Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Ecola State Park........

A very popular and scenic spot to visit in Cannon Beach is Ecola State Park. It has gorgeous views, picnic spots and hiking trails to explore. For more information, click here. We had a nice sunny day as we headed out to explore the park.


There are two main areas in the park: Ecola Point and Indian Beach. We started our day at Ecola Point, where we had planned on a hike to a view of Tillamook Lighthouse. The trail was really nice...through old growth temperate rain forest. The trail went mostly up, so we knew we would be in for a good viewpoint. Too good actually.

Ecola Point
trailhead...watch out for cougars!
the terrain immediately changes
its a magical forest
with lots of height to be gained
lots of giant ferns and giant trees
still going up
The trail goes up and up; sometimes there are stairs and sometimes there are switchbacks, but it is all up. A viewpoint along the way gives a taste of what we will see. The fence could use some repair. A small child could really be lost through that gaping hole in the fence! Its a long way down.

view of the beach below
gorgeous
pretty rocks with fog moving in
that's one giant tree
its how old?
peeking through for more views
there are lots of nice views from this trail
enjoying the trek
still going up
lots of roots so you gotta watch your step!
don't want to trip near an edge!
Tillamook Lighthouse
Unfortunately, I lost my nerve rounding a corner, and we decided to head back down. The view of the lighthouse was perfect from there, and we did not want to tempt fate and have me "freeze" on the side of the cliff.  The views from where we stood were great! Besides, its was getting to be near lunchtime:)

the end of the hike for me:(
gorgeous views
close up
Heading back down the trail, we enjoyed the beauty of it once again. Sometimes that's what's really nice about an out and back trail...you get to appreciate the views twice, and, things look different coming and going. Just sayin'.

heading back now
its a lot easier going down!
great rays of light shining in this magical forest
heading back
love the moss and sweet flowers
such tall trees
the roots are as tall as Tom!
views are great from the trail
watch your step!
cool trees
again, the views from the trail are priceless
heading down the switchbacks
that was pretty steep!
way easier going down
Hmmm, the viewpoint had some picnic tables nearby. Perfect! We were ready for a little lunch and couldn't think of a better place to have it. When we were taking our pictures at the lookout area, we noticed someone climbing up the hill. It was awfully steep, and looked pretty slippery, so we were hoping nothing happened to that idiot person.

look...picnic tables at the lookout
great views
maybe we'll check out the beach later?
close up...very cool
WHAT are you thinking?????
see her down there?
Our lunch spot was just perfect, and was the best place to look for gray whales. No luck. I think we saw the last of the migration last week. Mustn't be greedy now! The view was really nice!

great lunch spot
picture perfect
We moved on the the other section of the park, Indian Beach, and started up the Clatsop Loop Trail. The signs here in Oregon have been so confusing for us. We saw the trailhead sign for Clatsop, but then what was the Lighthouse View? Turns out, that is the other side of the loop and we could have gone up that way instead. No worries. We did the whole loop, though I think we did it the hard way. Haha. (My fitbit logged 117 flights)! The total elevation gain was 700 or 800 feet, depending on where you read about the trail description.

heading out on another hike
what?


sweet
this trail is gravel....all the way to the Hiker's camp....so its accessible (I don't know..its pretty steep)!!
nice through the forest 
tons of moss
catching my breath-ugh
its a huge hill
fungus
nice bench for a rest
or to check out the fitbit flights
you can do it Susie!
The hiker's camp was interesting, and in pretty good shape. The Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) hikers use this as an overnight. Much nicer than some of the hiking camps we've seen on the Appalachian Trail.



one of the hiker's cabins
4 bunks
the site is in pretty good shape
Once at the Hiker's camp, there is a viewpoint of the Tillamook Lighthouse not too far off the trail. We got to the overlook only to watch the fog descend! Not a very good view. We waited for a few minutes to see if the fog would move out, which it did a bit, but not enough.

heading down to the Tillamook Lighthouse viewpoint
nice forest walk
a bit of mud
oops...another little obstacle
here's the viewpoint!   FOGGED IN!
can't see a thing
wait..its clearing a bit
heading back up to the trail
wait....its so muddy at the end there
Soon we were starting on the trek back, which was a much nicer hike through the forest. It was more interesting, and had the great water views as well. Some of it was a little steep, and really, sometimes its easier going up then going down. I know! Hard to believe!
this part of the trail is really nice too
a bit of mud to watch out for
very interesting trees 
fog drifting through the forest
woah
Captain Clark and his contingent, including Sacajawea, traveled this way in search of a beached whale (Indian name=Ecola). I'm sure they didn't have the nice trail we had though. I thought of them when I was huffing and puffing up the hills. (I am a wimp)!

views are great
nice color in the forest
getting edge-y
trail is in pretty good shape
view
back to the shade
We encountered mud at a few places, which just makes things really slippery. I was SOOO glad I did not wipe out. It was pretty slick!!
more mud! watch your step!
a bit muddy
big time mud 
great views
Terrible Tilly....the fog lifted a bit from the time we were at the upper viewpoint
love the trees!
At some points it was a bit edge-y, but I am trying to do better with my height issue. I've come a long way...but still have a ways to go.

almost back
doing good!
almost back now?
Towards the end of the trail is a great view of the beach, very popular with surfers. We watched a couple of them for a little bit, before they rode the waves into the beach. It was getting late in the day.
a viewpoint towards the end of the trail
awesome
surfer Joe
how pretty is that?
time to check out the beach
We went down to the beach for a few minutes to enjoy the watching the waves crash. The ocean is so powerful, and its not hard to imagine the influence of the water crashing on the rocks and carving out arches and caves.

forging a river...or walking through it to clean off the mud?
do you see the crazies on the rock in the middle of the picture? Guess they can't read??
time to chill on the beach
and watch the waves crash
mesmerizing
great view
see the little waterfall behind me?
Back at the ranch, we relaxed in the backyard for a couple of hours....warmed by the fire. Another nice day on the coast of Oregon!

chilling out
nothing like a nice campfire
relaxin'

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