Category: Northern Coast

Neahkahnie Mountain

Happy New Year! A favorable weather forecast encouraged us to kick off our 2014 hiking year a bit sooner than planned. Just as we had done last year we turned to the Oregon Coast to get things started. While most of the country was dealing with frigid temperatures we were off to Oswald West State Park where a Sun filled day and 50 degree temperatures awaited.

For Heather and I this was our second visit to the park. In June 2012 we hiked out and around Cape Falcon where wild flowers and dramatic views were plentiful. (Pictures from that hike can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157632953462404/ ) For this trip we were set to explore the southern end of the park and follow the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) up to the summit of 1631′ Neahkahnie Mountain.
Neahkahnie Mountain from Cape Falcon in 2012

We parked in the large beach access parking area on the east side of Highway 101 where the Short Sand Beach trail begins. This was the same trail we had started on for our previous visit, but after a couple of hundred yards we turned left onto the Old Growth trail. Two tenths of a mile on that trail brought us to a trail junction with restrooms where we forked left on the .1 mile Cedar Crossing trail. This path ended at Necarney Creek where it intersected the .3 mile Necarney Creek trail. (As you can tell there are a lot of short trails in the area.)

At the Necarney Creek trail we had an option. According to the park brochure/trail map if we turned left we would find the .4 mile Necarney Falls trail. I had read a trip report from 2012 that indicated there was some bushwhacking involved in reaching the waterfall but the trail was still shown on the online map so left we went. Soon the Necarney Creek trail bent away from the creek which was where we had expected to find the falls trail, but there were no trail signs and we quickly reached the end of the creek trail at a small parking area. After re checking the park map and verifying the location of the supposed trail we returned to the bend to see if we could find it. There was a faint unmarked path leading toward the creek into the underbrush at the bend which we decided must have been what was left of the trail. It was less than .5 miles to the falls so we decided to make an attempt at reaching them and headed into the brush.

The former trail was virtually gone save for a few short sections here and there. We kept as close to the creek as possible as we made our way under the highway and up the narrow canyon. There were several slides and plenty of downed trees to pick our way around. After crossing a small side stream the canyon narrowed even more and we were forced down to the creek bed. Luckily the water level was low enough that we were able to stay dry by rock hopping until we reached Necarney Falls. The reward was worth the efforts.

We retraced our steps (as best as we could) and returned to the maintained trails where we followed the Necarney Creek trail to a foot bridge which crossed the creek and led to the Elk Flats trail.

We took a quick trip down to Short Sand Beach before for a photo-op before setting off on the Elk Flats trail.

We then followed the 1.3 mile Elk Flats trail through the park passing several nice ocean views before entering a meadow near the Devils Cauldron overlook.

After taking in the view from the overlook we climbed east through the meadow to yet another small parking area along Hwy 101. Across the highway was the North Neahkahnie Mountain trail. Both the Neahkahnie Mountain and Elk Flats trail are part of the OCT which extends 360 miles from the Washington border to California. Less than 100 miles of the OCT are actual trail though, with the majority of rest of the miles being on beaches and the remainder on the shoulder of Highway 101.

After crossing the highway we quickly began climbing, needing to gain 1200′ in 2 miles of trail. The first section of the trail led up through an open meadow via a series of switchbacks. We guessed the meadow would be full of flowers in Spring and early Summer, but for this hike we were content with the views which extended from Cape Falcon in the north to Cape Mears and Cape Lookout to the south.
Looking up the meadow:

Cape Falcon from the meadow:

At the top of the meadow the trail entered an old growth forest where it remained until we were just below the rocky summit. The view from the summit was excellent and the clear skies and lack of a significant breeze made it a perfect spot for lunch.
Entering the forest:

Summit view:

Lunch:

After lunch we returned they way we had come (minus the side trip to Necarney Falls 🙂 ). We decided to make one final stop though before leaving the coast. Dominique had not been with us in October when we hiked at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, so he had not had the experience of dining at the Pelican Pub. This was as close as our hiking schedule would bring us to Pacific City this year so we took a short detour and stopped in for an early dinner. The food was a good as we’d remembered and we were fortunate enough to be there as the Sun set over the Pacific which was a perfect way to end the first hike of the new year. Happy Trails!

The rest of the photos on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157639463787314/ or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203069673009917.1073741867.1448521051&type=1

Tags Cape falcon, cape kiwanda, cape lookout, cape mears, devils cauldron, hiking, Neahkahnie mountain, necarney creek, necarney falls, Oregon, Oregon Coast, oregon coast trail, oswald state park, pacific city, short sand beach

Hiking Northern Coast Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Tillamook Head

We recently wrapped up our 2013 hikes. We started on the Oregon Coast at Cape Perpetua in February and ended 140 miles to the north at Tillamook Head. Undaunted by some recent snow and cold weather (lows in the teens) we were determined to complete our final scheduled hike. The forecast for Seaside was for clear skies and a balmy 36 degrees and highway 26 over the coast looked passable so we bundled up and set off. We were looking forward to the possibility of seeing some snow at the coast since it is a rarity here in Oregon.

