Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail -- Getting to 300 miles the hard way

1 July 2020

With summer here, we headed to the coast with Katie for a planned hike along the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT).  The key word in that sentence is "planned".  Things don't always work out as planned, even when hiking.

Time to hike some of the Oregon Coast Trail

Our original plan was to hike from the Whaleshead Beach Day Use Area south to the Lone Ranch Beach Day Use Area and back - a nice 10.4 mile hike along the coast.  After parking at the upper trailhead at Whaleshead Beach, we hiked the OCT connector trail down to the day use area.  Since no one has been maintaining the OCT, at least half of this short hike was in grasses and bushes up to our chest - couldn't even see Katie half the time.  We did emerge from the jungle at the day use area but that should have been a warning sign to us of things to come.

View of Whaleshead Beach - Whaleshead rock is to the right

The next 1.2 miles of the OCT is a hike along the Whaleshead Beach which today was very windy even at 10:00 am.  It was still very beautiful and we enjoyed the sound and sight of the ocean.  After about 1.2 miles the beach comes to an end due to rocks and the OCT heads uphill to the ridges above the beach.  However, that portion of the trail had been wiped out by rains or a landslide.  There was an improvised faint trail heading up (and we do mean up) so we attempted this faint trail but it became a very dangerous situation for man, woman and dog. Rather than risk body and limb, we slowly decended back to the safety of the beach.

The OCT trail is just right of center as it heads up the ridge - very steep

Memorial at the House Rock Viewpoint

House Rock - actually looks more like a house from the beach area.

Ok, so part 1 of our hiking plan failed.  We hiked back along the windy beach (now hiking into the wind)  and back to our car (not along the connector trail) via a gravel road.  We then drove south to the House Rock Viewpoint and decided to hike the OCT south from there to Lone Ranch Beach.   This worked for about a mile when the unmaintained and faint trail pretty much disappeared.  We could have scouted around and maybe picked up the trail, but we didn't want to become the 6 o'clock news "missing hiker" story, so we once again turned around and found our way back to the viewpoint and car.  So part 2 of our hiking plan failed.

View at Lone Ranch Beach

Coastal Daisy

More beautiful coastal flowers

Panorama of Lone Ranch Beach

So it was time for the final "safe" option of driving to Harris Beach State Park where we hiked the Sunset Point trail, through the campground, and along the connector trail to the day use area.  The ocean and beach were beautiful and we took time to sit on a few benches along the trail and just enjoy the sights and sounds of Oregon's beautiful coast.

Glenn and Katie enjoing the view along the Sunset Point Trail

View from bench on Sunset Point Trail

View of South Beach at Harris Beach SP

Even though our day did not go as planned, we still enjoyed seeing the coast and got in 8 miles of hiking anyway which put us over the 300 mile mark for the year - the hard way.

Trekking Together
Glenn and Carol

Harris Beach SP trails

March 29, 2019

Our original plan while camping at Alfred A Loeb SP was to head out to the Samuel Boardman Scenic area and hike the Oregon Coast Trail @ the House Rock Viewpoint on Friday and hike north to Whaleshead Beach and then South to Lone Ranch Beach for a nice coastal 10-11 mile hike.  But after a 16 hour rain storm that began Thursday night at 8:30 pm, both the trail conditions and the time needed were not conducive to our plans.  So we drove over to nearby Harris Beach SP and hiked through the campground, along the beach, and on the Sunset Point, Rock Beach, Harris Butte and Harris Beach trails.  Sounds like a lot of hiking but it was under 4 total miles.  But we did enjoy the sunshine, beach, sound of the waves and birds, and took some time to sit back and relax.  Here are few pictures -- sit back and relax too.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

P.S.  If in Brookings, check out the Superfly Distilling Co (BBQ pulled pork sandwich) and Zola's Pizzeria  (BLT pizza) for lunch or dinner.

View from the Sunset Point trail

 

Katie profile while sitting and enjoying the view on the Sunset Point trail

Heading to the beach via the Rock Beach trail

View along Harris Beach

Taking in the view while avoiding incoming waves

View of day use area from top of Harris Butte

View along the Harris Butte trail

Back at camp after hiking, Katie take a nap.

Escape to the Coast!

