Over Cape Sebastian

Cappuccino and I were on the road by 6:20 walking toward downtown Gold Beach. D&D’s Cafe opened at seven and we didn’t want to be late. We arrived just as they were opening the door, and we took our place at the back of the line. There were four other parties ahead of us, but we all got seated quickly and orders taken. It was a great French toast, egg, and sausage breakfast and the waitress kept the coffee coming.

Thus fortified, we walked over to the beach and started south. Cappuccino noticing sea lions swimming just off shore in the surf. They would polk their heads out of the water, spot us, and disappear beneath the waves. She counted about 10 of them over a 30 minute period. 

After about 4 miles we left the beach at Cape Sabastian and entered the forest. The trail would take us gradually up and over a ridge then back down, only to climb nearly vertically up an even higher ridge. It rambled along hillsides with uncomfortable drop offs and through thick bushy corridors. Much of the route was on good trail, too. We ended up 700 feet above the ocean on the top of Cape Sabastian. Far below we could see dolphins or sea lions swimming about in a group. There were probably 20 or 30 of them. 

Our descent down the other side was marred by the presence of poison oak along the trail. Not all of it, but we had to be vigilant. The last 20 feet of the trail down to the beach required backing down a short cliff holding a rope.

We were now in Henry’s Cove walking over toward Pistol River a few miles away. After a couple miles we had to climb some low boulders that were blocking the beach. Nothing like our Arizona Beach escapade, but still a bit of a scramble. When we got down the other side we continued on the beach past mammoth haystack rocks that were stunning. 

As we approached Pistol River, we took to the highway for the bridge. From up there we could see the wind surfers riding the waves just off shore. We got over the bridge and noticed a forested area just beyond the parking for Pistol River Beach. Cappuccino and I decided to check it out as a possible stealth campsite. We found some good trees, unfortunately kind of near the highway, but it would work, so we stopped for the day.

Tomorrow we press on south and Nancy should pick us up at the end of the day.

Happy Trails…