Day 3 - Cannon Beach to Arch Cape

Where We Are Tonight:  Manzanita               Miles Hiked Today: 7.2 ( 11.6 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  31.0 (49.8 km)      

Day 3 we started from our camp site in Cannon Beach.  We got on the beach and walked past Haystack Rock, Arcadia SP and Hug Point.  We timed it just right (just luck on our part) so that when we got to Hug Point we had just enough time to hug the big rock that juts out (which long ago had a road blasted into it for cars to be able to drive on and get from beach to beach) and only get partially wet.  We had to take our shoes off at the end, however, and wade through the water to get back to sand.

Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach

Navigating around Hug Point

After this, we met one of our many admirers (ha!).  Many people stare at us like we're some crazy people (well, that part is correct) doing some crazy thing (well, that part is correct, too, I guess).  Quite a few people ask us what we're doing and some even know about the OCT and want to know more info.  We had our picture taken by a Cannon Beach blogger and once a young, very fit woman ran over to us and told us how awesome she thought it was that we were doing this hike.  We felt pretty cool until we found out she had just finished walking across the ENTIRE COUNTRY!

Instagram post from Cannon Beach Blogger - we are famous!

We finished day 3 in Arch Cape.  Our friend, Wendy, picked us up and took us to her house in Manzanita for the evening - so awesome!!

At Arch Cape, turns out that Bigfoot doesn't believe in humans

This concludes this part of the hike.  As stated before, we will be doing this hike in a number of sections - and nothing is set in stone at this point.  This is a very different hike from the Camino in a number of ways.  Right now we don't have the luxury to do the hike in one continuous trip - maybe because it's so close to home, we feel we can/have to take off time for a number of different obligations that we both have over the next couple of months.  We will hike for as long as we have time but also for as long as we feel good for each section - we'll just go with the flow and we'll reevaluate each day.  We set a too-ambitious schedule for ourselves and we need to cut back.  Hiking 20-mile days with a 30-pound pack is difficult - and we found, not so fun.  Also, hiking on sand is WAY HARD!!   People said this hike would be easy because it's flat - but think about the last time you hiked on sand for even a few minutes - very taxing!  So, we're not covering the miles like we thought we would in that regard and the hiking over the capes in between the beaches has been more obstacle-type training than hiking.  We will get together in the next couple of days and plan out our next section of the hike - so stay tuned!!

Day 2 - Seaside to Ecola State Park

Where We Are Tonight:  Cannon Beach                Miles Hiked Today: 10.2 ( 16.3 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  23.8 (38.2 km)        

Today we had planned to hike to Cannon Beach.    However, day 2 was just as hard as the first day.   It was almost all under the cover of many trees so we didn't have the sun but we had tons of mud and many fallen trees to walk over/go under.  Tillamook Head is a killer - tons of elevation gain and loss.  (editors note - 1350 feet of elevation gain)   The trail from Indian Beach to Ecola State Park was officially closed but we were told by other hikers that it was no big deal.  Of course they weren't hiking with 30 lb packs.   It was so difficult I felt like we were in American Ninja Warrior.

After making it through the obstacle course to Ecola State Park we had Greg rescue us again and take us the last couple of miles to the campground in Cannon Beach that we were planing to stay at.  Luckily it was just a block away from Pelican Brewery so we could have a nice dinner.

Smiling in Seaside, it is still early in the day

A rare nice section of trail

The mud pit (AKA the trail)

View from Ecola State Park

Awaiting rescue

Getting our camp set up in Cannon Beach

Day 1 - Columbia River to Surf Pines

 Where We Are Tonight: Seaside                  Miles Hiked Today: 13.6 (21.9 km)

Miles Hiked Overall:  13.6 (21.9 km)            Steps Taken Today: 37,000  

The northernmost point of the OCT is at the south jetty of the Columbia River, in Fort Stevens State Park.   That is where we began our adventure.   We left Portland late Tuesday afternoon and drove to Astoria, spending the night on Pam and Greg's boat which is docked in the marina.  Wednesday morning Greg drove us out to Fort Steven State Park, to parking lot C which four miles north of the campground, as this is the closest point to the south jetty.   We started with the intent of hiking to Seaside, 18.6 miles south.  However, after the reality of the difficulty of walking all day on sand set in we changed our plan and only hiked to Surf Pines, but are spending the night in Seaside as we had reservations at the hostel there.  This entire section of the OCT is all walking on the beach (sand, sand, more sand, even more sand, ...).

