Cape Perpetua

Heceta Head Lighthouse, near Cape Perpetua on Oregon coastline

Although we are trying to visit places we haven’t been before, it is hard to pass up an old favorite when you are nearby.  Two years ago when we were in Oregon we discovered the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area and just loved it.  It was cold and dreary when we visited before but this year the weather was so lovely we couldn’t resist stopping and staying a while.

 

The highest viewpoint accessible by car, Cape Perpetua towers 800 feet
over the protected Marine Garden shoreline

 

We stayed at Carl G. Washburne Memorial State Park between Yachats and Florence on Highway 101.  This campground is nestled in a heavily forested and wind protected area east of the highway and the beach area is across the road.  There is a pretty little trail along China Creek that goes under the highway connecting the campground to the beach.

Moss covered forest along the trail to the beach from Carl Washburne campground

 

Several trails begin at the campground including one that leads to the beautiful and often photographed Heceta Head Lighthouse.  We didn’t make the hike last time we were here so we were determined to take the trail to the lighthouse this year. 

 

Morning fog near the top of the lighthouse trail

 

As is often the case on the Oregon coast, the morning started off foggy but as we worked our way towards the lighthouse the fog slowly lifted.  Many of the spruce trees growing right along the coast are stunted or blown into unique shapes by the wind. In places the trees grow thickly and trails through them form long dark tunnels.   The last portion of the lighthouse trail climbs over 600 feet up to the top of Heceta Head.  What an exhilarating hike with a nice reward at the end!

 

 

 

We stayed a week exploring new trails and hiking in two wilderness areas, the Drift Creek and Cummins Creek Wildernesses.  We made trips into the nearby towns and visited the Cape Perpetua Visitor Center.  This visitor center is one of the best we’ve seen with live plant displays, exhibits and ranger programs. 

 

Cummins Creek Wilderness

 

The Cape Perpetua Headland is a stunning place where the temperate spruce rainforest transitions to the sea.  From old-growth forests in wilderness areas to vibrant tidepools to gorgeous views from the highpoint of the cape – it is a place of perpetual beauty.

Tidepools at Neptune Beach

Sea stars and sea anemones clinging to rock at low tide

 

David's Stats:
Days Hiked   5

Rain Days       1 
Total Miles Hiked  36.13  
Ave. Miles per Day      7.23
Total Elevation Gain     6,338
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  1,268

 

 

Windy Days at the Beach



Maya at Nehalem Beach with a head wind

Oregon’s state parks are among the nicest we have visited and especially those parks along the coast.  The parks are clean and well tended and the sites are spacious with nearly all of them having electricity and water.  Since we didn't know when we would get our RV fixed for sure, we didn’t make a reservation but we thought on a Tuesday it shouldn’t be a problem.  So we drove from Portland to Nehalem Bay State Park where we had stayed when we were in Oregon two years ago.  The campground sign said “Full” but we thought we would check anyway.  I went up to the booth and the attendant there said yes, indeed they were full.  But right as I turned to walk away the park ranger in the back said, “Wait a minute.”  It turns out he was on the phone with someone who just canceled their reservation for the next two days.  Talk about lucking out!

A tail 'less' wind...

We settled into our campsite which was just a short walk from the beach.  Even though the temperatures were in the low 60s and the wind blew around 25 mph for both of our days at Nehalem Bay, we didn’t mind putting on a jacket.  We were just glad to be out of the sticky, 90 degree weather of Portland. 

 

Maya finds a feather

 

Like most dogs, Maya loves the beach.  It is sensory overload with all the many smells, stuff washed up from the ocean, so much excitement with people, other dogs, seabirds everywhere and the energy of those crashing waves.  As we were walking towards the beach, she started to whine and then once we were there she couldn’t stop bouncing, running and barking.  But once she settled down, then it was time for the serious business of ‘beachcombing.’ 

Maya loves to look for treasures that she can carry along with her or chew on or maybe even eat.  Crab shells, kelp, other dog’s soggy balls – she loves them all.  This trip she became quite enamored of a seagull feather she found.  She carried it around for hours but we finally took it away once she decided to eat it.  She was not too happy with us but as it was, she did get a little sick from the small bit she ate.  Lesson learned:  Don’t let your dog eat feathers, not even a little bite.

 

Mine!

 

 

 

All in all we had two days of windy beach walks and cool weather.  We congratulated ourselves on our decision to leave the heat in Portland. When we checked the weather and found out that the heat wave was covering most of central Oregon for the next week, staying on the coast was looking better and better.  We decided to travel south along the coast for the next week or so doing some more beach walks, catching part of the Oregon Coast Trail and maybe even hiking in a wilderness or two.

 

 

 

David's Stats:
Beach Days    2     
Total Miles Hiked    4.67     
Ave. Miles per Day      2.34
Total Elevation Gain     509
Ave. Elevation Gain per day   255
 

 

 

Hiking around the 'Hood'

Bear grass blooming in meadow near Mt. Hood

When we were in Oregon two years ago, we did some exploring around Portland and the Columbia River Gorge.  One place we loved and wanted to spend more time was the Mt. Hood area.  This trip we got our wish.  Since we had to wait a week for our RV appointment in Portland, it was the perfect opportunity to explore the Mt. Hood National Forest and three of the surrounding wilderness areas.

