Cape Lookout

After choosing to hike with our mutual friend John instead of going to the Oregon Coast as originally planned, my friends Debbie, Barry and I were still hankering for a visit to the mighty Pacific.  So two weeks later, we decided to try again.  I suggested we explore the trail along Cape Lookout.  It had been many years since I'd hiked here and I remembered there were some fantastic ocean views at the cape's end.  

Beach view from the trail's beginning

It was an uncharacteristically cold and frosty morning as we left Portland.  Driving over the Coast Range, I encountered a bit of roadway ice on the higher reaches.  Once arriving at the trailhead, located in a state park bearing the same name, we were surprised by how chilly it was outside.  Temperatures hovered just below freezing - unheard of on the usually temperate Oregon Coast!  My friends and I pulled on all the layers that we'd brought.  Time to get moving and hopefully warm up.

A few peek-a-boo ocean glimpses between the trees

Cape Lookout is a long, narrow promontory of basalt that stretches over a mile and half into the Pacific Ocean.  The cape is a remnant of massive lava flows, it's steep basalt cliffs plunging 400 feet into the sea.  The top is heavily forested and it's base a popular nesting site for seabirds.  Originally considered for a lighthouse site, it was determined too foggy for such a use, and the land was later acquired by the state of Oregon for a park.

The Cape Lookout Trail began in a dense coastal forest.  After a quarter mile of downhill walking we began to see ocean glimpses through gaps in the trees.  Angling my camera through these openings I was able to capture a few halfway decent images of the coastline far below.  Although it was sunny, the weak sunshine did little to warm our bodies.  As a matter of fact, Debbie and I's hands were so cold we donned a second set of gloves.

Huge fern ball in this tree (?)

After the peek-a-boo ocean views, our trail veered away from the water and plunged into deep forest.  From here it would wind along the length of the cape, from one side to the other, before finally coming out at the very tip.  The trees here were primarily spruce and hemlock, some gigantic in size.  Ferns and salal covered the steep slopes.  In one tree we noticed a huge ball of ferns growing on a branch.  Something I'd never seen before, I took this photo and later tried to do a bit of online research to determine what it was.  But googling "ball of ferns on fir tree" didn't net any answers (it did however garner some very interesting responses!  A few not fit for this family-oriented blog....) 

Fern-filled slopes

One thing about this trail, it had a reputation for being incredibly muddy - even in the middle of summer.  I knew that hiking in the winter meant we'd encounter lots of boggy areas.  But due to the day's cold temperatures, the first muddy patch we encountered was almost entirely frozen over.  My friends and I tromped across the stiff, icy mud no problem.

Halfway viewpoint

The first major mud hole

I thought "Maybe hiking this trail during colder weather is a good way to avoid all the mud."  But then we encountered something I didn't really expect - ice.  Our next obstacle was getting around a massive downed tree.  It's rootball had torn up the trail and hikers had tromped a steep, crude user path around it.  As my friends and I crept down this treacherous route we were surprised by a patch of ice, causing all of us to slip.  Only Barry actually fell, but luckily he wasn't hurt. 

The icy trail conditions caused us to pause.  Was the rest of this trail as slippery?  None of us wanted to risk a fall, especially knowing parts of the route were next to high cliffs.  We got mixed reports from a few hikers heading in the opposite direction.  One woman described trail conditions as extremely slick, while another man said there were "a few icy spots, but overall it was fine."

Three Arch Rock from viewpoint

Well, other people were hiking the trail and seemed to be doing just fine, so in the end we decided to continue on.  The day's temperatures were rising and we figured most of the ice would melt soon enough.  Not far from the downed tree we came to nice viewpoint.  We paused to take in some great views to the north.  I spotted the formation known as "Three Arch Rock" and Debbie and Barry identified Netarts Spit, a narrow sandy beach jutting out into the blue Pacific.

Netarts Spit from viewpoint

Continuing on, we came to our next obstacle.  The trail had washed out, leaving us to pick our way through a bunch of large, muddy tree roots.  Not only were the tree roots icy and muddy, they were also extremely slippery.  A slow, cautious shuffle was required to clear this latest mess.