The "before" photo - smiling, nice and rested

At the south jetty

Hey - there is actually a sign for the trail!

And they are off!  Only ~400 miles to go!

As mentioned above, the plan was to walk to Seaside on day one, about 18.6 miles, with the first 16 miles being on the beach.   At Gearhart we planned to exit the beach and take roads to get around the Necanicum River.  After hiking forever on the beach, we decided we must be almost to Gearhart, so we headed inland up the dune.  We walked through a gated community and then realized that we still had a few miles to go and we were exhausted.  Luckily Greg was still in Astoria on the boat, so we called him and he came and picked us up in Surf Pines and took us to our hostel in Seaside.

By the wreck of the Peter Iredale in Ft. Stevens State Park

We can't say enough how different and difficult it is to walk on sand all day.   It was a beautiful day for walking but it was hot, and we walked into the sun all day.  Only a slight breeze, felt very muggy.  We will have to rethink our itinerary with this wake up call day.  We can't do anywhere near as many miles as planned per day for the sections that are on sand.  We are absolutely exhausted.  So exhausted, in fact, that instead of going out for pizza as originally discussed, we walked from our hostel to literally the first restaurant we could find.

In addition to a sunburned face, Karen has three blisters on day one.  😟  Fortunately after a burger and fries, and many diet Cokes she felt a bit better than when she arrived in Seaside.  Also, the lady at the front desk of the hostel gave her some frozen peas to put on her sunburn to help with the pain.

Exhausted hikers awaiting "rescue" in Surf Pines

Pam, in the hostel in Seaside

Welcome to Pam and Karen's Oregon Coast Trail blog!

A note from the blog master:

Not sure when the latest madness started, but probably in June 2016 while they were still recovering in Italy after completing the Camino de Santiago.  That is when Karen and Pam started the discussion of "What's next?".   For those of you who may have missed installment one of the madness, you can catch up by reading about their 2016 Camino de Santiago adventure.   Fast forward 14 months from the end of the Camino, and the crazy ladies are set to begin their next adventure, hiking the length of the Oregon coast. You can follow along as I post updates from them on their hike, and add some background and commentary to fill in the gaps that they may have neglected to share in their state of exhaustion.  Enjoy, and wish them a safe journey.

-Mike

OCT Background:

The Oregon Coast Trail is a combination of trails, beach hiking, and roads that runs the length of the Oregon Coast, from the Columbia River in the north to the California/Oregon border in the south.

The "trail" is approximately 400 miles in length, depending on the route taken,  The length varies because depending on the time of the year and the tides hikers may be able to cover more of the route on the beach (the most direct path), versus having to detour inland to navigate around impassible headlands or rivers.  Also, it is possible to get a boat ride across some of the larger rivers and bays, but with no scheduled ferry services whether you can catch a ride or have to walk miles inland on roads often depends on the availability and willingness of recreational boaters to give you a ride.   So, the length of the OCT can vary from 380 to 425 miles.

Roughly 200 miles of the route uses the beach and 155 miles is along completed inland trails and roadway sections,  with 45 miles of gaps to be developed. Trail development began in 1971 by Oregon State Parks, the agency declared it "hikable" in 1988 and continues to build new sections, with the final completion date having been pushed out multiple times.

The Plan:

Due to other commitments, Pam and Karen will be hiking the trail in three sections, starting in late August and hopefully completing in mid October.  In between sections they will return home for to deal with "real life" for periods of ~ a week.

More Details:

If you are interested in learning more about the trail you can explore the Oregon State Parks web page or the National Coast Trail Association's web page.