Starting Out On The OCT

We got up at 5:30AM and went through the drive-thru at MacDs at 6. Then drove over to Fort Steven’s State Park to the South Jetty. Where the Oregon Coast Trail starts.

The 3 mile North Jetty in Washington and the 6.5 mile South Jetty in Oregon were built in the early part of the 20th Century to help with ship channels going from the Pacific to the Columbia River. The silt from the Columbia meets the ocean here and massive shifting sand bars result, making navigation perilous. The 9,000,000 tons of rocks making up the jetties help extend the mouth of the river so the silt is dropped in deeper waters. Not perfect, but it helps.

Nancy dropped me off near the southeast end of the South Jetty where the OCT starts. Walking up though grass covered dunes, I bid her farewell and work my way south for about half a mile until I clear the Jetty and can get down to the beach. Once on the beach I walk south on the packed wet sand.

Driving is allowed on this stretch of beach, which is a bit disappointing. But it was driving that save the beaches in the first place.

In 1913 Gov. Oswald West declared all beaches in Oregon to be public highways. Thus making private ownership of beaches impossible in this state. In 1967 legislation was passed to extend public ownership to the vegetation line, thus expanding it from the high tide line.

I pass mostly pickup trucks parked on the sand and their owners out surf fishing. The tide is low and there seems to be endless beach. The skies are partly cloudy adding a little depth to the sky.

After 3.8 miles I arrive the the wreck of the Peter Iredale, an iron clad four masted sailing vessel headed to Portland from Mexico in 1906. It went aground here on Oct. 26 of that year. Although efforts were made to tow her back out to sea, they were to no avail and she has been there ever since. Not much left after 116 years, but you can still tell she’s a ship.

Walking a beach is not unlike a road walk. Not much change in the terrain, just one foot in front of the other, repeat. The sand is more forgiving on your feet and the scenery is way nicer than along the road, but it is still repetitive.

Eventually I make it down to Del Ray Beach and take the beach access road over to 101 where Nancy came to pick me up.

So a good start to my trip. I will begin there tomorrow and Nancy will head back home.

More tomorrow.

Happy Trails!