Day 107-120, August 2-15: Hiking the Oregon Coast Trail
The Oregon Coast Trail was a fun diversion from the PCT. Ultimately, we hiked about 150 miles of the trail and had a great time along the way. It felt a bit like a beach vacation in the middle of a hard, long job, and part of me wishes I had just spent the time hiking what I could of the PCT in Oregon, but I had fun nonetheless. In fact, I had so much fun that I didn’t bother to write blog entries every day, despite having cell service for most of the trail, oops. So here’s a few highlights for each day!
August 2: Traveling from Ashland to Brookings, OR
Took a series of three buses from Ashland to Brookings, OR. They were crammed with hikers and one of the bus drivers obliged us for a picture at another “Welcome to Oregon” sign. Our group to hike the trail had grown to: me, Squirrel Daddy, Liz, Tikka, Pebbles, Princess, Feather Blue, Lost and Found, Grandma and Taco
We all stopped at a Goodwill in Brookings and I bought a hilarious poofy black beanie and a cheetah print fleece jacket. Over the course of the trail, I took on the persona of “Coastal Dilly” while wearing the outfit.
We crammed the ten of of us into a three bed motel room and got ready for our first day of hiking. Without a FarOut map to guide us, we cobbled together PDF maps, screenshots of websites, tide apps (more on that later), and a questionable GPS track we found online to use for navigation.
August 3: Start of the Oregon Coast Trail!
Start: Brookings
End: Gold Beach
Miles: 15.0
First day actually hiking the trail!
Left the hotel and had a bit of a road walk before we followed a trail through the trees. It climbed steeply up and down and at one point we popped out onto the beach, which was cool.
The forest felt quintessentially Pacific Northwest: foggy and moss-covered trees
After some road walking on highway 101, we got to a viewpoint and decided we were all done. We ended up calling a taxi to take us to Gold Beach.
We grabbed beers along the way and had fun at the campground. A very different camp experience than the PCT!
August 4: Gold Beach to Humbug Mtn SP
Start: Gold Beach
End: Humbug Mountain State Park
Miles: 11.3
After eating breakfast at the cafe next to the RV park, we found out that Taco and Lost and Found were done with the trail and were going to head back to the PCT. They weren’t feeling it, and we were sad to see them go but glad they made the right call for themselves.
The remaining 8 of us hiked out from the campground and walked along a bridge before descending onto the beach.
The weather was much nicer today, with clear blue skies and a warm sun shining down on us
We got our first trail magic on the OCT when a school bus driver pulled over and handed us lollipops!
We caught a bus to avoid a long road walk along the 101, and rode it to Humbug State Park
We camped at the hiker/biker camp which was awesome and tucked away into the mossy trees. We had dinner with some other PCT hikers- a group of all women plus one guy who called themselves the Sea Maidens.
August 5: Humbug to Cape Blanco
Start: Humbug Mtn State Park
End: Cape Blanco State Park
Miles: 14.8
We picked lots of wild blackberries along the trail and had to do more road walking on the narrow 101 shoulder. Pretty sketchy, do not recommend.
After a Long Beach walk, we made it into Port Orford and waited for the local fish and chip restaurant, “The Crazy Norweigan,” to open up. There was a big line that formed 15 minutes before they opened, so we figured it would be good. It was!
Sadly, after lunch Liz and Tikka let us know they would be leaving the group then too. Tikka had become unmotivated to hike the PCT and hoped the OCT was the refreshment he needed. It unfortunately was not, and they wanted to stick together, so Liz would leave with him too. We said a tearful goodbye and they took off to find a bus while we hiked out of the town. We were now down to 6- me, Squirrel Daddy, Pebbles, Princess, Feather Blue and Grandma.
We learned that the tides were indeed as big of a deal as the info online, as we couldn’t do the river crossing where we thought we should. We found another spot to cross that looked like it might lead somewhere, but unfortunately it led to some private property. We realized we were trespassing once we got to a fence and a guy on an ATV came to confirm that we were and ask us to get off his property. Oops!
We walked along the 101 again for a bit and then stopped at the turnoff to Cape Blanco State Park, where we stuck out our thumbs to avoid the 5 mile road walk into the campground. A camp host picked us up and we got an awesome camp spot. This ended up being my favorite campground of the whole trail! We were tucked into gorgeous, tall, mossy trees and we roasted marshmallows over the fire before going to bed.
August 6: Cape Blanco to Dispersed Camping
Start: Cape Blanco State Park
End: BLM Camp Spot
Miles: 13.8
After a slow morning, we hiked out from the campground along the bluff towards the lighthouse. Cape Blanco is the westernmost point of the contiguous US and the lighthouse had some interesting history for us to learn at the small visitors center.
We made it down the beach - at this point we had lost Grandma to another PCT group so we were down to 5
We had long beach walks, went back up into the trees briefly, and then did more beach walking
We camped in some dunes in a BLM camp spot. There was one spot on the entire stretch of beach where we were allowed to camp because it was in the middle of a Snowy Plover nesting area. The small birds make their nests in the dry sand in the summer. We hoped to see some and thought we might have, but I think they were just sandpipers.
August 7: To Bullards Beach SP
Start: BLM Camp Spot
End: Bullards Beach SP
Miles: 16.7
We completed another long beach walk through the fog
Saw several seals (I think, or maybe sea lions) watching us curiously from the water
We made it into Bandon and I got some tasty shrimp linguine and a Bloody Mary. After, we went to a cidery in town that was fun.
