Journalist By Nature

Monday, May 4, 2015

Neahkahnie Mountain

Place of the gods; buried treasure; Spanish galleons; beeswax. They are all attributed to Neahkahnie Mountain's lore. After decades of driving over this headland I purposed to explore it on foot this year. Positioned at the north end of the miles-long Manzanita beach area this hike takes you to the spectacular but singular view to the south. Driving south on Highway 101 between mileposts 41 and 42 is a small, brown hiker sign on the east side of the road. Take that rutted course past two private driveways until a gate blocks any further travel. The trailhead sign is on the north side of the parking area.

Ancient Douglas fir

Before even starting the trek I noticed an ancient Douglas fir tree in a nearby ravine. Its girth suggested an age into 200 years or more - possibly a little seedling when Lewis and Clark arrived in 1805. Coastal hikes often take hikers past these remnants of earlier times. Heading up the trail with the dog scouting the way we made steady elevation gain over a series of switchbacks. The soft trail was edged all the way with bright spring green foliage of various woodland plants such as oxalis, wild ginger with its delicate white plumage, yellow snowpatch buttercups, columbine, orange-red Indian paintbrush, starburst golden desert parsley, delicate nodding pink fawn lilies, tiny pink clarkia and blue iris. Salal was blooming with clusters of pearl-like pink bells that will turn to deep purple berries later in the summer.

Turn after turn took us higher on the back side of the mountain. An open forest filled with fir and hemlock trees of varying ages housed the unseen birds that twittered and chirped above us. Rustling undergrowth gave away the whereabouts of ground creatures of the slithering and hopping kind. Snail and slugs made their slow and steady way at the side of the trail. Warm air carried the scents of new growth and blooms to our nostrils. The absence of other hikers gave us time to pause and gaze through the trees and imagine ourselves as early explorers seeing this great scene for the first time. Questions about how they found the trails and where did they camp bounced through my mind.

view from the summit

Reaching 1600 feet above the sea we came to a craggy basalt pile that made us carefully climb to its summit to capture the best view. Although the trail below opens to the southern beaches, the nearby trees impair the entire scene. Atop the rocks we had an unencumbered panorama of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the beaches around Manzanita and Nehalem Bay to the south. Fog rolled by from time to time, obscuring the otherwise bright sunny seascape, but with snacks to munch we waited out the delays. Another hiker-blogger arrived on the scene and we traded hiking and writing tidbits before heading back down the trail.

This three mile in and out hike could be a longer one-way shuttle type if you want to meander through the coastal forest for another four miles without a view until you reach Short Sands beach. The Oregon Coast trail isn't always right at the beach edge. If you've always wanted to be on this mountain instead of just driving over it, this hike is one you should put on your list for summer fun. On your way home add a flat walk along the sands of Arcadia State Park to Hug Point or continue the OCT north to Cape Falcon from Short Sands. There's always more to see on the Oregon coast!

the road to trailhead

heading up the trail

iris

view on the way up

almost there

Nehalem Bay

trail challenges

wild ginger carpet

open forest

trail splitters

Sophie checking back with hikers

final off-trail scramble to top

fawn lilies

at 1600 ' horizon is 49 miles

desert parsley

salal blooms

Indian paintbrush

new growth; so soft!

viewpoint bench

view to Haystack Rock

Tiarella or foam flower

buttercup

Arcadia Beach

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/weird-blue-jellyfish-are-washing-up-on-oregons-beaches

blue jellyfish cover beaches

Lewis and Clark National Park in Warrenton

camas bloom

arty bridge rail

alder woods

Saddle Mountain from Warrenton trail

more ancient firs

attentive Sophie

boardwalk through skunk cabbage

always something strange at the beach

pausing on the boardwalk

paws on the boardwalk

Friday, April 17, 2015

Lovely, Level Lacamas Heritage Trail

private dock on Lacamas Lake

Eschewing elevation gain for a longer but level distance we set about exploring the banks of Lacamas Lake in Camas, Washington. Known to many within smelling distance, the paper mill in Camas would seem to be its defining feature. However there is a rich history of the city worth knowing. Lacamas Lake and its surrounding parks and trails is a very busy place any day of the week. Joggers, moms with baby strollers, dog walkers, sauntering couples deep in conversation and groups like ours join to compose a human stream of trail users. One group of men, the MOS (men of steel), have been walking together for decades, so said one man as he hugged my arm close to his side in a moment of friendly camaraderie. The occasional boat can be seen floating on the water, fishermen relaxing in wait for a trout or yellow perch to bite.

The heritage trail is part of a cross-city trail system with this portion paralleling the southern bank of the lake for 3.5 miles. Wide enough for three or four abreast, the pathway is packed dirt and 1/4 minus gravel. Traveling within a few feet of the lake bank the trail winds through older stands of Western red cedar and Douglas fir, carpeted at their bases with a long list of wild flowers: Vancouveria hexandra (Northern inside-out flower), Maianthemum racemosum (False Solomon's seal), red elderberry tree in bloom, skunk cabbage, bleeding heart, corydalis, salmonberry, thimbleberry, Lamium purpureum (purple dead nettle), Western trillium and red flowering currant to name a few. There are even some endangered species listed in this park: the slender-billed nuthatch bird, Oregon white oak, Bradshaw's Lomatium (similar to desert parsley but yellow) and the small flowered trillium. The area at the lake is described as a wet prairie eco-system or one in which the soil remains very moist during the growing season but with poor drainage. As the lake's water level dips in the dry months, the odor of decaying matter rises.

Tiarella trifoliata (foamflower)

Heading down the trail with energized determination to quickly complete this seven mile in-and-out walk we gradually splintered into talking groups, catching up on each other's lives and travels. Photography and aging joints slow my pace so that I am able to study the just-blooming flowers and shifting views through the trees. Dampness oozes down the hill and into the lake on one side while vine maple leafs out at the water's edge. Old trees lie where they have fallen and one ancient cedar stands as a reminder of earlier years when it would have had a whole forest of like-sized mates.

On this sunny spring day the surface of the lake sparkles as a heron circles overhead, eyeing a potential landing spot. It finds a tree limb angled out of the water on the far side and perches in anticipation of a tasty snack. Bald eagles and ospreys battle it out for air space supremacy. Today the ospreys held the advantage. Bird calls echo through the treetops and insects busily buzz and crawl through their daily schedules.

If you're in a hurry, jog this trail; if you're in a contemplative mood, stroll as far as you wish and clear your thoughts as you experience a mini-woodland tour. The neighboring Round Lake is anchor for a number of shorter trails, including one that circumvents a huge camas field, blue in its blooming this month. You don't have to travel far to enjoy the delights of the luscious Pacific Northwest region. It's sitting right at your front door!