We chose to begin our hike at Ecola State Park on the Cannon Beach side of Tillamook Head. This meant paying a $5 fee to park which we could have avoided by parking at the Seaside end, but better views and a less steep start to the hike were worth the expense. We were the lone car in the large picnic parking area at 8am and had the views all to ourselves.

From the picnic area we headed north toward Indian Beach stopping occasionally to take in the views of Sea Lion Rock and the old lighthouse on Tillamook Rock.

When we arrived at Indian Beach we found some very interesting ice formation in addition to the superb views.

In addition to the ice there were a couple of small tide pools to check out.

From Indian Beach we continued north taking the Clatsop Loop Trail, part of which William Clark traveled in 1806 with a party in search of a stranded whale. The forest here is still home to some of the same Sitka Spruce trees that he and his group passed by which was a neat thing to think about. The loop trail turns back at Hikers Camp where you can visit the nearby remains of a WWII radar installation.

We kept heading north from Hikers Camp heading toward the summit of Tillamook Head, a whopping 1130′ above sea level :). We passed over the summit and went just a bit further until the trail began to really descend toward Seaside. We decided we didn’t want to have to climb all the way back up so we called it good and head back to Hikers Camp to complete the loop trail. It had started to snow, more like small white pellets, and the clear skies promised by the weather.com had never materialized. We passed more ocean views and various types of vegetation as we headed back to Indian Beach.

We had only seen one other group of people so far and that was a family that came down to Indian Beach briefly when we were there, but upon arriving back at the beach we discovered it had been populated by some brave surfers.

It wasn’t until we had left Indian Beach and were almost back to the picnic area though before we ran into any traffic on the trail.

She was moving too fast for the camera but it was fun to watch her come up the hillside and then dash off into the forest.

The number of cars in the parking lot had swollen to three (including ours) when we got back to the picnic area at about 3pm. Despite the completely incorrect weather forecast it had been a great hike and a perfect way to end for 2013. Happy Trails!

Photos on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deryl.yunck/media_set?set=a.10202865376982644.1073741866.1448521051&type=3
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157638495394186/

Tags cannon beach, Ecola State Park, hiking, Oregon Coast, Seaside, tillamook head, william clark

Hiking Northern Coast Oregon Oregon Coast Trip report

Bayocean Spit

Before I dive into a description of our most recent hike I wanted to mention that last night we had a chance to listen to a presentation by William L. Sullivan, the author of the hiking books we use to plan our hikes. He presented a number of new hikes that are included in his updated guide to the Central Oregon Cascades. He travels around Oregon giving presentations throughout the year and you can check his calendar of events at http://www.oregonhiking.com/ if you are interested in attending one.

Now on to our hike. We traveled to Tillamook on the Oregon Coast for a hike around Bayocean Spit which protects Tillamook Bay. I’d picked this hike due to the lack of elevation gain given both Heather and I have races in two weeks (a full marathon for her and a half for me).

This turned out to be another interesting hike with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the bay on the other. Between the two the spit is a mix of grassy dunes and a small forest. We decided on hiking in a figure 8 pattern in order to cover both sides of the spit as well as explore the forest via a .5mile connector trail. We left the parking area and headed West across some grassy dunes toward the beach sporting some less than attractive ponchos. It was a cloudy day with intermittent rain. We must have been a sight because it wasn’t long before we noticed a doe watching us from behind a dune.

We found the beach which was empty aside from a few seagulls and turned north. There were numerous shells and sand dollars in the sand. To the south was Cape Meares along with Pillar & Pyramid rocks, and to the north was Cape Falcon. As we approached the forested section of the spit we quickly spotted several Bald Eagles perched in the tree tops. We also noticed a large gathering of seagulls on the beach. Curious about the attraction Dominique and I set off for a closer look while Heather searched for the connector trail to the bay side. As we got closer to the birds we noticed that they were huddled around the end of a log that had washed up on the beach. That end of the log appeared to be covered with some type of clam.

After satisfying our curiosity we headed back to the now located connector trail. This sandy half mile trail led through a small but varied forest to an old dike road along Tillamook Bay. The water level was low due to it being a low tide and the number of birds was less than we had hoped, but we did spot a Great Blue Heron, several ducks, Canadian Geese, and another Bald Eagle. We continued north along the road to an abandoned campground across the bay from the city of Garibaldi. Shortly after the campground we spotted some flagging leading back across the spit toward the ocean.

The flags marked a path across another set of grassy dunes. We spotted three more deer before reaching the beach where we turned south and began our return trip. We stopped to take a closer look at what I was now calling the “seagull log”

and the took the connector trail back through the forest to the road. This time we turned right (south) and headed back toward the parking area. It wasn’t until this last leg that we saw any other people which made for a very peaceful day.

We’ll be taking a few weeks off from hiking now due to the upcoming races, but then our hiking season will kick into high gear. Hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate and most of the snow will have melted from the lower elevations by then. In the meantime thanks to the Salem Audobon Society and William Sullivan I have some new hikes to read about and trips to plan. Until next time – Happy Trails 🙂

Pictures from the hike on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200995758203343.1073741827.1448521051&type=3
or Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/9319235@N02/sets/72157633242847785/

Tags Bald Eagle, hiking, Oregon, Oregon Coast