We made it to Bullards Beach SP and cozied up in the small hiker/biker camp. There were a number of other PCT hikers, including the Sea Maidens, whose names I learned better- Clash, Big Mags, Bruja, Magic 8, Ziploc and Daisy. We all played Fishbowl, drank wine and roasted marshmallows.
August 8: Bullards Beach to Coos Bay
Start: Bullards Beach SP
End: Coos Bay
Miles: 8.5
Saw a gnarly, gruesome, half-decayed elephant seal carcass on the beach
Pebbles tried to rescue a jellyfish that had washed ashore. It was… semi-successful (mostly she just moved it slightly clossr to the water).
We road walked more and ended up calling a taxi from a state park to take us into Coos Bay.
We got a room at a Motel 6, did laundry and went out to dinner. Squirrel Daddy, Princess and I played pool at the restaurant for a bit before we retired back to the hotel for some glorious hotel TV.
August 9: Coos Bay to Oregon Dunes
Start: Coos Bay
End: Oregon Dunes Nat’l Rec Area
Miles: 10.3
We walked from the Motel 6 to a bowling alley in the main part of town. On the way, SD and Princess also bought aloha shirts so the four of us (including myself and Pebbles) were coordinated in our ~lewks~.
We continued our road walk out of Coos Bay, making the pumping arm motion to get semi trucks to honk their horns. We were successful with every single one, and we erupted in laughter and celebration for each.
We ended the day camping in the dunes on the beach. We had some fun beach playtime before going to bed. Pitching my tent in the soft sand was a bit of a struggle, but the driftwood helped keep the stakes put.
August 10: Horsfall Beach to Reedsport
Start: Horsfall Beach
End: Reedsport
Miles: 20.5
More beach walking, and more beach walking. And some more beach walking. Luckily the sand had hardened up a bit so it wasn’t too difficult, but it was monotonous.
We made it into Winchester Bay for a quick resupply and I got a delicious fish sandwich.
We had organized a boat ferry across Winchester Bay so we didn’t have to do a 9 mile road walk.
By this point, we had acquired Marmie, another PCT hiker, into our group, so we were up to six.
And still! More beach walking! We ended the day with setting up our tents on a dispersed stretch of beach. We enjoyed the clear day and the sunset with some frisbee, headstands, and a successful human pyramid, of which I was the top!
August 11: Reedsport to Washburne SP
Start: Reedsport
End: Florence/Washburne SP
Miles: 17.8
How is there still (!) more beach walking. This day was all through the fog and I was feeling quite tired of the monotony of so much beach walking, so I felt like I was in the movie Inception, doomed to build a sandcastle on the beach for eternity.
I ended up linking up with the Sea Maidens and we hiked for a bit together.
We got a canoe hitch (!!!) across a river that we accidentally approached at high tide.
I soon made it into Florence, where my group linked back up together and we caught a bus up to the Carl G. Washburne State Park and camped there for the night.
August 12: Zero in Washburne SP
We zero’ed in the state park and had a lovely day, with activities that included: Pebbles re-dying my hair purple at the picnic table, relaxing in the beautiful hiker/biker campground, and the group doing a very chill hike through a lush green trail that popped out onto a beach.
August 13: Washburne to Beachside
Start: Washburne SP
End: Beachside State Rec Site
Miles: 4.6
We caught a bus up to the town of Yachats and got a coffee before checking out some of the shops in town. I bought a cool pair of eyeball-shaped earrings and the transformation to Coastal Dilly was complete.
We went to the Yachats Brewery for lunch, which was fantastic- I had vegetarian “crab” cakes made with mushrooms and served with kimchi, sauerkraut and roasted potatoes. It made me excited to eat healthy again after trail.
We also stopped at a pizza place on the way out of town to play a few games of pool. It was a relaxed, fun time together.
We camped at Beachside State Recreation Site and roasted more marshmallows over the fire we had in camp.
August 14: Beachside to (Almost) Newport
Start: Beachside State Rec Site
End: Almost Newport
Miles: 15.0
We saw a huge group of sunning seals below a bridge that we walked over.
After walking along the beach for a bit, we stopped in the town of Seal Rock and had more fish and chips and beers while we played cornhole, badminton and Wordle at the outdoor restaurant. There was a funny moment of all five of us (Marmie had left the group at this point to go to Portland) we’re completely silent as we all tried to figure out the Wordle. I won 😏
We had many miles of beach walking and as we were trying to find a campsite, a guy on the beach walking his dog asked if that’s what we were doing. We said yes, and he told us the sand wouldn’t be a good choice as the tide came up all the way to the rocks. It turns out he lived in the area, and said he knew of a spot tucked into the trees up above the beach on the bluff. We followed him, and indeed, there was a great spot in the sea pines! He also asked if we would like some treats, like pizza and wine? We said yes please! So he and his wife came back with three Domino’s pizzas and a box of wine and ate and chatted with us. It was awesome to get trail magic even on the OCT!
August 15: Last Day on the Coast!
Start: Almost Newport
End: Newport / Our personal OCT Terminus 🎉
Miles: 2.8
Pebbles’ parents came into town and picked us up from the beach and took us to lunch. It was so nice of them to treat us and to shuttle us around!
Squirrel Daddy’s mom had also come into town so it was great to meet her too.
I grocery shopped and bought enough food for all of Washington. My plan was to send four boxes to various points along the trail so I didn’t have to depend on general stores in tiny towns. I organized my boxes and got them ready to mail the following day.
Otherwise, we had a relaxed zero in Newport. Princess and I shared a room and we enjoyed hotel TV and hot showers, knowing we wouldn’t get such luxuries soon as we were heading back to the PCT tomorrow! 🎉