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Trip to the Siuslaw Forest
Aug 21 - Sep 4, 2021
Click on pictures for a bigger view :)
Though we had to make last minute plans to go here, this trip was absolutely fantastic. Our first plan was Big Sur in California (waaaaay too crowded, and few opportunities to camp off the beaten path), then Bull of the Woods in Oregon (it burned down in 2020), and until a month ago, the Umpqua forest in Oregon (half burnt down, and the fire is currently still growing.) It was certainly not one of our usual isolated wilderness trips, there are very few hiking trails that aren’t on the beach. And of the handful of trails, none were appropriate for backcountry camping - most are just a few miles long. There were plenty of people afoot. But the people we met along the way were fascinating and super kind, and the ocean meeting the forest just can’t be beat. It made us kind of sad to see the “wilds” gear we brought for off-the-beaten-path unused, but we got plenty of quiet rest and relaxation. I felt my dear ol’ dad EVERYWHERE. If there is an afterlife, my dad was enjoying this trip right along with us. I loved using the various camping things he has given us over the years.
One other thing that was a first for us is there was ZERO campfires allowed. Too many fires burning in the state. Which gives the night-time a whole different feel. We stayed in a few campgrounds, and though none were even half-full, nobody was out after sunset. So eerily quiet (and cold.) I really miss fires, they are the heart and soul of camping.
We have done a lot of dispersed camping in our time, but this particular area was different than other parts of Oregon. We had planned to just drive out of Eugene (where we stayed the first night) and set up camp in one of the many forest service roads in the area for Aaron’s birthday. The area we researched, however, was almost 100% turn-offs that only had enough space for a trailer. Nothing at all for a tent set-up. Also, lots of scary folks in the woods with signs like “Drive like you don’t want to get shot” signs and a ton of soul-crushing clear-cut logging mountainsides. It’s like witnessing the aftermath of a massacre, there is nothing left but what looks like salted earth. Not even grass. After hours of driving, we decided to cut our losses and go to Sutton National Forest campground just outside of Florence. I gotta say, we were expecting a parking lot with RVs, but it was actually pretty awesome. Since there aren’t any fires, there wasn’t any noise.
There was even a little nature walk section right next to our site :)
Everything is huge here. Foot for scale.
Aaron’s 49th birthday :) With 2 trees growing out of a log.
Cummins Wilderness Area
The next day started with low hopes of finding a good tent site up north in the Cummins Wilderness area. We assumed it would be like the day before. But we were INCREDIBLY lucky to have found one out of two tent set-ups in the whole dispersed camping area we researched. IT WAS PERFECT. And we stayed there all week. A scary ride down gravel roads hugging sheer-drop cliffs, but a good amount of the road was actually paved.
When I suspected there might be a tent space back behind the trail, I was thrilled. This is what it looks like to walk from the road to our little temporary home.
We had great weather, it only rained once, and it gave us a chance to try our our brand new tent! We LOVE it.
Pine needles scattered on our tent roof.
This road is so beautiful we spent the day hiking it like a trail.
This may look like the sunset, but it’s the sunrise! It is a mighty thick, dark, tangled forest.
Plants as big as us.
There was this creepy face staring at us the whole time at our camp. Zoomed in:
There was so much beauty around us this first week. Though this was the quietest forest I have ever been to, it was teeming with life. I really hope they don’t cut it down anytime soon.
Boom mic tree interviewing a dragonfly.
LOOK AT THESE TALL TREES. LOOK AT THEM. Aaron for scale. I love them.
Our teeny car on this bigger-than-life forest road.
Cooks Ridge trail
This was a GORGEOUS trail, just a few miles down from our camp. It glimmered in the morning light.
The morning sun peeking through the moss.
Cummins Creek trail
This amazing trails starts off at the Cooks Ridge trailhead, but splits off into a longer trail that goes to the lower part of the forest.
You can see the faint outlines of the ocean in the distance. We sat here on this mountainside all afternoon <3
Everything is super-sized. Check out the ancient tree stump.
Paying my daily thanks for this stupendous forest.
For some reason when we walked by this spot, the scent of forest hit me HARD. All of my childhood memories of camping came rushing through me and it felt so great. Not sure what it was, but it was POWERFUL.
Hilarious self-timer, we look like monkeys haha.
Captain Cook beach
While we were still camped up in Cummins Wilderness, we took a couple of days away from the forest and on the amazing Captain Cook beach which is only about 6 miles away. There were not too many people there, this area seems relatively unknown. Which is super surprising to me, as it is one of the most beautiful times I have ever had on the ocean. And exciting! There was SO MUCH to explore in the tide pools.
Where’s Aaron?
So many starfish, mussels, barnacles, and sea anemones, they are so beautiful.
There were tiny crabs in the cracks of the rocks, you could hear them click-click-clicking and snapping their claws!
This part of the beach is known as the Devil’s Churn. Those white bands in the ocean come through the cracks in the rocks and splash the water all around. Also so mesmerizing we sat here for ages. Unfortunately I can’t find the video of the water I took :(
Thor’s Well. A GIGANTIC pool of pearly green slime. SO POWERFUL!
We sat here mesmerized by this other (much smaller than Thor’s Well) thick pearly green slime for ages. Looks like a big bread mixer, or a vat of frosting.
I found myself terrified at the idea of Aaron being too close to the insanely powerful waves. It just seemed impossible that they only go as far as high tide. I chilled out a little, mostly coz this guy was raised next to the ocean and knows a hell of a lot more about it than me!
