clean-up & parking established for up to 3 vehicles

  • Erect a small shed + install composting toilet  COMPLETE!!

  • Set up initial rainwater catchment COMPLETE!!

  • Create 2–3 primitive camping pads  Work in progress. One sleeping tent, one gathering tent and one relax-by-the-fire tents are built, but more as a temporary set up while we work on everything. 

  • Build initial fire ring & gathering spaceCOMPLETE!!

  • Community call-out for help: builders, architects, engineers, carpenters, off-grid wizards, etc. First help is coming April to build food storage/solar storage tower

Phase 2 — Glamping & Field Station Setup (Mid 2026)

  • Lay down 2-3 platforms for shelters to go on top

  • Install basic solar set up to power wifi, charge devices, provide lighting

  • Construct small legal, non permanent dwellings ( yurt, canvas tent etc)

  • Add a dry shelter for outdoor kitchen

  • Outdoor hot-water shower (fed by rain catchment)

  • Raise communal equipment shelter with gear and reference materials

  • Begin hosting 1-2 small groups at a time for tide pool exploration

Phase 3 — Refinement (late 2026)

  • Upgrades as needed + as budget allows

  • Start planning a permanent future set up 

  • Continue to refine the temporary campsite while saving and planning for future construction

What This Land Means

For the past couple years, I have been exploring the Olympic Peninsula, obsessively documenting its slugs, tides, and weird coastal secrets. This little 0.2-acre slice of earth is the first real foothold — the place where she can stop wandering from and start wandering from home.

This project will grow slowly, intentionally, and in collaboration with the community that has supported me from the beginning.

Vision

CURRENT PHASE

current

HOW TO HELP

help

🌲 How to Help Build the Basecamp

The Coastal Basecamp is a slow-growing, hand-powered, creature-centered project.
If you’re reading this, you’re already part of its story.

I’m beginning the first wave of work just after Thanksgiving, carving out parking space, setting up the toilet shed, and building the early infrastructure of Phase 1.
If it’s already December as you’re reading this- hey, that part might be done! Or half-done. Or chaos. You know how land projects go.

After that, I’ll be heading out to the property about once a month, refining Phase 1 and slowly shaping the Basecamp into a functional, beautiful, creature-safe place. I try to line these work trips up with low tides, though winter low tides are in the dark, which is fine if you have a buddy and a headlamp and a willingness to feel like you’re in a weird coastal side quest.

If you want to help… you can.

🚗 1. Join a Work Trip

Over the next few months, I can host:

  • 1–2 additional vehicles on the land

  • folks willing to rough it a bit, haul some materials, chop some brush, build simple infrastructure, or help problem-solve

  • people who want to work and go tidepooling afterward

I can commit to posting or confirming dates about 3 weeks in advance, so you’ll have time to plan. Don’t want to camp on raw land yet? No problem. There’s a more developed campground five minutes away, and I can cover the cost of a campsite for volunteers.

🌧️ 2. Donate or Offer Useful Items

I’m maintaining a running list of needed materials (still a work in progress)— everything from tools to tarps to storage totes to weird goblin items that make off-grid life smoother.

If you:

  • have something gently used you’re planning to get rid of

  • have something that might fit the needs of early land development

  • see something on the list and can donate it

  • or even just want to help me choose better versions of the items…

I would love that.

Everything going to the land must be physically driven out there by myself or someone visiting:

  • 4 hours from Seattle

  • 30 seconds off Highway 101

  • very easy access once you’re there

I can also pick items up from folks in Seattle or nearby.

🪵 3. Offer Skills, Advice, or Problem-Solving Magic

Even if you can’t come out physically, your mind is welcome.

I love:

  • recommendations for better tools or gear

  • advice on off-grid systems

  • insight into building, drainage, or land layout

  • clever, weird solutions

  • “hey Lulu this is dumb, here’s a better version” energy

If you’re a land goblin, an engineer, a carpenter, an off-grid nerd, or just someone who lives for this kind of stuff, your guidance helps.

🔥 4. Come Tidepooling With Me

The Basecamp will always be tied to the tides.
If you help on the land, you’re invited to:

  • join tidepooling sessions

  • help scout rarely-visited beaches

  • celebrate good work with cold Pacific air in your lungs

  • experience the Olympic Peninsula the way it’s meant to be experienced

You don’t need to be an expert, just someone who cares.

5. Communication

If you have reached out to me via Instagram, I am going to add you to a list of "close friends". Look out for special updates on my story with work/tide pool dates. I will also maintain an email list, so please reach out if you wish to be added to receive the same updates I'll post on Instagram.  I am not great at keeping the website current as it takes a lot of time sitting on my butt and I am not good at that. Just reach out if you would like an update.

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What’s in place now (Feb 1)

  • Driveway markers are in and there’s a “Slug Crossing” sign at the entrance, accompanied by a solar snail lamp because obviously.

  • Toilet shed is fully operational and stocked with TP and supplies for servicing it.

    • Composting bin is set up behind the shed for waste.

    • Hand-washing station is in place with soap.

    • The shed has a solar light, which feels luxurious at night.

  • Fire ring is installed and functional.

  • A small covered sitting area (tented) sits nearby for staying dry in classic PNW conditions.

  • One REI 6-person tent is permanently up and currently serves as a dry sleeping space until it eventually disintegrates back into the ecosystem.

  • A 12 × 12 hexagon stand-up tent is also erected and functioning as a communal dry zone:

    • Pots and pans

    • First aid supplies

    • Legos (non-negotiable morale infrastructure)

    • Two donated comfy chairs and a table live here now, which dramatically upgrades the vibe.

  • Solar lights are installed, though more are definitely needed.

  • A 54-gallon rain barrel is in place and seems permanently full—non-potable, but more than enough water for current needs.

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Current challenges

  • Transport limits: My truck is set up as a full-time sleeping platform, which means I can’t haul much gear per trip. Progress happens in layers, not bulk deliveries.

  • Driveway anxiety: I only have rear-wheel drive, and the driveway still makes me nervous. Improving traction and stability here is a priority.

  • Water scaling: One rain barrel is working beautifully, which makes me think… maybe more rain barrels.

What’s next

  • Hot shower setup is officially on the wish list.

  • In April, my dad is coming out to help build a food storage shed, which will be a huge functional upgrade.

  • I’ll be adding a form for people interested in staying on the land, so visits can be intentional, paced, and mutually respectful.

This place isn’t “done.”
It’s becoming usable, slowly and honestly, shaped by weather, logistics, and repeated return.

More soon.
The land keeps teaching me what it needs next.

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©2025 by Luan. Proudly created with science.

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