August 16 & 17, 2018

Southern Oregon has been hit with numerous wildfires since mid-July.  It seems we are surrounded by fires and the Rogue Valley is a natural catch-all for the smoke.  As a result we have hiked very little and those hikes have been local and short due to the air quality.  So it is only natural that like other hike deprived hikers, we had to venture out a ways to get to some clean air for our "fix" of hiking.

Time for some hiking at the coast!

We packed up the car, Katie included, and drove to Gold Beach for a few days. We also managed to stop at Harris Beach SP in Brookings on the way to and from Gold Beach for some hiking.

Path from our lodging to the beach....

Beautiful ocean!

From our cabin at Ireland's Rustic Lodges in Gold Beach, we hiked out to and along the beach to Kissing Rock enjoying the beautiful and wide beach under clear blue skies.  Katie especially enjoys beach hikes and rolled in the sand and/or on rocks numerous times.  We also enjoy beach hikes but due to other people being on the beach, we refrained from rolling in the sand on our backs like Katie.

Kissing Rock

We also made a stop at the Cape Sebastian Viewpoint and hiked the Oregon Coast Trail in each direction from the parking lot.  It felt great to be among the trees and ferns with the wind blowing and to have views of the ocean and coastline.  The  hikes were not that long, but it felt great to get out and stretch our legs.

View of Oregon Coast along the OCT

OCT winding its way through the trees.

We also took time to just sit back and enjoy the sights, sounds and smell of the Oregon Coast.  It truly was a much needed break for us and we ended up hiking over 11 miles too!

Arch rock at North Myers Creek Beach

Hopefully the fires will subside in time for some Autumn hiking as there are lots of trails we really enjoy during that time of year.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Oregon Coast Trail: Lone Ranch Beach & Cape Ferrelo

June 20, 2017

After hiking from Whaleshead Beach to Indian Sands the previous day, we were looking forward to hiking another section of the OCT in the Samuel Boardman State Park area.  The plan was to hike from the Lone Ranch Beach Day Use area up to the Cape Ferrelo Viewpoint and then on to the House Rock Viewpoint and then return.  The key word being "plan".

We drove north on Highway 101 from Harris Beach State Park and within minutes turned off and drove down to the Lone Ranch Beach Day Use area.  Much like the facilities at Whaleshead the previous day, there are picnic tables with an ocean view, a long beach area, and restrooms.  The road to this day use area is even paved!

Samuel Boardman State Park Monument

View as we start up the bluffs.

We followed a paved trail from the parking area past a monument to Samuel Boardman State Park till we found the OCT trail sign.  This took us down to a full creek which now had no bridge -- evidently washed away this past year.  We couldn't even see where the trail was on the other side of the creek if we managed to get across.  So we continued the paved trail down to the beach area, crossed the creek on a large log, and worked our way down the beach till we saw a faint trail heading up the bluffs to the Cape Ferrelo Viewpoint.

View of the lower bluffs with all the grasses.

View of Lone Ranch Beach and the Cape from the highest point of our hike.  Can you see the faint trail in the grass?

This faint trail though faded out as we got higher on the bluffs and we could not see the OCT.  The grasses along the bluffs were beautiful and tall, waving in the wind, but also made it hard to see where you were stepping.  The last portion up the bluffs was very steep and knowing that we would have to try to come down the same way did not seem safe. So rather than make the 6 o'clock news, we hiked back down to the beach.

The OCT route actually goes along the long stretch of beach at Lone Ranch, so we hiked all the way to the other end of the beach and back.  At the far end of the beach was a nice cove where we took a break and refreshments.  Much like yesterday, the blue skies were making their appearance but the wind was also kicking into high gear.

View from the cove at the end of our beach hike.

Once back to our car, we decided to drive up the the Cape Ferrelo Viewpoint and try to hike the 1 mile loop out and around the bluffs.  That worked fine until we left the safe confines of the tree/shrub sheltered part of the trail and ventured onto the open bluffs high above the ocean.  When Carol saw Glenn and Katie get blown off the trail, that was warning enough.  The 6 o'clock news thought came back into our minds and we decided to not hike the entire loop trail, but instead just hike to a few viewpoints of the bluffs and ocean.

Part of the loop trail at the Cape Ferrelo Viewpoint with OCT marker in the distance.

Despite the trail and wind issues, we were treated to some amazing views of the coast and enjoyed the beach hike.  We will keep this section hike of the OCT on our list for a future attempt and if you are ever in the area, we encourage you to take the time and check out the beautiful and amazing Oregon Coast.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Oregon Coast Trail: Whalehead Beach to Indian Sands

June 19, 2017

Since our recent camping trip was to Harris Beach State Park, we decided to do a couple of day hikes on the Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) in the Samuel Boardman State Park area.