Cape Perpetua
The next day we went to the same area, but different trails. Cape Perpetua was one of the most unusual trails I have ever been on. It starts up a small mountain through thick forest, and as you get higher you can see the ocean peek through the trees. What could be more perfect than forest, mountains, AND ocean in one spot?
Colorful chips of pinecone left by the chipmunks.
Giant Spruce
Then off to a short trail that leads to a 500 YEAR OLD Spruce tree! It was majestic! I felt humbled.
Bandon
We spent our half-way hotel break in Bandon! What gorgeous beaches this town has. Fierce and windy! But with all the famous ocean rocks like Haystack and Face rock. When we arrived, we saw this massive Star Wars-esque sandstorm, but it died down after an hour or so. It was too strong for me! I almost blew over!
We stayed at a 90 year old hotel right on the beach. It really seemed like the rooms hadn’t changed since the 1930s. It was adorable, and the folks who worked there were so nice. They had a deck right next to our room for ocean views and whale watching!
View from our room.
There was a sweet little seafood restaurant right next to the hotel and it felt SO GREAT to be showered and to eat fresh food after a week of no showers and dehydrated food. This place had a window where you could whale watch! It was so neat! After dinner, we bundled up and walked down to the beach for the marvelous sunset.
Eel Creek campground and Dunes
This is a wonderful campground as far as campgrounds go. We have been here once before - you may remember the tale from 2009, the campground where I sat in the tent petrified all night because someone in the campground was shooting off their guns (now I realize this is very common in Oregon) and I thought there was a campground massacre happening. It wasn’t, city girl haha. It’s small, almost all tenters, and not even 1/4 full. Mostly poor folks and weirdos, but a great place to spend a couple of days. It also has an AMAZING dunes trail that starts right in the back of our site. You can see the line going from the campground to the forest to the ocean on this map. I can’t believe we did it! 6 miles in harsh dunes. SO FUN and beautiful.
The dunes right behind our site.
Aaron going full-on Oregonian with his USA Land of the Free Home of the Brave hat.
The magic hour, my favorite hour. Too bad there are no campfires allowed.
The beginning of the trail starts in the forest. Ish. It reminded me so much of Florida!
Obviously it’s immpossible to make a “trail” in the dunes, but the posts mark pretty well the general direction. On one section, though, they disappeared and we saw a tiny nub popping out of the sand which must have been covered by the blowing sand. And the posts are taller than me! Nature don’t stop naturing.
And finally the dunes give way to a forest before reaching the ocean. Magical respite.
We made it to the ocean! It’s tough to walk through sand, to be sure. This is Aaron’s defense from the sun, plus a lot of oily sunscreen that helped the dirt stick to our faces until the next shower. YUCK.
I look like my mama more and more and more every day. Just lucky I guess :) I can really see her in this pic. But I don’t think my mom would ever have such a dirty pocket hahahaha!
We saw this gigantic bird, almost as big as an eagle, noshing on another bird’s carcass.
Plovers! So cute :)
North Fork campground
For the final stretch, we decided on North Fork campground - a free Forest Service campground with only 7 sites back in the Siuslaw forest. I’m not gonna lie, it was filthy. It’s the kind of place that poor people stay for weeks and kids come out to party on the weekends. But it had MAGICAL trees, a huge river, and in the 2 days we were there, there were only 2 other sites taken. It’s well spaced, so we got the whole back of the campground/river to ourselves. And more importantly, we got to know and love the other 2 sites - an eccentric old hippy (from Chicago!) called Hal, and a sweet couple from Oregon. We all got on soooo well and spent the nights hanging out. It was so awesome to have made these friends, even though I usually prefer to keep to myself. Hopefully it won’t be the last I see of these folks. Though we only knew each other for 2 days, they almost immediately felt like family :)
Aaron shaking the dunes sand from the tent. So strong haha!
Perfect place for hearing Aaron play :)
I was walking along the river behind our camp and heard a GROAN of a tree creaking. And I saw this, which looked like some kind of forest bull. Was that what groaned? We’ll never know :)
OK, yeah, there are some folks who may be put off by a human target painted to the tree where you are about to lay your tent. But Oregonians are a unique kinda breed and I feel like I get them. It almost felt like a little of home town graffiti to make us city folk feel more at ease. HAHAHA!
Yes, I have visible dirt on me. Yes, I haven’t washed my hair since Bandon. Yes, I should never wear white when I go camping. But this is how I feel when I look at these big gorgeous trees. They make me feel peaceful and thrilled at the same time.
The unnerving sight of the human target on the tree at night. Nighty night folks!
Gorgeous, endlessly explorable river behind our site.
Aaron sipping from the river with a filter straw.
Lincoln City
Aaron splurged and got us a hotel in Lincoln City the next night, a kinda neat town on the coast. Established in 1969, it has its charms :) The hotel was AMAZING - right on the beach and seemed brand new. I felt like a queen :) It was nice to be able to relax before our final push out of the forest and into Portland.
Our last sunset over the Pacific :( Damn do I miss Pacific sunsets. This is taken right off our hotel patio.
HAHAHA
Our patio on the beach :)
Back home :(
I have never felt so sad about leaving the forest. Usually I am eager to get back to showers and NYC life. But this time… sigh. I still miss it. I DEFINITELY wasn’t looking forward to going to Portland. It’s an interesting city, to be sure. But I feel no connection to it. Just a place to fly in and fly out. Before we let go, we stopped at a roadside trail in the Tillamook forest and said a long goodbye. I loved this place, and it treated us well.