First Hike of 2024

I have two different New Year's Day Traditions.  I either go skiing or go to the beach.  With this winter lacking in the snow department thus far, skiing was out of the picture.  So this January 1st, I pointed my car westward towards the Oregon coast.

Cannon Beach is the closest coastal town from my home.  A tad over an hour's drive gets me to its lovely, rugged beaches.  Upon my arrival, I was psyched to see sunshine streaming over the ocean.  I'd made a good choice!

Foggy view of Cannon Beach

Wanting to get in a good hike to start the new year, I headed to Ecola State Park.  With 9 miles of spectacular coastline, lush forests, and some scenic hiking trails it's my "go-to" state park on the northern Oregon coast.  Parking at Ecola Point, I first walked over to capture the iconic view of Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock.  The ocean and seastacks were cloaked in fog, but that just added a touch of mystery.

Tillamook Head Lighthouse

The opposite direction offered a great view of the abandoned Tillamook Head Lighthouse, nicknamed "Terrible Tilly."  The morning sun illuminated the lighthouse brilliantly that day, and I snapped on a zoom lens to capture it.  We photographers don't ever waste good light!

Lush coastal forest

Photographic obligations complete, I then shouldered my backpack and headed northward along the Oregon Coast Trail. This trail connects some of Ecola State Park's attractions.  From Ecola Point, my plan was to head north for 2 miles through the forest to Indian Beach.  From Indian Beach I'd head another 1.5 miles further north to a place called "Hikers Camp" on Tillamook Head which boasted some great views of the ocean and Terrible Tilly Lighthouse.

First viewpoint had nice views of Tillamook Head and Indian Beach

I always love hiking in the coastal forests.  Due to abundant rainfall they are always full of ferns and the large fir, spruce, and cedar trees drip with moss and lichen.  Trails through these forests often resemble green tunnels.

Sea Lion Rock Arch

About a quarter-mile up this first trail I came upon a stellar view of the mighty Pacific.  Looking to the north gave stunning views of Tillamook Head and Indian Beach.  Southward, the views were of a group of small seastacks, the largest resembling an arch (I later found out it has a name - Sea Lion Rock Arch.)  Foamy waves crashed into the shoreline.  I could've stayed there all day just watching the rolling waves - but the trail was calling!

Beautiful light on the forest

One thing about hiking trails on the Oregon coast - even in midsummer, they are always muddy.  And during winter's rainy season, the muddiness level rachets up to ten.  The further I hiked towards Indian Beach, the higher amount of bogginess I encountered.  Some of the steeper ups and downs required a bit of caution to keep from sliding downhill.  It didn't take long before my boots and pant legs were caked in mud.  But I had on my old hiking boots and pants, so no problem.  However I encountered many hikers clad in clean tennis shoes.  (I'm sure they weren't clean for long.)

Illuminated cedar boughs

Sunlight peeked through the thick forest canopy, creating nice light on the tree boughs and ferns lucky enough to receive this illumination.  It made for some absolutely beautiful scenes.  Many photographs may have been taken!

Grand view of Indian Beach

After two grueling miles of ups and downs and muddy slogs, the forest parted into a lovely viewpoint of Indian Beach.  The blue sky and the white-topped waves made for a stunning sight.  I could see Tillamook Head's steep promontory jutting out into the ocean, the Tillamook Head Lighthouse a short distance off its tip.

I had lunch at this very scenic picnic spot

Time to go check out the beach!  The trail spiraled downhill to the rocky shores of Indian Beach.  I walked along the entire stretch and then climbed up the bluff to the parking lot.  Here several well-situated picnic tables provided great places to enjoy a snack while taking in the marvelous views.  Nabbing a table, that's exactly what I did.

It was fun to watch people enjoying the beach

Today being a holiday, the beach was full of families enjoying themselves.  From my perch, I had fun people-watching while eating my snacks.

The very steep road up Tillamook Head

After a brief break, it was time to tackle part two of today's hike.  A loop trail from Indian Beach took people up Tillamook Head to a group of primitive wooden shelters called Hikers Camp.  Although the Oregon Coast Trail continued past here all the way to the town of Seaside, Hikers Camp was my planned turn-around point.

