A Day Of Contrasts

I was walking by 6:15 this morning. I had about 8 miles of beach between me and Ten Mile Creek, another of those “ford at low tide or else” streams. I was on target to get there at 8:50 which was the low tide time, so, perfect.

As I reached the beach from the campground, I was confronted by massive piles of driftwood. Like, enough to cover a football field. But then I realized I was right at the south jetty of the Umpqua River. The Umpqua is known for all the timber logged along its banks for the last 180 years, so it stands to reason that random logs might find there way to the mouth of the river.

Once past the driftwood there was just pristine beach for the next 7 miles. There could have been ATVs which are allowed along this section, but I figure it was too early for most of them. Any, I had the beach to myself for the next 3 hours.

I finally reached Ten Mile Creek right at 8:50. Very similar to Siltcoos R. That I crossed a couple days ago. About calf deep all the way across. Then, a few hundred yards beyond the creek I wasn’t alone any more. About a dozen sea lions were hanging out in the surf about 60 feet off shore. They were more than willing to pose for me so I got a few pics before moving on.

Another 200 yards and a sign in the beach signaled the beginning of the ATVs on the beach area. And soon I was surrounded by them, coming and going. Every few minutes one or several would drive by.

One part of me found it obnoxious, with the noise, the fumes, and the feeling of intrusion. But another part of me realized that the more people that use the outdoors the stronger the demand will be for public land. In fact, they likely have more members and more clout than tree huggers like me. So, as intrusive as they were, there was a good side to all this activity. Besides, it was entertaining to watch all the Darwinian behaviors. How far into the surf can you drive one of those things. Let’s play follow the leader over the old growth log half buried in the sand, etc. I whiled away the next several hours of hiking watching all their antics.

Eventually I reached Horsfall Beach Road which is the last road to 101 and the bridge over Coos Bay. I’ll be walking that tomorrow, but tonight I am camped at a Forest Service CG for the night. Just me and 18 RVs.

Happy Trails…