Oregon Coastal Trail

[Jonathon Self]

So I'm planning on tackling this trail next year with my wife, and as I've never hiked up a coastal trail, I'm not sure what to expect outside of the obvious. To compound matters, there really isn't a guide yet published designed with a thru hiker in mind (apparently there is one to be published next summer, but that might be a little late for planning).

Is there any special considerations I should exercise when planning the trip? Is a decent DWR shelled down bag okay, given enough care, or should I go synthetic? Are regular trail shoes workable on a beach, or should I consider other options? I know much of the beach during low tide seems fairly hardpacked, but I thought I'd gather some opinions.

These are the sort of issues I'm trying to walk through

Thanks in advance!

(I found this thread, but the info might be a little dated. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?bo=watch&forum_thread_id=7552)

Edit: Anyone ever try any Sand Socks or SandSkins? Interest, but not sure how they'd hold up.

[Jerry Adams]

Oregon Coastal "Trail" is a misnomer

It's more of a concept than a real trail. Lot's of road walking. Places where you have to swim across a bay (don't worry about being swept out to sea or run over by boat).

did you see http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/parks/Pages/oct_main.aspx

[Link .]

Tha Wookie and Island Mama were the first to thru hike the West coast trail in 2004, Tha Wookie (Nate Olive) use to have a website detailing it but I see it no longer exists unfortunately, he was also writing a book and had lots of photos but he ended up moving to and running an Organic Farm On ST. CROIX . You can read his TRAIL JOURNAL on the trip(including the Oregon section of course).He and Island Mama did it UL as they did on all their hikes using a homemade Ray Way tarp and hiking in sandals.

[Jonathon Self]

"Oregon Coastal "Trail" is a misnomer"

Yeah, but road walking really doesn't bother me, as long as it's moderately safe. There's a tunnel that can be apparently pretty sketchy, and I'm sure I'll figure out a way around that. I tend to enjoy the journey more than the scene, if that makes any sense. If urban backpacking was practical, I'd probably even dip my toe into that.

I did find the website, but thanks! Just for more reference, in case someone else stumbles across this thread later on, I've also found:

http://www.cleverhiker.com/blog/oct-guide-bandon-to-port-orford
http://hikingtheoct.blogspot.com/
http://www.coasttrails.org/oregoncoasttrail.html

Link – I did not know that! The journal should be helpful, I'm sure. Thanks!

[Katherine .]

I've only done bits and pieces of it as day hikes.

There are probably also side trips you want to do too — just did Cape Lookout two weeks ago — one of my favorites!

If I were planning a long hike of it, I'd be very tempted to stay at a lot of inns along the way. Manzanita is a really cute place. Options also in Cannon Beach, Seaside. Further south, the Inn at Arch Rock in Depoe Bay is good. You might want to line some of those up, budget permitting.

The stretch of beach I'm most familiar with (Manazanita>Nehalem Bay) is usually hard packed enough at low tide that trail shoes should be fine. (though, personally, I'd go barefoot on anything non-rocky).

If I were making a gear decision/purchase specifically for this trip I'd opt for synthetic (coming from someone who otherwise prefers down). What time of year are you considering?

Lots of the road stretches are still spectacular. Looking at the Northern section map, the part I'm most familiar with — only the stretch before/after Tillamock would be a downer. Might want to see if you can get a ride to skip over some of that — approx. south of Bay City to the start of the Three Capes loop.

In the Central Section I have an idea to avoid the road, and see a lovely stretch: At the end of Cascade Head, on the south side of the Salomon River outlet there's a protected area. But there's a YMCA summer camp there called Westwind (it can be rented by private groups in the off-season). They have pontoon boats that they use to make the crossing from Three Rocks Road (Knight County park, parking lot, boat launch) to the area. I wonder if you could arrange with them for a crossing? My children's school goes there on overnight field trips. Once the tide/river was so low we just walked back to across the river to the parking lot. Wonder how often that's the case. The trails through there would probably reunited with the Coastal Trail somewhere around Road's End.

Are you planning North-bound or South? I'd consider North to reduce sun in eyes/face. Probably more options for getting fixes of civilization on the Northern section — whatever that means for you. Gorgeous either way.

[Jonathon Self]

Katherine, amazing bits of information! We haven't decided north or sound-bound yet, so I'm completely open to suggestions, and the we were planning on late July most likely.

http://traveloregon.com/getting-around/weather/

I'm not sure how accurate this is (but I've seen similar averages elsewhere), but July seems to be pretty dry. The dryness is one of the reasons I questioned the bag. 1 inch of rain almost seems like nothing, at least compared to the 25 we had last month in Oklahoma. Practically floated away.

