My wife and I went out to Shi Shi in March of last year, and the last part of the trail was very muddy--we had to be careful to avoid having the mud spill over the top of our hiking boots.
Rain gear is a necessity out on the West End. The earlier comments about the rain forest are correct. For example, the rain guage on the lodge at Lake Quinault measures in feet, not inches.
If it turns out to be too wet out there, drive back to Port Townsend (the route back to Seattle comes close to PT anyway). We are in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and get about 1/10th the amount of rain as the Pacifici beaches. Lots of Victorian architecture, beaches, lighthouse, historic downtown, restored 19th century hotels, no big-box stores, and lots of good restaurants. The movie theater, the Rose Theater, even has an employee introduce each film. If you like massive concrete structures, then the old gun positions at Fort Worden State Park in PT will provide plenty of good material.
Having said this, I have to admit that the Pacific beaches are incredible places as people noted earlier.
Keith
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