 

Hiker camp

From Indian Beach, I followed an old road that rose quite steeply through another lush coastal forest.  Huffing and puffing, I slogged up this arduous path.  Although only a mile and a half to the camp, this portion of the hike seemed to take a long time to traverse.

Hiker camp cabin

But finally I came upon a clearing with three wooden shelters and a covered picnic area.  This was "Hikers Camp," which provided accommodations for people backpacking the Oregon Coast Trail.  The worn down, moss-covered shelters didn't look very cozy to me - and I'd heard rumors of a rodent problem too.  If I was spending the night, I think I'd use a tent.

Up close view of Tillamook Head Lighthouse

From this primitive camp, a side trail led hikers to a nice viewpoint.  Although it had been many years since I'd hiked here, I remembered an impressive vista.  So I covered the extra distance through an extremely muddy path and was rewarded with some of the best views of the Pacific Ocean and Terrible Tilly Lighthouse.

Boardwalk through the muddy trail

The only downside - between my snack break at Indian Beach and arriving here, the sky had clouded up and there was no more fantastic light.  Although I used my zoom lens to snap some great close-up shots of the lighthouse, I was disappointed the sun was no longer shining.

A side note about the Tillamook Head Lighthouse - Built in 1881, due to its location this lighthouse weathered many a terrible storm, sustaining much damage, until being decommissioned in 1957.  It's currently under private ownership, being used as a columbarium.

Nice artwork on an old WWII bunker

But that's not the only history here.  During World War II the U.S. established a radar sight near this viewpoint.  Some of the moss-covered bunkers can still be found in the forest.  On my way back to Hikers Camp, I paid the place a visit.  It was so muddy, I didn't linger long, but did notice someone had painted a very nice mural on one of the bunkers.

These tree boughs were full of ferns!

After paying my respects to the bunkers, Hikers Camp and the ocean viewpoint, it was time to head back.  Instead of taking the steep road, I decided to follow the other part of the loop, a nice woodsy trail that meandered through more ultra-green forest.  It was a good choice, and I enjoyed a mostly downhill ramble past a couple more nice viewpoints on my way back to Indian Beach.

View back towards Ecola Point on my return trip

Returning to Indian Beach once again, the now-cloudy skies didn't make for great light, and I only snapped a couple of images before continuing.  I was beginning to tire and was ready to shed my muddy boots and head home.

Colorful mushroom

But first I had to traverse the 2-mile trail from Indian Beach to Ecola Point.  Back through the worst of the mud, I discovered not only was the trail much more chewed up from the host of hikers that had traipsed through, it was also mostly uphill.  For some reason, this hadn't registered on my outbound trip.  It was an absolute slog!  And it didn't help that I was getting really tired.  But I put just kept putting one foot in front of the other and I eventually got myself back to the car.

Elk right along the park entrance road

As I was hiking this final stretch, I began to hear sirens.  The noise got louder and louder until I could hear emergency vehicles coming down the park road.  Back at my car and heading out of the park, I nearly collided with a red pickup belonging to the local fire department racing down the entrance road.  I later learned that someone's dog had fallen off a steep oceanside cliff.  The lucky pooch was rescued by the Coast Guard and although banged up, was expected to survive.  Here's a great video of the rescue effort from our local newspaper:

The elk were too busy eating to care 

The day had one final surprise for me.  On my way out of the park I noticed a bunch of vehicles stopped ahead.  A small herd of elk was feeding right along the road and everyone had slowed to take pictures.  Of course, I did the same.  It's not everyday you get to see these majestic beasts up close!  The elk were near enough that I didn't even need to use my zoom lens.  And the parade of people waving cameras didn't faze them in the least.

Great way to begin the new year!

Ocean views, dense green forests, a historic lighthouse, muddy slogs, old bunkers, and elk sightings.  Just another great day on the Oregon coast.  What a wonderful way to begin 2024!