More mud, root, and ice trouble

And waiting for us at the bottom of the tree roots was a huge bog full of mud.  Hoping to keep my boots relatively clean, I tried to follow the icy footprints in the mud, but things had thawed out just enough that my feet punched through the ice into the muck.

One could slip from either ice or mud

So much for clean feet!  After that experience, I decided it was probably safer just to go ahead and wade through the mud, instead of expending all the effort to dodge it.  I got plenty of chances to test my theory - there was much more mud and ice to come.

A brief rest by another big tree

Carefully inching through the numerous mudholes on the trail really slowed down our progress.  Dense tree cover kept the sun from melting much of the ice, so we never could tell if the mud was frozen until walking through it.  Not only the muddy spots, we also encountered several areas of exposed tree roots that required meticulous foot placement to avoid tripping.  None of us wanted to fall and wrench a knee or ankle.  Over some of the especially boggy portions of the trail wooden boardwalks had been placed, but a few of these walkways had fallen into disrepair.  And the wet, muddy planks were nearly as slippery as the mud itself.  

  

Ocean viewpoints became more frequent 

The trail to the very end of Cape Lookout is listed as 2.5 miles, but with our slow progress it seemed much longer.  After walking through forest for what felt like miles, our trail finally broke out of the trees at the top of a tall cliff.  Breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean stretched to the south.

We made it to the end of Cape Lookout!

I began to get excited because from past hikes I remembered that once you saw the ocean it wasn't far to the cape's end.  Rallying my friends I told them that we didn't have far to go now.  

Pacific Ocean in the very bright sunshine

The final half mile still seemed to take forever.  But at least we had clear ocean views to buoy our spirits.  The trail traveled close to the edge of some very high cliffs providing splendid vantages of the sparkling water below.  Finally out of the shady forest, the sun warmed our faces.  One young lady we passed going the opposite direction excitedly told us she'd spotted whales from the tip of the cape.

Not much room to sit down

After crossing yet another extremely muddy trail section, my friends and I finally arrived at the very end of Cape Lookout.  Trail's end was a small, roped-off area bordered by a thick forest on the north and steep drop-offs on the south and west.  Two other parties were already in this cramped space so we made a seat on an adjacent rocky portion of the path.

We were entertained by a friendly song sparrow 

Lunch never tasted so good!  It was past 1 o'clock and my tummy was rumbling.  As my friends and I enjoyed our food, we were entertained by the antics of a friendly song sparrow and aggressive chipmunk.  Once the other parties left, both critters dashed over to where they'd been sitting, perusing the ground for crumbs.  The chipmunk was so fearless, he actually walked right up to the toe of another person's boot.  It was obvious he'd been fed by many a hiker.

A brave chipmunk also put on a show

It was so nice to sit in the sunshine and take in the wide ocean views, I didn't want to leave our lofty perch.  But we couldn't stay all day, so finally my friends and I packed our lunch remains away and bid the chipmunk and sparrow goodbye.  Time to trek back through the mud!

Back through the numerous tree roots

Now that we knew what to expect, our return trip was faster.  The day's rising temperatures had finally melted most of the ice, so we didn't have to be as cautious.  Our boots already muddy from the initial trek, we now splashed through the sloppy puddles instead of skirting obstacles.

Gigantic blow-down tree

As we passed by the huge blow-down tree once again, I made Debbie and Barry pose by the monstrous root ball for scale.  (If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a noise?  I'll bet this one did!)

Lovely ocean views towards Cape Kiwanda

In 1943, an Army Air Force B-17 hit fog and crashed into Cape Lookout, killing eight crew members.  Near the trailhead, a plaque memorializing this event has been set into a rocky outcrop.  Somehow we'd missed this marker on our outward journey, so I made sure to spot it on our way back.  The plaque was located near a place where the trees part just enough to give hikers a view of Cape Kiwanda and Haystack Rock far to the south.

Shoreline beaches

My friends and I survived our cold trek through frozen mud to the end of Cape Lookout and back.  We all agreed our journey was more of an army basic training obstacle course than a hike - at least it sure felt like it!  But we all agreed it was a great adventure for a sunny winter's day.  And now we have bragging rights and a good story to tell.