 

Spring-fed Little Crater Lake remains a constant 34 degrees year-round

 

There is an unbelievable amount of outdoor fun to be had in this area!  Summer activities include hiking, mountain biking, paddling, fishing, swimming, snowboarding and the really adventuresome can climb Mt. Hood.  A dormant volcano, Mt. Hood is the highest peak in Oregon at 11,239 feet, the home to 12 glaciers and the source of five significant rivers, one being the federally designated Wild and Scenic Salmon River.

 

Trail along Cold Springs Creek shaded by Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar

 

Tamanawas Falls

 

We spent a whole week camping in the Mt. Hood National Forest.  This forest has over one million acres with more than 300,000 acres designated as wilderness.  A week to explore over a million acres is not quite enough time but we did manage to hike 8 trails, four in the Mt. Hood Wilderness, one in the Badger Creek Wilderness, one in the Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness, one in the Wildwood BLM area and one trail was in the forest but not in a wilderness area.  Four of these trails had sections on the Pacific Crest Trail. 

 

Mt. Hood view from Boulder Ridge Trail in Salmon-Huckleberry Wilderness

 

The forests around Mt. Hood are beautiful and diverse.  The trails range from riparian areas around streams and lakes to lowland rainforest to high alpine forests with many trails leading above timberline.  We hiked along several rivers including the Wild and Scenic Salmon River.  Sometimes lakes or waterfalls were our destinations, sometimes high alpine meadows filled with wildflowers and mountain views and sometimes we wandered through deep and seemingly unending dark forests.  It was fantastic!

 

Lush lowland forest near Salmon River

 

Heavily forested mountainside

 

We also discovered that camping when July 4^th falls on a 3-day weekend is maybe not the best of plans.  For three days our campground was crammed full.  Good thing we like kids and dogs ‘cause we saw a lot of them.  But we only had to put up with the crowds at the campground at night since we were hiking all day (and on the more remote trails for the holiday days).
 

Ramona Falls

White fawn lily

 

Monday we made it to Portland and got our RV problems mostly resolved.  There is one part that will eventually need to be replaced but it is ‘patched’ for the moment.  It was warm in Portland, near 90 degrees and that is out of David’s ‘Goldilocks Zone’ so Tuesday we headed for the coast.  It is a little breezy and cool this afternoon but Maya thinks it’s perfect and she is hoping for another beach walk in a few minutes.

 

David's Stats:
Days Hiked       8
Total Miles Hiked   57.23      
Ave. Miles per Day      7.15
Total Elevation Gain   9,337   
Ave. Elevation Gain per day    1,167

Sandy River and Mt. Hood

 

 

Electrical Issues and on to Oregon

Mt. Hood from the Top Spur Trail near the Pacific Crest Trail

Two years ago before we started our big adventure we received all kinds of helpful advice from other RV owners.  One thing we were told was to expect that things would break from time to time.  Just like in a regular home or with your car – stuff happens.   It is just a little more inconvenient when you are traveling.  So this has been our week to try to solve why we had warning lights going on and off in the RV.

As we were leaving the Redwoods the check engine light came on and then a few other warning lights flashed and went off.  Around the same time David noticed that the electrical connection for our ‘towing’ lights and brake-assist on our car was not working.  We also lost power very briefly so we decided this could be a serious issue and we should find the nearest Mercedes/Sprinter dealer A.S.A.P.  Although we had hoped for a few more days in northern California, there was a dealer in Medford, Oregon about 4 hours away and that seemed the sensible thing to do.

The technicians told us that the RV experienced a ‘power surge.’   They couldn’t determine why there was a power surge but they were able to reset the computer and all the warning lights were OK.  As far as the electrical connection to the car, they thought that was a ‘RV’ issue.  We sort of have two parts to our RV.  The motor and chassis is made by Mercedes/Sprinter but the RV is constructed by Leisure Travel out of Canada.  To make a long story a bit shorter, we decided to change our plans and head north to the Portland area to the nearest Leisure Travel Dealer and try to get things fixed.

Instead of taking our time working our way through Oregon, we drove from Medford to Portland in a day.  Our hope was to get it all fixed and then spend about 3 – 4 weeks enjoying Oregon.  But no such luck.  The Leisure Travel Dealer said that the problem was in the Sprinter chassis after all and recommended us to another place in Portland.  But with the July 4^th holiday around the corner, we couldn’t get an appointment until Monday, July 7.  So we were stuck.  But what a place to be stuck!  We headed about 50 miles east toward Mt. Hood and decided we would spend the first week in July and the holiday weekend hiking in the forests and as many wilderness areas as we could manage.

Wildwoods BLM Recreation area near Mt. Hood

 

And that is just what we have been up too.  The weather has been perfect and we have taken some gorgeous hikes.  Today we try yet again to get things fixed.  We are heading out to Portland this morning.  I’ll post photos of our adventures in and around Mt. Hood in the next day or two.   If all goes well today we will be heading for the Oregon coast tomorrow.  If not, well, I’ll let you know…

David's Stats:  A lot of driving

Foxglove