Tag: OCT

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. Experts say 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 it out 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 semi day off 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 the 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[…]

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…man this trail has so many luxuries. Then I was on[…]

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, 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 sherpa) packed their camp. He told us stories about his video games and I wondered that he must be missing them on[…]

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’ve been saving money by mostly stealth camping. I also forgot to mention all the bunnies hopping around the campground, as if the camels weren’t enough. There must have been 50 to 100, 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 can imagine, a lot of kids[…]

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. I was so grateful to get to see her but also needed to keep somewhat of a hiking pace. Ray was driving back to Portland and was kind to go out of his way to drop me off where we had met 2 days before. I went straight to the boat ramp, hoping to score a ride across the spit. I asked several boats but all were too big and worried about getting stuck in the shoals surrounding the spit. A group of young[…]

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 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 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, always seemingly harsh elements plus the difficulty of the terrain. And nearly every campsite on the PNT had been plagued[…]

Saturday, July 8th, 2023, 0930-1915Manzanita to Bayocean Spit16 miles, Gain 200′, Loss 200′, elevation 30 I felt pretty trashed when I woke up. I was sore and just wanting to take it easy. Luckily that’s exactly what I had planned for the 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 leaving from their house. I definitely felt like I was on vacation this day. I locked up and bid farewell to Manzanita…I knew I’d be seeing it again soon…more on that later. I hit the beach under perfect conditions again. All my fellow beachgoers were[…]

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 ridiculously long one this day had everything to do with tides and where to sleep. I needed to hit the 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[…]