Wilderness Hikes

We had a great hike in the Siskiyou Mountains. The hiking trail lead us up through the famous Biscuit Fire area. This fire burned approximately 500,000 acres. The good news is there are many islands of surviving timber and we found a lot of regeneration of cedar and Pondersoa Pine seedlings. We hiked out to Vulcan Lake where our dog had fun swimming in the clear calm waters. One portion of the trail still had snow so we detoured and launched off the side of the mountain to catch the trail 300 feet below.

On the way home we stopped at Arch Rock, located btween Brookings and Gold Beach. We spotted 2 tall ships off the coast. One had dropped anchor to ride out the rough seas and the other was slowly motoring north into the winds. The wind has blown for many days out of the north this month. I understand the ships are making their way to Tacoma for a festival during the July 4th holiday.

Oregon Summer

We have been keeping busy these past weeks. I became a bit of a recluse for the last couple of months as I have had to study for my job certfication exams. The Forest Service requires the Timber Sale Officer to certify prior to assigning authority to manage timber sales. So I have been in the books and burning the midnight oil in preparation for the test. The good news is I took the 6 hour exam on May 22 and passed. Next step in the process is my field certification.

The other day I was on the timber sale out near Ashland. As I was leaving the area a call on the CB radio alerted me that a loaded log truck had slid off the road and was blocking my way out. I told the drive to hold on. I located the work crew and we decided to bring a cat dozer down to the truck with some chain. I took the photo of the cat pulling the truck back on the road. Lucky for the driver he got stopped before he slid off over the edge of the road. The road was greasy as some snow recently melted. I figured he would have gone about 100 feet straight down the mountain.

Since last Thursday I have been enjoying my new freedoms and "extra spare time" as I actually plan to visit the library to check out a book or two, and have been generally enjoying life. I'm not sure I will read the books I check out, but just check them out, so I can exercise that choice of my use of time. Ginger is enjoying having her husband back.

Ginger is working hard to bring her and Lacey's dog agility skills up to the highest of standards. They have competed in 2 agility events this spring. The first was in the Medford area at the county fair grounds. We enjoyed the area and took advantage of going out to dinner at the local Red Lobster as we don't have that on the coast. We also took a walk through the shopping malls. The second was in the town of Roseberg. The weather was perfect at this event and we celebrated a night out at the local Sizzler restaurant. Ginger and Lacey make a great team and won several qualifications during the events.

Last weekend we headed south on Highway 101 to hike to a secluded beach called China Beach. We parked along the highway and hiked down through the coastal forest of Sitka Spruce and Shore Pine to a deserted ocean beach. Tons of beauiful drift wood is piled from our winter storms and Ginger found many beautiful sand dollars in the sand. Lacey was able to run and play. Our foot prints were ours alone as no one had been there for a couple of days. We ended the day with dining at the local Mexican restaurant in Brookings and a walk through the Azalea Park to see all the flowers in bloom.

Port Orford

Last weekend Ginger and I took a drive 30 miles north along the coastal highway to the small fishing port called Port Orford. On the way to Port Orford we stopped at the Ophir Beach State Rest Area along Highway 101. We walked on the beach, which was narrow during the high tide. The large crashing waves created wonderful picture taking opportunities and the beach is great for letting our dog run and play. We had the beach to ourselves so we were able to let her run without a leash.

We arrived at Port Orford about noon and headed down to the port area where the fishing fleet is stored. I say the boats are stored because Port Orford does not have a protected harbor. The fishing boats are hoisted by a portable crane and then parked on cradles in a large flat parking area.

I talked to some scuba divers that were scuba diving nearby. They had 4 fish that they had speared. I asked how the dive went and one fellow told me he was banged up and most of their wet suits had been torn by the strong currents and being thrown on nearby rocks. A fun day of diving had not turned out very well for this group of adventurous divers.

While we were at the port we decided to dine at a little cafe nearby. The cafe is in a small shack of a building that has several purposes. There is a small maritime museum, fresh fish sales counter, gift shop, and dining area. Ginger had the fish and chips. I tried the baked fresh salmon. Both choices were excellent. As we were paying our bill, Ginger asked the hostess if the taffy candy on the counter was for sale. She replied it was free. We each tried a piece and it was really good taffy.

We decided to go to the historic Coast Guard rescue station. This little station was closed in the 1970s and is preserved by Oregon State Parks. It is located on the headland west of town and offers beautiful views of the coast and ocean. A Coast Guard rescue boat is preserved and on display as well as many historic structures. We hiked on several short trails. The trails were lined with Douglas Fir, Shore Pine, various grasses, early springtime flowers, and ferns. Near the end of the trail we located the site where a lookout tower used to stand. A interpretive sign told how the coast guard men would stand 4 hour watch inside the tower and watch for fishing vessels in distress. During stormy weather the lookout would have to stand on the trap door to keep it closed in the high winds. During the December 2007 storm this area along the coast experienced winds clocked at 113 mph.

Winter in Oregon

I spent my first winter on the Oregon coast and it lived up to its reputation for winter storms, wind , rain, and tons of natural beauty. In December I experienced a large storm that brought ocean fury to the beaches, wind gusts over 100 mph near Port Orford, destroyed buildings, tore roofs, and knocked out the power to many. The local residents took the storm in stride as they are used to fending for themselves. Everyone helped one another and I did not hear anyone say they needed FEMA to assist them.

We experienced many days of rain, wind, and cool temperatures. In Mid February we started to notice the rains were less frequent and the sun was out many days. I also noted people had more smiles in town as the sunshine pushed away the gloom that the periods of cloudy, rainy, dark winter weather brings to people.

Gold Beach and the surrounding areas are incredible communities. People are close knit and activities here revolve around fishing, school activities, community events, local theater and book store events, and fund raisers. I expand on these activities in a later post.

Often the roads north, south, and east are blocked with rock slides or ice conditions. That is probably why we say this is remote area out here on the SW Oregon coast . The big city of Medford and Grants Pass are 3 hours to the east. To the north is Coos Bay which is a 2 hour drive along Highway 101. South is Brookings (population 6,000) and the California coast. There are no WalMart stores or Home Depot. The local McDonalds is 30 miles south of here in Brookings.. The nearest big box store is over 2 hours travel distance away. However we feel connected as we enjoy high speed Internet, good cell phone service, and cable television.

So I would say overall the winters here are mild in comparison to South Dakota and already in late February I have seen the early signs that spring is soon to be here.