Twig Adventures

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.[…]

Saturday, July 8th, 2023, 0930-1915Manzanita to Bayocean Spit16 miles, Gain 200′, Loss 200′, elevation 30 Not surprisingly, I felt pretty trashed when I woke up. I was sore and just felt like taking it easy. Luckily that’s exactly what I had planned for this day…if you count walking 16 miles on the beach as easy. It certainly was compared to the day before. I had a relaxing morning drinking coffee and doing normal things one does when starting out from their house. I definitely felt like I was on vacation this day. I locked up and bid a temporary farewell to Manzanita…I knew I’d be seeing it again soon…more on that later. I hit the beach under perfect conditions again.[…]

Friday, July 7th, 2023, 0645-2100Tillamook Head Backpacker Camp to Manzanita 26 miles, Gain 3500′, Loss 4300′, elevation 30 The reason for such a short day yesterday and a long one this day had everything to do with tides and where to sleep. I needed to hit a low tide for the upcoming stretch of beach, which was in the morning. Because of the waning full moon, the tides were also rather extreme, meaning one of the lows each day was at a negative level, 1-2 feet below the average low. This was significant, since it meant I might be able to walk the beach farther than the official route. It’s mentioned in the guidebook and also was reported by a[…]

Thursday, July 6th, 2023, 0715-1900Sunset beach to Tillamook Head Backpacker Camp.16 miles, Gain 1365′, Loss 600′, elevation 780 I slept like a total rock, it was so amazing. I was finally on trail, so my mind was at peace. The distant hum of the surf drowned out all else. I heard nothing until the lovely birdsong in the morning. I noted some thick fog right away, but it didn’t feel very moist or clammy. In fact, I thought I was completely dry until I felt my tent walls. Yep, it was condensation nation, but mostly just on the outside. This was not surprising to me, given my location on this notoriously moist coast. But I was hoping for a miracle[…]

Wednesday, July 5th, 2023, 0615-2000Columbia River, Fort Stevens State Park (Northern Terminus of the Oregon Coast Trail) to Sunset Beach9 miles, Gain 30′, Loss 30′, elevation 30′ This was one of the best first trail days I’ve ever had. That’s because for most of the day, I got to be a tourist as we enjoyed the sights around Astoria and celebrated a birthday. But first I had to recover from a night of restless sleep (mostly of my own doing) and a subsequent migraine. Coffee and a breakfast with some delicious mango snapped me out of it (along with my prescription Sumatriptan). I know it worried my hosts that I was feeling bad, but I dealt with migraines all the[…]

July 3-4th, 2023Miami FL to Portland OR To Manzanita ORDistance: 2,700 miles (by airplane), 60 by car Sometimes traveling to a trail can be very stressful and difficult. Fortunately, I’d been blessed with very good luck over the years and I was happy to find that my serendipitous streak persevered through all my logistics and connections again with this trail. In fact, it was one of the most auspicious beginnings yet, leaving me with a sense of awe about how everything came together so perfectly. I owe all of this to my auspicious beginnings/connections on the PCT and the generosity of some long-time trail angels, the Skybird Family. My travels began with a 7 am flight from Miami to Los[…]