September 27, 2008.

Clatsop Spit Loop | 4.5 mi |no ele. gain | 3 hr

The nice thing about being laid up with a recovering knee is that more people are willing to go hiking with you! I took off for the weekend with some friends to go camping and take some mellow hikes at the Oregon Coast.

Armed with my Vibram Fivefingers (or, is that footed?) I set off for a lovely stroll on the sands of Clatsop Spit. My friends and I roughly stayed together as we sought out beautiful and interesting things to look at on the beach. For whatever reason, my gaze was constantly drifting towards dead stuff.

Birds, jellyfish, sea shells…part of the draw of dead things is that they don’t move. You can really get a good look at something when it’s not trying to hurry away from you. I poked around in the sand, flicking through washed up seaweed and peering around rocks to find remains of sea life.

I enjoyed seeing the living birds too, of course, but they did keep their distance. I’ve seen plenty of gulls before, so that was nothing special.

The ocean sparkled in the bright sun. It was a perfect day to be here. We walked along the jetty, looked out at the coastal mountain range, played in the little water inlets and then made our way back to the parking lot along the paved path. The spit made up only a tiny portion of the sprawling Fort Stevens State Park. Tomorrow we’d see the wreck of the Peter Iredale. But for today, we’d settle into camp, make s’mores, drink beers and soak in the delight of summer at the coast.