Precursor #3 to September.

Last summer I booked a kayak trip through Kayak Tillamook which was subsequently cancelled, rescheduled, cancelled, rescheduled and cancelled again.  The owner ended up giving me two free seats for the August full moon kayak trip as an apology for all the inconvenience - totally unnecessary but most certainly appreciated. So precursor #3 involved this kayak trip followed by three nights at Kilchis River County campground.  The main campgrounds are a big RV-friendly circle (in a word: yuck) but our tent-only area was right by the river which ended up drowning out most of the noise.  For a shorter trip we would've opted for a no-frills campsite but since we were staying three nights we decided readily-available showers might be a good idea. 

The full moon kayak trip was awesome.  The weather couldn't have been better and the skies were perfectly clear - we even saw a shooting star.  The moon was so bright that we didn't need flashlights.  (We could've done without the family from LA splashing and chatting the whole time, but I guess that was to be expected.)

like a big-a pizza pie

Friday morning after breakfast at camp we hiked up to Cape Lookout.  The trail was pretty crowded and I'm glad we didn't wait until Saturday.  Like last time I was there, it was muddy.  Unlike last time, it was misty and the view wasn't that great.  Still a nice hike, though.

August 2012

same view, May 2011

After the hike we headed to Cape Meares for some serious sitting.  Most of the Oregon coastal beaches are small and very popular.  Don't tell anyone, but Cape Meares is completely the opposite - a wide stretch of beach with very little people.  We ended up spending quite a bit of time there throughout the weekend.

pretty much the only activity we saw

Friday night at the campsite was not as loud as I would have expected, and we were able to rest up for our big hiking adventure the next day: Elk Mountain.

I'd done nearby Kings Mountain somewhat accidentally about a year ago (actually, one of the times the kayak trip got cancelled and I'd already booked lodging at the coast).  It completely kicked my butt.  As in, I was still hurting three days later.  So we wisely opted not to do the Elk Mountain-Kings Mountain 12-mile loop, but even the Elk Mountain-Elk Creek 8.5-mile hike was fairly intense - especially the 1.5 mile uphill scramble at the beginning.

free riders

We saw two people when we first started and about six people near the end.  Otherwise we were alone on the trail the whole time.  (Not surprising - it was close to 100 degrees and I'm sure all the smart people opted to play in the river instead of ascend 2600 feet in only partial shade.)  Most of the trail views overlook the highway, though, so it was hard to remember you weren't that far from civilization.

worth the work

The hike uphill was far more challenging and interesting than the 4-mile gradual downhill slog along Elk Creek trail.  But the downhill slog went quickly and we were able to get on the road by about 4pm.  On the way back to camp we stopped off at Tillamook Cheese Factory where I hopped out to grab squeaky cheese while Patrick waited in the car.  I was tired, sweaty and dirty, and I'd spent the last five hours alone in nature.  Walking into the mass of ice-cream-scarfing humanity and consumerism was much like the experience of being in Vegas after rafting on the Colorado River.  The cashier even commented that I looked a little irritated - in a very nice way, of course...  The sacrifices one makes for squeaky cheese.

Our well-deserved dinner that night (priority #2, with priority #1 being well-deserved showers) was a mishmash of grilled veggies and, of course, sausage. 

I don't know when I developed this affinity for sausage
... but I'm just going to go with it

There is just nothing like grilled corn on the cob.  Nothing.  And for dessert we enjoyed some unlikely combinations.

vacuum-fried banana chips from Trader Joe's

+ peanut butter

+ squeaky cheese

= DELICIOUS

The next morning after packing up, we stopped at Cape Meares again.  The weather wasn't as pleasant but we enjoyed a long walk along the still-desolate beach.

if a wave crashes and no one is around,

does it make a sound?

(A: of course it does, silly)

happy campers/beachcombers

On the way back we stopped at Alice's Country House for lunch.  I can say I've eaten there, and that's about all I have to say about it.

So the third camping experiment was another success.  All of this is very good news.  The plan for September is to take 7-9 days and head down to the Redwoods and up the Oregon coast, car camping along the way.  We have no real plans, just some ideas, so we'll be winging it.  I keep remembering that first road trip I took back in 1995 where we were armed only with AAA camping tour books and a 1975 Ford F250.  This time we'll have wifi and slightly (!) better gas mileage, but otherwise it will be very similar.

So...  Is it September yet?  How about now?  Now?