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: 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

Beachside State Park

Although beaches most often do not have paths or "official" trails, hiking along the beach is one of our favorite activities.  If you enjoy that too, then maybe you should check out Beachside State Park. 

Located between Yachats and Waldport on the Oregon Coast, Beachside State Park, (or Beachside State Recreation Site as noted on the Oregon State Park website) as the name implies, is right next to the beach. We stayed in one of the two yurts in the campground, but there is a row of campsites for tent or rv's that provide campers with views of the beach and sunset without leaving your site.

Our yurt at Beachside State Park

Amazing sunsets along the beach!

From what we read, this campground is so close to the beach that it is closed during certain months due to winter storms and spring rains which often cause flooding in the campground.  When high tide arrived each evening on our trip, it provided us with the sound of ocean waves as we fell asleep.

Panoramic view of the beach and surf at dusk.

The beach area is one of the widest we've been to on our various camping trips and is wonderful for walking, kite flying, building sand castles, or just relaxing and soaking in the sun and sounds of the surf.  We even saw folks going out each day and surfing.  We tooks hikes along the beach at least once a day and found a few shells or treasure washed up on shore. Katie highly recommends the beach  for dogs too as she loved rolling in the sand, digging holes and running through the water.

One of many easy and quickly reached access trails to the beach.

Carol enjoying the beach on one of our walks along the coast.

Katie highly recommends the beach for dogs too!!

Other activities in the area include the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area which is located just 7 miles south of the Beachside SP which has various hiking trails, a visitor center and multiple coastal viewpoints.  We highly recommend you visit that area as well as the town of Yachats, just 5 miles south of Beachside SP.  If you love coffee, tea and great baked goods, be sure to stop by the Green Salmon Coffee shop in Yachats.  Parking spots may be hard to find, but the visit is worth the effort.  We stopped by twice during our three day vacation and if we ever moved to Yachats, we would probably visit every day they are open.

About 50 cents worth of a sand dollar.

Must be rough out there in the ocean!!!!!

One of the sea stars we came upon and tried to rescue.

So there you have it -  a beach in your backyard with beautiful sunsets, miles of uncrowded beaches to walk along, the sound of surf to put you to sleep, an amazing scenic area minutes aways, plus great coffee, tea and pastries.  You have to love camping along the coast in Oregon!  We sure do!!!

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Devil's Churn & Strawberry Hill

On our recent camping trip at Beachside State Park (posting to come), we made stops to hike and view the Devil's Churn and Strawberry Hill and allow Glenn to try out his new camera - yeah!!!!

The Cape Perpetua Scenic Area is located just south of Yachats.  It is a beautiful area and if you are ever up that way, make sure to take some time to stop and see the various viewpoints.  Most are only a short easy hike away.  Devil's Churn is one of those viewpoints.

We parked at the Devil's Churn turnout area using a 5-day paid pass to allow us access to the many stops in Cape Perpetua.  There is also a short trail down to this area from the official Cape Perpetua Visitor Center just off Highway 101.

After a short descent down the trail we were greeted to the thundering sound of water crashing against rock.   The best time to see Devil's Churn is at high tide. Despite the tempatation to get close to the edge for that once in a lifetime picture, flashbacks to those warnings of sneaker waves kept us back at a safe distance.

Incoming waves at the start of the Devil's Churn......

...progress down through the channel......

....to the end where waves meet rock

We also walked the trail around the point which gave us a great panorama view of this area. Beautiful!!

Viewpoint of south coast area on Trail of Restless Waters 

Panoramic view of tidepools and ocean from the point

Our other stop just off Highway 101 was Strawberry Hill.  This quick pullout only has four parking spaces but we got there just as others were leaving.  This viewpoint is best visited at low tide when there are large areas of tidepools exposed and you can get close up views of seals soaking in the sun on the rocks.

Incoming water to the tidepool areas

 We were able to see a few tidepools despite the high tide and there were a few seals visible on the rocks. Even so, this are of the Oregon Coastline is beautiful and makes the stop and walk worth it.

A few seals soaking in the sun

North view at Strawberry Hill......

South view at Strawberry Hill

For more information on these and other viewpoints in the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area, click here.

Still to come --- Beachside State Park, Dean Creek Elk Viewing (with Elk), and our 10 mile hike along some amazing trails in Cape Perpetua.

Trekking Together
Glenn & Carol

Eel Lake & Lake Marie trails

June 9, 2015

While Medford was on a hot streak, we headed to the coast for a camping trip at William Tugman State Park. Located between North Bend and Reedsport, the park offers fishing at Eel Lake and close accessibility to the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. We were here though to relax and get in some hiking and we are happy to report success on both fronts.

Eel lake is a large, deep lake in a chain of water bodies along this part of the Oregon Coast. Currently there is a 3-mile trail along the south end of the lake that begins at William Tugman SP.  Plans are in the works to try and complete a trail around the entire lake which has 11.5 miles of shoreline.  So for now we had to settle on the shorter version which we found to be even shorter - 2 miles out -  due to some clear cutting along a slope that caused lots of windfall damage and made the trail very dangerous for the last mile.

The trail began near the day use area and crossed Eel creek via a small bridge.  Throughout our hike there were beautiful viewpoints of the lake and at many of those viewpoints there were benches for just sitting and taking in the view.  We were treated to various wildflowers along the trail which included Starflowers, Mexican Hedge Nettle, Yellow Woodland Violets, Foxglove, Spring Beauty, Oxalis, and a new flower for us - Fairy Lanterns,  .  We also saw a few Newts on the trail and in the lake.  Katie did take a dip or two in the lake but we made sure she didn't eat a newt!

Eel lake view from the day-use area

As we mentioned at the start of this post, the trail is closed after 2 miles.  Nothing prevented us from continuing as there is a trail, but with all of those logs on the hillside just waiting to slide down to the lake, we decided to turn around and hike back rather than risk an unwanted log ride.

Since Eel lake ended up being only a 4 mile hike (instead of 6 miles), we decided to drive Highway 101 north to the Umpqua River Lighthouse SP day-use area and hike the 1-mile loop trail around the smaller but beautiful Lake Marie.

We camped at this park a few years back and stayed in a cabin (spot #42) that had a beautiful view of the lake from the porch area.  When we arrived today, the campground was closed due to repaving but the day- use area was still open and very crowded. We hiked the loop trail once in each direction to make up for the two miles we were short on the Eel Lake trail and saw lots of folks on trail enjoying a beautiful, sunny yet windy day. This small lake sure is pretty and like the Eel Lake trail, there are many places where you can stop and take in a view of the lake. (pictures below are from our 2012 camping trip)

Lake Marie

Part of the trail around Lake Marie

Lake Marie

When we finished hiking Lake Marie, our hiking for the day had come to an end. Instead of one hike we were given a chance to hike two shoreline trails along two very beautiful lakes.  One was small in size, the other quite large.  One had many wildflowers while the other had very few.  On one we encountered many hikers yet we met only a single pair of hikers on the other. Sometimes you just don't know what a hike (or two) will lead to, but then again, that's why we hike!

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