Also, I'm completely open to staying along the coast in towns, or yurts/cabins, even. I noticed they seem to be rather affordable, even if you have to reserve them waaaaay in advance. Have you ever tried them out?

Thanks for the tips! I'll have to check out your suggestions further into the planning process.

[Jerry Adams]

I've been in State Park Yurts. Fairly cheap. Nice bed, table, heater,… No bathroom or kitchen. Fully enclosed.

(maybe I was a bit harsh. Oregon Coast Trail not a wilderness experience, but a lot of nice things about it. Nice to be able to eat at restaurants and stay at motels. Some road walking not necessarily that bad.)

[Katherine .]

Yes you have to reserve the Oregon State Park yurts and cabins way in advance! Nine months I think, and probably at the exact moment they become available with your fingers ready to go on the keyboard. One of the few things Portland folk are truly aggressive about. I've stayed in yurts/cabins at Umpqua Lighthouse, Beachside and Cape Lookout. (and have plans for Honeyman this summer) They're all quite pleasant and a good value. "Deluxe" means + bathroom in the yurt/cabin, which is preferable when you can snag it. But all of them have access to shared bathroom/showers. Since those are not at all flexible, I'd go more heavy on that along your start, in case you hit delays along the way.

e.g. if you start from the North, you could plan a first night in Fort Stevens. I could envision something like: Fort Stevens SP cabin, Seaside lodging, Cannon Beach lodging, Manzanita lodging, Nehalem Bay SP cabin (or Wheeler lodging)….after that I'm less familiar. There are probably similar SP options starting South, but I have less familiarity. Figure out what sort of mileage your up for, pick your dates for the SP stuff, and find out EXACTLY the first minute you can reserve them, and then set up some sort of calendar reminder so you're ON IT.

Not sure if you could get them to line-up so as to skip carrying a shelter — but I'm curious if you could (would be on of the few journeys that would suit my husband!) Maybe if you have enough at the start you could pick up your shelter a week in or something.

My only gripe about the yurts/cabins is that they clean them too well. They wipe down the mattresses (which are covered in a thick green waterproof material) with some cleanser with a smell. And I'm one of those chemically sensitive types who gets highly irritated by a whiff of anything. So I try to remember to wipe them down to remove the cleaning residue before I settle into them. Might not matter to most people.

If you already have a down bag or really want to go that way, I defer to anyone with more Oregon Coast camping experience! My tourist experience has been July/Aug= clear. Down would certainly be less of a risk in high summer than compared to Oct-May. Also if you do plan lodging overnights, that builds in a drying-out-time margin of error.

You're also going to want to pick a very wind-worthy stove. I'm usually an alky user, but for the coast I'd look to either a remote canister or one of the on-tops with wind-resisting credibility.

Food wise in the northern stretch you can get meals in the major tourist towns. Groceries? Off hand I can say there's a small but reasonably well-stocked grocery store just a few blocks up from the beach in Manzanita.

[Amy Lauterbach]

Jonathon,

Amy and I did this route as a thru hike in 2008. You can find our trip report at: http://amyl.smugmug.com/Backpacking/UT-OR/200807-ORCA-Coast-Backpacking/12028280_ML8qk7#!i=853402632&k=HJccvfQ

There is also a Yahoo Group that has a bit of information: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/oregoncoasttrail/info
If you join the group, you can access an Excel spreadsheet I created with a detailed navigational guide to the route. You will find under Files and it is titled OCTrev2.3.xls

The set of maps published by the state is helpful but lacking in detail in some locations.

We walked North to South in order to have the prevailing winds at our back; walk the other way and you are much more likely to have sand blown in your face all day.

No special equipment is required, just ordinary backpacking gear. Lightweight trail shoes often have mesh sides that can let sand it, which is a nuisance for beach walking. Some of the Oregon beaches have very fine grained sands and the sand can be loose or hard packed, depending on conditions and the tidal history of a particular beach.

Yes there is road walking, although less than previously as sections of the route get moved off of the pavement. The tunnel you mentioned is scary, but we walked through it. At the time, it had a button you can push to light signs warning motorists that a bicyclist is in the tunnel, which helped. At the time, there was no reasonable walking option around the tunnel, although there has been talk of a trail bypass on the ocean side. I don't know the current status of that. You could always hitch a ride through the tunnel.

Overall it was a decent walk, although we most enjoyed the section from the Oregon border south along the California Coastal Trail to Arcada that we appended to the OCT.

James (for Amy)

[Pigeon]

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