Fort to Sea Trail
Astoria, Oregon: A cloudy day, but warm
enough we didn't hesitate to go ahead with our plan for the day - to hike
the Fort to Sea Trail!
This 6.5 mile trail leads from Fort Clatsop to the beach and is believed to
approximate the route taken by the Lewis & Clark Expedition during their
four-month winter encampment at Fort Clatsop in 1805-06. How very exciting
to be able to walk where they walked! (And how very exciting that we didn't
have to retrace our steps - the Parks Service provides a free shuttle
service!)
Northwest
Oregon suffered through a terrible wind storm, the "Great
Coastal Gale", on 3 December 2007. Winds over 100 mph were reported in
Astoria and it was the first time the National Weather Service had ever
issued a hurricane warning for this area. Thousands of trees fell and the
coast suffered terrible flooding. 18 people died.
Sixty miles inland, we had a little excitement too as the winds blew over
several trees on our property... and unfortunately one of them landed
(leaning) on our house.
There was so much damage in the Lewis & Clark National Historic Site, the
Fort to Sea Trail had to be closed and did not re-open until August 2008. It
is the policy of the National Parks Service to leave fallen trees and let
the area rebound naturally, but there were so many downed trees, part of the
trail was re-routed along an old road grade.
Here are (probably way too many - oh so very sorry) snapshots of our great
hike today. The first mile or so of the trial goes through an area with
significant storm damage.
This huge tree snapped during the storm
Root ball
Just a few minutes from Fort Clatsop
The winter the Corp of Discovery camped at Fort Clatsop was
one of the worst ever recorded. They only had 12 rain-free days! The group
was sick of eating salmon and elk - too bad they missed-out on all the
berries that ripen in the area during the summer - huckleberry, thimble
berry, black berry, salmon berry, wild strawberry and elderberry! I ate so
many huckleberries today along the trail!
Huckleberries
Busy bee on a thistle along the trail
Elderberry
The trail leaves the devastated forest and climbs the hill
on an old road grade.
Up we go
There is a viewpoint at the 2.5 mile point. On a clear day
you can "see to the sea". Not today, but here is a handsome vista anyway:
My trail guide
From the vista point, the trail heads into the prettiest part
of the trail - through a dense old-growth forest with several creeks, ponds and marshes.
There isn't much storm damage here.
Beautiful trail
Well maintained too!
I don't think Lewis & Clark had such a groomed trail to follow! Isn't it
just gorgeous?
Are these photos beginning to look alike? I took so many photos - everything
was so enchanting.
My Driver leading the way
At about the four mile point, the trail enters pasture-land.
A tunnel leads under Highway 101 and follows through actual cow pastures!
Your correspondent on a bridge over the Skipanon River.
(The Skipanon River was more like a creek to me.)
The Skipanon River from the footbridge
The tunnel under Highway 101 (Pacific Coast Highway)
Here the Fort to Sea Trail feels more like the National Trust Trail in
England -
it passes through private property, churches (even a cemetery!) and pastures.
This bridge moves with the tides
Not the prettiest portion of our hike, but still interesting through cattle
pastures
We were on a cattle ranch
We hiked past a group of cows with babies... hey, didn't I have
you for dinner last night?
The largest bridge passes over Sunset Lake. It was FILLED with gorgeous
lilies.
Exotic in Oregon!
The next portion of our hike passed through an area that had
been damaged by the winds and damaged by a forest fire! There was a lot of
new growth on the ground and the most bird activity we heard on the hike
- plus we could hear the roar of the ocean now!
Burned and messed-up forest
Pretty places to rest along many ponds
Then the trail reaches the pick-up-point for the shuttle.
There is a parking area, bathrooms and informational signs about the
December 2007 storm... but there was another half-mile trek to the ocean.
Isn't this so pretty? Only a few more steps and we will see the Mighty
Pacific!
A viewing platform awaits
So pretty!
We continued down to the beach and plopped ourselves down on
a washed-up log. DT opened up his backpack and produced a gourmet lunch (not only can
he drive a 45-foot bus and lead a hike - he can make sandwiches!). Just as we
were settling-in to enjoy our lunch - whales began spouting right in front
of us - just off-shore! What a great reward for a long hike! We called Lisa
and told her of our luck and she said, "Mom, that is just so Oregonian."
True. So true.
So we finished our sandwiches and hiked the easy half-mile back to the
pick-up point. The shuttle bus arrived on-time and carried us back to Fort
Clatsop where our car awaited. Here is a panoramic photo taken from the
shore, looking east:
Lewis and Clark saw this
Another Coastal Confession: I did not schlep the big guns
today. Every photo posted above was taken with my
Sony HX1.
Even though I was basically "done" for the day, we went out for dinner. (Is
this a good time to mention DT went for a 3-mile run before we went on our
hike today?) We had heard good things about the
Bridgewater
Bistro, so we drove the Honda into town to check it out for ourselves.
The restaurant is aptly named, because you have great views to the bridge
spanning the Columbia between Oregon and Washington from the wall-sized
windows in the river-front restaurant. Tomorrow, we will cross this bridge
in our motorhome!
Bridgewater Bistro - Astoria, Oregon
We have mixed-reviews on our meals. DT and I shared three
"small plates" - seared ahi with seaweed (about one minute over-cooked, but
the flavor and seaweed salad was very nice), watermelon salad with balsamic
vinegar, feta, olives and mint (very refreshing and different) and
Willapa Bay
oyster shooters (delicious, according to My Driver).
Three oyster shooters
Does that oyster seem unusually large to you?
For dinner DT had another appetizer - steamed Manila clams,
also from Willapa Bay, Washington. He said they were wonderful. I ordered
the caught-today Chinook and it was good... but my meal was served a bit
cold. Yuck.
Manila clams
The restaurant did have a very impressive wine list (and
full bar), but we can only give it one thumbs up because of the hodge-podge
condition of our meals. Service was quite good - she ran my $27 Chinook back
to the microwave right away. Sigh.
Anyway, it was a great day. Any day you can walk seven miles in the
footprint of Lewis & Clark, see whales, spend a beautiful day with your
sandwich-making Husband and eat seafood that is basically still swimming, it must
be a great day!
Until my next update, I remain, your channeling-Sacajawea correspondent.