Twig Adventures

Thursday, July 20th, 2023, 0500-1950Cape Arago, Sunset Bay SP to Bandon25 miles, Gain 1000′, Loss 1000′, elevation 85′ For some reason, I was wide awake around 4 am, so I just started packing and was walking the trail in the dark. It was nice and quickly I was at the campground. I was surprised to see several Oregon Coast markers at the trailhead. I hadn’t been relying on them much during the whole hike, which was a good thing, since they were pretty spotty in places and then here, not even marking the actual route. I used the bathroom and saw a warning sign about there not being hot water, so I was glad I hadn’t stayed at the hiker[…]

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023, 0610-1920Bluebill Lake to Cape Arago, Sunset Bay SP10.5 miles, (plus 7 mile bus ride), Gain 500′, Loss 300′, elevation 260 I loved my little hole of a campsite by the lake. It was dead quiet once the ATVs went to bed and my tent was completely dry in the morning. The mossies did start to swarm me as I packed, then followed me down the trail a ways. They were the most aggressive I’d seen them yet. I was basically camped next to a giant swamp, so I was surprised they weren’t much worse. I reflected on how little animals had bothered me at night on this entire trip. I hadn’t heard anything walk by my[…]

Tuesday, July 18th, 2023, 0720-1730Umpqua River outlet\ North jetty to Bluebill Lake19 miles, Gain 50′, Loss 50′, elevation 40 Sometime in the middle of the night, I was woken by a siren from across the river. I was instantly awake and terrified, assuming it was a tsunami warning. I’d read that when the ‘big one’ hits, it could take as little as 15 minutes for the subsequent tsunami to reach the shore. I tried to think of what to do with my half-asleep brain and all I came up with was just to keep laying there. I hadn’t felt an earthquake, so this made me less afraid. I’d actually thought about it the day before, realizing I was in the[…]

Monday, July 17th, 2023, 0830-1910Florence to Umpqua River outlet\ North jetty21 miles, Gain 100′, Loss 100′, elevation 10 I got a lot done during my NERO in town, but I still hadn’t worked out any logistics for getting across or around Winchester Bay. Worst case, or perhaps best case, I could split a ferry ride with Mike on Tuesday afternoon. It would just mean waiting around half a day or more, which wasn’t a big deal. As such, I wasn’t in too much of a hurry to leave town. Only problem was, I needed to cross the Siltcoos river near low tide, which was at 9 am this day. However, it was a negative low followed by a +5 high[…]

Saturday, July 15th, 2023, 0520-1740Beachside State Rec to North Jetty Park, Florence 30 miles, Gain 1600′, Loss 1600′, elevation 60 I got a very early start, hoping to reach a certain area while there was still a mid-tide. It didn’t work out, but at least I was immediately reminded of why I like to be on trail so early. For starters, the highway had very little traffic. The foreground of the beach was all private property where I rejoined the highway and I didn’t feel like backtracking to the campground, so I just road walked for a mile to the next campground. I was able to use the bathroom there, then I was on the the beach, enjoying the first[…]

Friday, July 14th, 2023, 0800-1900South Beach hiker\biker campground to Beachside State Rec stealth camp in NF18 miles, Gain 300′, Loss 300′, elevation 70 It was pretty quiet in the campground overnight. Slingblade later reported that an older man died there during his stay the next night, so there had been all the emergency vehicles and drama. Geez, so sad. I got up early but took my time with a hot shower and drank coffee with Tom and Angie. I really enjoyed their company and hoped I would see them again. Keenan also came over to hang out while dad Detail (aka beast of burden) packed their camp. He told us stories about his video games and I wondered that he[…]

Thursday, July 13th, 2023, 0700-1600Fogarty Creek to South Beach hiker\biker campground, Newport19 miles, Gain 800′, Loss 800′, elevation 25 My stealth spot was great and in the morning I didn’t feel in a rush to vacate early, that’s how confident I was in my obscure location. In the end, it was the mosquitoes that made me want to leave. They were merely an annoyance, enough to close my tent screen as I sipped my coffee. Far from the terror they were on the PNT and I don’t even think I got one bite… pathetic. I wondered down the road at 7 am and was surprised to find a water department truck parked at the bottom, engine running and door open.[…]

Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, 0540-1700Pacific City to Fogarty Creek21 miles, Gain 1400′, Loss 1400′, elevation 200 I forgot to acknowledge that Pacific City marked the roughly 100 mile mark on the OCT…hence my expensive celebratory dinner the night before. At least I’d been saving money by mostly stealth camping. My first campground stay ended up being pretty good, especially because of the camels and bunnies. There must have been about 50 bunnies, all various colors and sizes. I was a little worried about them chewing on my stuff, which is why I didn’t set up until late, then packed at first light. I tried to catch a few but as you might imagine, a lot of kids had the same[…]

Tuesday, July 11th, 2023, 0930-1700Netarts to Pacific City18 miles, Gain 800′, Loss 800′, elevation 30 I said goodbye to Skybird early in the morning. She was going to stay at the beach house for another week, lucky her. I was so grateful to get to see her and wished I could stay with her longer. But alas, I needed to keep somewhat of a hiking pace if I wanted to fit in all I had planned for the summer and fall. Ray was driving back to Portland and was so kind to go out of his way to drop me off where we had met 2 days prior. I thought this would be the last time I saw Skybird and[…]

Sunday, July 9th, 2023, 0630-1020Bayocean Spit to Netarts10 miles, Gain 600′, Loss 600′, elevation 30 As expected, it was a most peaceful night. In the morning, I could hear the harbor entrance fog horn but it was far enough away so as not to be annoying. I drank my coffee with the birds and the distant surf. My only dilemma this morning was whether I should walk the bayshore road or beach for a few miles, both equally appealing prospects. It had been awhile since things had been this relaxed and easy. The Hayduke had been a battle with the wind and cold, then heat. There were always so many harsh and contrasting elements, plus the difficulty of the terrain.[…]