Day 5: Head North Laddie!

I continue to be amazed at the beauty of the Oregon Coast.  It’s sometimes hard to believe this is right here in America!  And, it is once again a reminder of something much bigger than us.  To this extent we need to respect these places and, as they say, “leave no trace”.

Despite the misspelled word (I assume they are not referring to making bread), the idea is correct!

 

From a photography perspective, I continue to evolve my creative objectives for these photo trips.  As is always the case, I have a long list of places I want to visit, which often includes some amazing landscapes that I have seen on-line.  In the back of my head I expect to recreate those same images, perhaps with my own personal twist.  But, it rarely if ever works out that way.  Sometimes it’s because I can’t get to the precise vantage point (or am not willing to take the risk to get there), the weather or lighting conditions are not right (foggy versus sunny, for example), or simply because I do not have the right equipment or even skills.  I have to remind myself that most of the photos I see on-line were taken by professionals.  This is what they do.  And, they have the luxury of time (and sometimes money) to get that perfect shot.  Bottom line, while I enjoy the challenge of trying to get these shots, they are not really my personal “style”.  Consequently, the amazing images taken by others simply become ideas, goalposts, as well as potential locations for my own images.

Ok, enough of this philosophical mumbo-jumbo and back to the trip details…

I continued my plan to head north along the coastline, but first I needed gas.  Gas is expensive here (I paid nearly $4 per gallon one time), so I cringe when I need to fill up.  The van is not a huge gas hog, but it’s not a model of fuel efficiency either.  Plus, the tank is rather large, which means the final fuel bill is a bit of an eye-popper.

My final destination for the day was Cannon Beach, with a few stops along the way.  One stop was at Cape Lookout.  It wasn’t on my priority list, but since I thought had time to kill, I decided to do the hike.  The sign at the trail-head said it was easy to moderate hike, 1-2 hours long.  The beginning of the hike was definitely fine – the paths were flat and well maintained.  But, after the first viewpoint, the conditions worsened…considerably!  The first challenge was mud, and I don’t mean just a few “wet spots”.  I mean deep, squishy mud, the kind that can swallow half of your shoe if you stepped in it!  Initially I was able navigate around these spots, but they got increasingly worse.  Usually there were rocks, limbs or tree roots you could step on to get through these spots, but one time my foot slipped off and into the mud it went!  Good thing my hiking boots (which were only partially dry on the inside) were waterproof, but they would definitely need a cleaning later. 

This was the mud bog that got me!  The pic does not do this evil mess justice!

The second challenge was tree roots, and I don’t mean a few roots that you simply need to step over.  I mean large entanglements of gnarly roots that you literally have to climb on and over.  And guess what’s in between the roots, right where you want to step?  Thant’s right, mud!!  Who the heck designed this trail?   And to top it all off, the majority of the trail thus far had been downhill, which meant I’d have a steep uphill hike on the way back!

A relatively mild example of the roots

At one of the worst mud/root obstacles, I ran into a couple girls going the other direction.  One held my camera while I worked my way through the obstacle course (successfully I might add).  I asked them how much further, and they said it was about a mile, but the trail gets better.  A mile?  The whole trail was only 2.4 miles…you mean I’ve only gone 1.4 miles?  Well, I went a bit further (the trail condition did improve, but just barely), but I soon decided to turn around.  I was chewing up valuable time, and per the girls’ description, I didn’t think I would see anything dramatically different.  It was a tough hike back (same mud/root obstacles, but I was “experienced” now…and did I mention, uphill?).  I was exhausted by the time I got back to the van.  I didn’t look at my watch but it had to have been at least a 2-1/2 hour hike...and I didn’t even make it to the end!

The Cape Lookout trail takes you through a rain forest, and some of the trees are massive.  I saw a few that had to be more than 6 ft diameter.  Again, don't know the species, but impressive nonetheless.

View from Cape Lookout trail

Many fallen trees in the rain forest, and I thought this one was particularly "photogenic".

Another view from the Cape Lookout trail

 

In addition to the challenges and misrepresentation of the hike challenges, two things surprised me (well, one more than the other): (1) Some people I passed on their way back appeared to very little or no mud on theirs shoes or boots.  How the heck did they manage that?  Anti-gravity boots? Extra long legs?  (2) Some of the people I saw on the trail – and this one really doesn’t surprise me that much – were wearing sandals and flip flops!  Oh you silly, silly people.

Ok, sorry for that very long story!

My final stop of the day was Cannon Beach to take photos of haystack rock at sunset.  I ultimately didn’t wait around because there were crowds of people on the beach, and without any clouds, the sunset would be less than optimal in my opinion (see what I mean the conditions not being right?).   Plus, I already some cool shots, like the one below.  So off I went in search of another camping spot.  Where?  Yep, another roadside pullout about 7 minutes away.   

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach....this thing is HUGE!

The view from my camping spot as the sun was setting.

The Milky Way as seen from camping spot the night before...the skies were so clear with minimal light pollution

My camping spot at the roadside pullout the night before.  The traffic never ceases (but does ease up, fortunately).

This is at a very nice state park area called Fogarty Creek.  As  I was preparing to leave, another fog bank rolled in, and the sun created some awesome rays as it shown through the trees.

More of the same.  Cool!

Remember my earlier picture of a Tsunami Hazard Zone sign?  This explains a lot (may need to click on image so you can read it better).

Oregon has several sand dune areas along the coast.  Behind me where I took this shot I could hear ATVs/4 wheelers roaring.

I guess 3 solid yellow lines means don't even THINK about passing!

And my Garmin was wrong too!  I had to laugh.