Storm Ranch Trail System

July 17, 2019

While camping at Bullards Beach SP north of Bandon, we headed out one day to a set of trails called the Storm Ranch Trail System.  The BLM has 4 different access points to what is called the New River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC).  In addition to the Storm Ranch Trail System, there is the Lost Lake trail, Fourmile Creek trail, and the most popular Floras Lake trail.

Our hike begins along the Ridge trail

The always picturesque coastal tree

A Black Twinberry along the Huckleberry Hill trail.

After a short drive south of Bandon and a few miles on Croft Lake Lane, we came to the Storm Ranch Nature Center and parking lot, complete with restrooms.  We did stop and check out the Nature Center after our hike and it was a nice and informative center with folks to talk with and answer any questions you have.  They also had many displays of the flora and fauna life in the area.

The sign says it all.

Don't know what this flower is - any help?

Where the Ridge and Huckleberry Hill trails meet - soft sand!

Our loop hike consisted of 6 trails, but don't let that scare you.  The total mileage was just under 3 miles and can be hiked as fast or slow as you like with different locations providing benches.  We hiked the loop counterclockwise along North, Ridge, Huckleberry Hill,  Oceanview, West Muddy Lake, and East Muddy Lake trails.

New River

A shaded tunnel of trees on the Oceanview trail

Some hiking was in soft sand (tough hiking) while other portions went through deep shaded forested areas.  The highlight though was the wildlife viewing area at Muddy Lake,  While there we got to see 3 Blue Herons flying around the lake.  A couple of them landed on a nearby tree too.  I'll include a fly-by picture of one Blue Heron, but it is hard to see since it flew by so fast.

Muddy Lake

The wildlife viewing area at Muddy Lake

Good luck.  The Blue Heron is about dead center in the picture - best I could do.

There were a couple of short road hikes within the lopp that connected trails and an area near New River with a bathroom and picnic table that offered a nice spot to relax and take in the views.  So if you get up near Bandon and want to stretch your legs on a short hike but see a lot, try the Storm Ranch Trail System or try one of the other ACEC trails located between Port Orford and Bandon.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

Bullards Beach SP - Beach Hiking

July 16, 2019

It's been 18 years since we camped at Bullards Beach SP just north of Bandon.  Back in 2001 we stayed just 2 nights since we waited too late to get reservations, this time it was for 4 nights.  In 2001 the cheese factory was Bandon Cheese Co, now it is Face Rock Creamery.  In 2001 we had 2 young kids and no dog while camping, this time our grown daughter and our dog joined us. Having visited Bandon many times over the years, we of course made our way back to old favorites like Bandon Sweets N Treats & Bandon Bakery Co (even got Katie some baked dog treats), but we also visited new places like the Bandon Coffee Cafe, The Rolling Pin Bake & Brew, and the Bandon Brewing Co.  Notice a "food" theme?

Wide open beaches at Bullards Beach SP

Coquille Lighthouse

In between those food stops, we did a number of hikes to and along the beach area which is considered part of the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT).

Looking out along the jetty

Looking back at the lighthouse along the jetty

One hike involved following the lighthouse trail from the campground to a day use area, going over the sand dunes to the beach, and then hiking along the beach 1.5 miles to the jetty at the Coquille Lighthouse and back.  The wind was at our back hiking to the jetty which was fine, but the return 1.5 miles felt more like 5 miles as we heading into a very strong wind.  Katie though enjoyed her beach time.  Hiking in soft sand at the beach is a differnt kind of hike which we found out many times on this trip.

Downtown Bandon

Our yurt at Bullards Beach SP

Our beach hiking totalled about 7-8 miles in all and helped put us over the 300 mile mark for the year.  We did do another hike south of Bandon, but that will be another post.  One last note - while in Bandon we visited the Washed Ashore Project Art Museum.  Be sure to check out their website as this organization works to help clean up our oceans and beaches.  If you go to Bandon, be sure to stop and visit their free museum.  Very hands on and great for kids of all ages.

Our daughter being eaten by a plastic trash fish

A whale skeleton at the Washed Ashore Museum

Another plastic trash work of art in the museum

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

PCT -- Green Springs Summit (Hwy 66) to Little Hyatt Lake

June 30, 2019

One of our favorite areas to hike is along the PCT in the Green Springs area where one can hike to Hobart Bluff, Boccard Point, or Little Hyatt Lake.  Since we last hiked out to Little Hyatt Lake in 2016 it was time to revisit this section of trail and enjoy the wildflower diversity, sitting by the lake, and at this of year, meeting a few NOBO PCT Thru Hikers as well.  We started our hike on the PCT at Hwy 66 around 8:30 am and finished our hike 5-1/2 hours later.  Lest you think we hiked that entire time, we did take a nice break at Little Hyatt Lake (our turnaround spot) where it was very quiet and beautiful, and we stopped to visit with two couples hiking the PCT that were from Washington State and one man from Poland.  Due to snow in the Sierras this year being 4x the normal, most Thru Hikers skipped over the Sierra portion of trail and are here in Oregon  a little earlier this year.  We did cover 10.8 miles today and below are some photos from an awesome hike in the beautiful Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument area.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Purple Salsify

Saw lots of Phantom Orchids

Washington Lily

A new one for us - an Oregon Checkerbloom

The dam spillway at Little Hyatt Lake - aka the PCT hiker shower.

Keene Creek

Our view while taking a break at Little Hyatt Lake

A full panorama of Little Hyatt Lake