15 February 2013 Neptune State Park, Sea Lions, and Cape Perpetua Scenic area OR

A 60 degree sunny day at the coast could not be passed up.  Headed south on 101 to Cape Perpetua area.  Stopped first at Neptune State Park, passed Heceta Head lighthouse, then stopped at the Sea Lion Caves just to what it was about.  Lots of odoriferous sea lions!  Headed north back to Cape Perpetua to hike the St Perpetua trail to the overlook (stone hut), then back to the Captain Cook trail to the tidepools and Thor's Well.  Had lunch near the Indian kitchen midden area.  Tide was high at 10:30 and I was at the tide pools around 1:30p.  Thor's well would probably have been more photographic a little later, but then there would have been the risk of getting hit with a rogue wave.  I thought the timing worked for me :-)

Neptune State Park

Bridge near Heceta Head

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Sea Lion caves

hiking up St Perpetua trail

Overlook

Skunk Cabbage bloom

Looking back at the overlook bluff

Kitchen midden

tidepools on Captain Cook trail

Thor's Well

8 February 2013 Yachats and Cape Perpetua, OR

I was sorely in need of ocean view and sunshine so I headed to the coast on a foggy Friday morning.  I had not explored the coast south of Waldport, so I determined not to get out of the car at any pull-outs until after I had passed that town.  Hard to do, I tell you.  I did make one stop even before I reached the coast - Basket Slough.  I couldn't resist the view of the land in the fog.
Fog lightened up after I went over my first rise in elevation and the sky was crystal clear.  It fogged up again when I got to the coast but not too bad.  You could see a big marine layer in the distance over the ocean.  By afternoon, even that was gone.  Temps were in the 40's with a bit of a breeze.  Sunny for the most part.
I made it to Smelt Sands State Park in Yachats without stopping anywhere else - a 111 mile, 2 hr 20 min trip via Hwy22/18 and Hwy 101.  The tide was up (going out but still pretty high) so I wasn't able to really get to the tide pools, plus the waves were pretty intense.  But it was picturesque and peaceful despite the ocean front hotels there.  I walked to the end of the 0.7 mile paved trail and had to turn around because the tide was too high to continue on the sandy beach.  You can travel another 6.3 miles to Waldport when the tide is lower.  After enjoying lunch on one of the benches above the rocks, I continued on into Yachats to check it out and get coffee.  It is a very small town, however, and not finding coffee and not realizing I was leaving town I had to keep on going.  I ended up at Cape Perpetua on accident but was very glad I had continued because it is a place I definitely want to come back to.  I hiked the short Trail of Restless Waters to Devil's Churn and then over to the tide pools before turning back to my car.  Next time I will try not to stop until I get to Cape Perpetua and hike the variety of bluff and forest trails the park has to offer.
On the way home, I stopped at Seal Rock (huge volcanic rocks of the same composition as volcanic rock from Hell's Canyon near Idaho).  I also made notes to check out Yachats State Park (rocky), Beachside State Rec Area for long strips of beach and Lost Creek on future trips.  Also take a drive on Yachats Ocean Road.  At Cape Perpetua check out Thors Well. Further on past Perpetua, is Neptune Beach...looks like there are trails descending to the coast from the cliff.
Or an idea would be to drive to Eugene, head to the coast via Florence, then North in a circle back to Keizer (270 miles)

Basket Slough in the fog

Smelt Sands foamy surf

Smelt sands

lunch spot

Devil's churn at Cape Perpetua

Near tide pools at Cape Perpetua

At Seal Rock

Looking straight up at the huge volcanic rock

Devil's churn at Cape Perpetua

Smelt Sands Yachats

Cape Perpetua by tide pools

Seal Rock

Map of Cape Perpetua trails

19 January 2013 Maxwell Butte SnoPark Mountain Loop

Marc, Luke, Dan, Jean and I hiked the Mountain Loop at Maxwell Butte on another gorgeous January day. The roads were not quite as clear as two weeks ago and the trees were not as laden with snow, but the day was crisp, clear and beautiful.  The valley was socked in with an inversion layer of fog so we were very happy to spend the day in the sun.  The hike to the hut was a nice uphill workout though the woods.  We were glad to have Dan and Marc there for route finding.  The view from the top included the tip of Mt Jefferson, Three Fingered Jack, and the three Sisters with Mt Washington.  We ate lunch in the warm Boy Scout shelter...someone had left a fire smoldering in the stove.

Mt Washington is to the left, then the Sisters

view from the shelter

Three Fingered Jack

Park map

Maxwell Butte Sno Park Mtn View Trail 4 Jan 2013

Jean and I took a friend's advice and headed to a sno park on the west side of the Santiam Pass so the roads were pretty clear of snow and ice.  This particular trail was also an out and back type and if we kept to the left the entire time, we couldn't go wrong.  And the trail was very worn in to a deep groove from other skiers or snowshoe travel so we could not get lost.   This is key when everything is white and looks the same!
The day was crystal clear, no wind, and it was quite warm.  We soon shed the outer coats and unzipped around the neck.  Never did put on a headband.  Mittens came in handy here and there, especially after a fall.  We were able to catch a glimpse of three mountains, Mt Washington, Mt Jefferson and Three Fingered Jack, all snow covered.  We decided that this is doable and we want to try it again and aim for the larger loop.  We are pumped!

Mt Jefferson

Three Fingered Jack

Mt Washington

Forest Park Portland, OR 14 December 2012

Jean and I took a little jaunt up to Forest Park on a rainy Friday.  We hiked the Balch Creek/Wildwood Trail Loop for about 5 miles.  Pretty forest in the middle of the city!

It was a dark, misty day  - too dark for decent photography.

Silver Falls State Park 30 November 2012

It has been soooo long since I went on a hike!  Between getting back into school, being sickly, and bad weather, well, it has been baaad.  So, today, despite predictions of rain, I went out to Silver Falls State Park anyway.  And it turned out to be a great day - no rain while hiking, only while in the car - to and from the park, and the sun even came out for a few minutes.  It was actually quite warm as well...
I hiked the loop and mostly photographed the waterfalls and mushrooms.  (Sorry the 'shrooms aren't in the greatest focus...low light.)

sun!