Our first hike began at the Whalehead Beach Picnic Area which is accessed via a short rough gravel road from Highway 101.  We later realized that there is a parking area immediately off the highway that also allows access to the OCT.  The picnic area though is a nice place to begin and end the hike as there are tables with an ocean view, lots of beach to enjoy, and a bathroom facility.

Oregon Coast Trail

 From the parking area we began hiking the OCT uphill surrounded by high shrubs and crossed the access road.  We met and briefly talked with a hiker who had begun hiking the entire OCT a few days earlier and was taking a morning break to make entries in her journal.

Tiger Lily

Sticky Monkey

The OCT headed up through forested hills and made us feel like we were hiking in the Redwoods.  Large trees and many ferns lined our path along with some wildflowers like Tiger Lilies and a new wildflower to us, Sticky Monkey as the locals call them.  The name alone makes this flower a favorite!  We crossed over various small creeks and runoffs, some with waterfalls, and at one point hiked a short segment with a creek right next to the trail.  We stayed on the trail but Katie hiked the creek.

People trail to the left, Katie trail to the right.

We finally reached the junction with the trail from the Indian Sand parking area and continuing on the OCT reached Indian Sands.  One moment you are in wooded forests and then suddenly you are out in the open with deep sand.  This area was created by the erosion of the sandstone cliffs by wind and rain.

One of the original OCT markers

Indian Sands

OCT continuing past Indian Sands

We continued on past Indian Sands for a short distance to see a couple of beautiful coves and could have continued to the Thomas Creek Bridge, but instead we turned around and came back to Indian Sands for a break and to do some sightseeing. The clouds had been around during our forested hike, but once we arrived at Indian Sands the blue skies appeared and we enjoyed the views of the beautiful Oregon Coast.

Sea Fig

Arch rock at south end of Indian Sands (you can hike out on it)

Artwork on the sandstone cliff area

Our return trip was along the same trail but now views of the coast were enjoyed since the clouds were gone.  Once back at Whalehead Beach, we hiked down to get some pictures of Whalehead Rock.  We had hoped to hike along the beach area too, but the wind was in full force and hiking while being pelted by sand did not sound appealing.

Whalehead rock and beach

Our entire hike with some roaming at Indian Sands was just under 6 miles.  If you park at the Indian Sands parking lot, the hike is only a mile at most.  Either way, if you get the chance, be sure to check out this beautiful and unique area of the Oregon Coast.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

April 7 -- Repeat Hiking

Just a quick posting to update those of you who follow our blog........

Since our last posting in March, all of our hikes have been on trails that we have hiked before and as a result we have already done postings on them.  Please feel free to check out some of those past postings.  As always, if you have questions on any of the hikes, email us at tablerocktrekker@gmail.com.

Those hikes include the Jacksonville Woodland Trails which we have hiked 3 times this past month as we enjoy seeing the constant change from winter into spring.

We also went camping with our daughter Maggie at Harris Beach State Park and enjoyed hiking in the park as well as along the beach.  We included a few pictures from that trip for your viewing pleasure.  One disclaimer though.  In his second ever attempt at taking a selfie, Glenn broke our camera.  Yes, this is no joke.  The camera flash went off, Glenn flinched, and the camera froze.  The lens will not recede, the camera will not turn off, and as a result, we are shoping around for a new camera.  We included that selfie below, not to scare you, but to warn you of  the hazards of selfies!!

Kaite enjoying the beach!!

View from cove along one of the State Park trails

Sunset at Harris Beach

ONE VERY GOOD REASON TO NOT TAKE A SELFIE!!!

We hiked Lower Table Rock about a week ago and really enjoyed all the wildflowers that were in bloom along the trail and at the plateau, including one of our favorites, Fiddleneck.  We also got to see a large number of wild turkeys while hiking the short nature trail located near the parking lot.

Yesterday we hiked the Roxy Ann loop at Prescott Park and braved the cold winds and gravel pit trucks. We were once again treated to the many colors of the spring bloom!

So we are still out there hitting the trails and look forward to some new hikes planned for late spring and summer with names like "Mule Mountain", "Mount Elijah", "Eel Lake" and "Cape Perpetua".  Let the adventures continue!!!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol