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| Hiking | 7.10 Miles |
1,524 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.10 Miles | 4 Hrs 6 Mns | | 1.73 mph |
| 1,524 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | Wife and I were staying at Seaside for several days. This was one of the closer hikes to where we were staying. My wife does not hike much, but she gives me the mornings to do what I can. I optimistically hoped to knock out this 12 mile hike in 4 hours.  Got to the TH around 5:30. The TH is located at the end of Sunset Blvd, next to a gated community. There is enough parking for about 8-10 cars, though I don’t think that is ever an issue.
Starting at 5:30, even on a slightly overcast day, I would have thought that there would be more than enough light out. However, as soon as you step on the trail you enter a dense canopy of trees. I was surprised at how dim this made the surroundings at the start of the hike. The theme of this hike was mud and overgrowth. The trail climbs steadily for the first 2.3 miles with occasional flat sections along the way. The overgrowth wasn’t horrible - the trail was always evident - but the trail was constantly “draped” in a curtain of greenery. I had, incorrectly, incurred fears of poison oak/ivy. The foliage was impossible to avoid. If it was out there, I would have an encountered it, despite the dodging approach I took which slowed me down considerably. Happily, despite numerous contacts, no rashes resulted. And then there was the mud! The trail was damp throughout with more than an occasional mud bog to negotiate. There was never room to go around, only through. Downed branches and roots were your only hope of minimizing the slop. Surprisingly the mud was not very clingy, but still very slippery. There was multiple evidence of skids from previous hikers. Around .38 miles the the trail briefly connects to a broad dirt path heading directly up the slope. Very tempting to take. Though not signed, the single track obviously took off from the path shortly after joining it.
At 2.3 miles the trail took on a more leveled approach with frequent gains and losses. It is around this time also that the interior forest views started to open as well. Prior to this, the hill slopes and the copious amount of vegetation really impacted what one could see. I didn’t note it immediately, but around 2.1 the trail started to incorporate a rather novel  and needed concept - boarded planks, to help negotiate the mud bogs. All together, I probably encountered close to 20 of these boardwalks (they could have easily used another 20), with many of them existing in dilapidated states. Still, even the deteriorating remnants provided better footing than the alternative. Early on during the climb, there were a couple of brief tree enshrouded views of the ocean. It wasn’t until 3 miles that you get your first decent view of the coast and even then, almost all of those still had trees in the foreground. The views were still pretty sweet and the drop off, surprisingly significant. It’s amazing the amount of foliage that can grow right out of a cliff. Many times looking out, you were not aware of the drop because of the number of trees in front of you. In certain spots the trail had a cable that went along the edge to help keep hikers from venturing to close to the edge, (though in many areas the cables were no longer connected). With the ocean views came a fantastic  breeze coming in off the coast. The temps were fantastic for the entire hike, but there was almost no breeze except for those brief pockets of ocean breeze that found you at those openings. Incredibly refreshing. Providing a potent 1-2 punch of ocean and forest scents. My nose never enjoyed a hike so much.
Sadly, my 2 hour window (2 hours in and 2 hours out) occurred well before reaching the end of the trail. I was still making my way along the head of “Tillamook” and hadn’t even reached what was known as “hikers camp”. Returning the way I came was still a feast for the eyes. Words and pictures cannot do the scenery justice with what I was fortunate enough to hike amongst. The ocean views were a rare and appreciated treat, but the greenery of the forest was a continual bombardment on my senses. The variation of greens were in constant play, especially as the brightness of the area changed. The rocks and the fallen trees simply provided additional surfaces for the moss, lichen and ferns that grew from every conceivable surface.
Had the trails to myself. Never saw another hiker and sadly no wildlife. Temps were fantastic, hovering in the 50’s for most of the hike. An annoying feature of my garmin is that it tends to “creep” when not moving. Or, apparently, when moving slowly. I was not aware of the severity of this latter issue until this hike. At the end of my hike, the Garmin had me at just over 8.3 miles. When uploading my route to HAZ my mileage came in at 7.1 miles. This means that some of my descriptions involving mileage may not be as accurate as I would like. |
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