July 6, 2024—I drove to the coast to escape the triple-digit heat expected in the valley today. The problem is it wasn't much cooler at the coast when I arrived. There was no breeze blowing. Oftentimes when it's hot in the valley, there is fog at the coast, but not today.
Originally, my plan today was to launch my sea kayak from the Knight County Park and paddle the Salmon River. However, a negative tide changed my plan. I was surprised when I walked down to the boat ramp to see just how low the water was in the river. I had never seen such a low tide on that river. Sections of the river I normally paddle, even during a normal low tide, were uncovered mud. It’s a good thing after looking at the tide table for the area yesterday that I opted to hike today instead. However, with no wind and hardly any swells, it would have been a great morning to paddle out to the base of Cascade Head and into the sea cave had the river level been just a foot higher.
My hike started at the parking lot for Knight County Park. The park is popular with boaters and hikers, and on a nice day the parking lot fills up fast, forcing many latecomers to have to park along the road. At 8:20 a.m., however, there were few cars in the parking lot when I set out on my hike.
My destination today was Cascade Head. It’s been over two decades since I was last there. I normally park at the upper parking lot, which makes the hike shorter and less of a climb. However, storm took out the road to that parking lot a few years back, and the Forest Service has yet to repair the road.
The Nature Conservancy purchased the land on Cascade Head land from the Cascade Head Ranch in 1966 to protect the hairy checkermallow and the Oregon silverspot butterfly. The butterfly is a federally recognized threatened species, and its habitat is the grasslands on Cascade Head. However, it wasn’t the butterfly I was interested in observing but instead photographing elk I’ve often spotted grazing on the hillside while paddling on the Salmon River.
I brought along my beast of a 600mm telephoto lens to photograph the elk. That lens itself weighs over five pounds, so I had approximately 25 pounds in my camera backpack when I set out on my hike. On flat ground, the weight of my camera backpack isn’t an issue, but I had to hike uphill, stepping over large tree roots and water bars a foot above the previous one. That normally wouldn’t be a problem, but I had slightly torn the lateral meniscus in my right knee back in April, so I was a little nervous how my knee would perform. I was relieved that my right knee handled the trail just fine, especially when hiking downhill.
For the first 1.6 miles, I was hiking uphill in a coniferous forest where the dominant tree species are western hemlock and Sitka spruce and where the forest floor is covered with sword fern and wood sorel. Higher in elevation, around 500 feet, the forest vegetation transitioned to woods composed of alder and ash. There were patches of salmonberry, elderberry, and foxglove along the trail in places where light penetrated the tree canopy.
The woods eventually gave way to grassland and expansive views of Cascade Head and the Pacific Ocean. To my left, I was treated to views of the Salmon River some 600 feet below. Off in the distance to the south, I caught a great view of God’s Thumb, a rocky prominence just north of Lincoln City. God’s Thumb is another popular hiking location, one I had considered hiking this morning but chose Cascade Head instead.
While hiking out to the lower Cascade Head viewpoint, I was fortunate to spot what I had come hoping to photograph. About 100 feet up the hillside were five female elk feeding on the grass while taking advantage of the shade a few lone trees and bushes provided. I snapped shot after shot on my camera. I should have brought along my monopod because the weight of my large telephoto lens was beginning to tire my left arm. The elk stayed mainly in the shadows of the few trees and bushes that provided them shade, which made photographing them a little difficult. Fortunately, I was able to get a few shots when they stepped out of the shadows and turned their heads just right so I could capture the sunlight illuminating their eyes. The direct sun and heat were finally taking their toll on me, so I decided to move on.
I reached the lower viewpoint on the trail—the upper viewpoint is closed until July 16 to protect the butterflies, but that didn’t stop others from choosing to climb up the hill. I plopped myself down in the grass and just admired the view, taking pictures of the view as well.
I was quickly joined by other hikers who seemed just as pleased with the view as I was. One hiker admiring the breathtaking views was from New York City. She was visiting with her friends from Oregon and had come to escape the heat from back east. I suspect it wasn’t much of an escape because it’s been in the upper 90s here in Oregon since the Fourth of July. It was very warm sitting there on the headland with no breeze coming in off the ocean.
I’d like to know what goes through the minds of people who choose to take risks. In this case, it involved a couple who stepped dangerously close to the edge of the hill to capture some photos. We’ve had several in Oregon this year die from falling off trails in the Columbia River Gorge. I was fearful this couple was going to become another statistic. Another couple got a little too close to the edge, which prompted me to warn them to please step back. People need to start exercising a little more common sense.
Some would say it isn’t my place to police the trail and people’s behavior. Well, when is it my place? After they’ve fallen off the cliff, and all for a selfie? I am then faced with calling 911, getting the Coast Guard involved, and having to deal with the trauma of watching someone fall to his death that I could have perhaps prevented.
As it approached 11 a.m., I decided to head back down the trail to escape the heat. The sun was now nearly overhead, so the lighting was too harsh for decent photography. The elk were no longer feeding on the hill. They had undoubtedly sought the comfort of the shade and were hunkered down to escape the heat.
I don’t know what it is with some people. Bear with me while I get on my soapbox for a moment to mention a pet peeve of mine: people who refuse to follow the rules and trail etiquette. While hiking down the hill, I encountered four dogs on the trail. Several signs at each of the trailheads alert dog owners that dogs are not allowed on the trail. This is meant to protect the ecosystem, the fragile vegetation, and the butterfly larva. And let’s face it, not all dog owners are diligent or respectful in picking up their dog’s feces and properly disposing of it in waste receptacles. And the narrowness of the trail in many places doesn’t allow for the dogs to relieve themselves except on the trail.
I confronted one group with two dogs and told them dogs aren't allowed on the trail. They told me that it was too hot to leave their dogs in the vehicle, so they brought them along. Well, too bad. That’s no excuse for choosing to violate the rules and risk harming the fragile ecosystem. They should have taken their dogs elsewhere. There are plenty of other trails on the Oregon coast that allow dogs. Better yet, they could have taken their dogs to a nearby beach. The dogs would have probably preferred that, or they could have also taken them to play and swim in nearby Devils Lake in Lincoln City.
Some people I guess feel they're better than anyone else and more entitled—they feel the rules apply to everyone but them. The problem is it's people like this group and another group with dogs I encountered that are going to lead to the Nature Conservancy closing the trail to everyone, including those who follow the rules. I managed to stop another group at the trailhead from bringing their dog on the trail. They literally walked by two signs that said no dogs allowed and seemed dumbfounded when I told them dogs aren’t allowed on the trail. At least they were respectful and chose to leave the dog behind with a couple from their group.
I’ll step down off my soapbox now, but it’s important that hikers do a little research about the area they want to hike before driving to and setting out on their hike. Apps like AllTrails and TrailLink are useful apps that anyone with an Android or iPhone can download and use, and they’re free to use.
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