Water and ice have shaped three ecosystems in this vast wilderness that occupies most of the Olympic Peninsula: a rugged coastline of seastacks and tide pools; a rare, temperate rainforest lush with dense greenery; and mountains capped by numerous thick glaciers. I felt invigorated by the salty mist projected into the air by each wave, as it crashed on the dark, sandy beach. The ocean had lent me some of the strength it displayed when it tore those seastacks, tiny vegetated islets that dot the Pacific Northwest coast, away from the mainland.