Seaside to Indian Beach

Took the kids on their first overnight hike of the season this weekend! It was wonderfully wet and muddy as an early season hike should be.

Our original plan was to park at Ecola State Park's Indian Beach Parking lot. When we got there however, all signs said no overnight parking. We drove around a little looking for a spot but couldn't find a spot that afforded overnight parking. Here's the fun part:

We decided to drive around to the Seaside end of the trail hoping to find overnight parking there. NOPE! We parked down the hill at a public beach for the night. When we got to the hiker camp after getting water, there was a group of hikers who pretty much carried the usual assortment of car-camping gear up the hill to the camp. We asked them where they parked: Indian Beach. Turns out the signs are dirty rotten liars. You can park there overnight, you just have to pay for two days or have the season state parks pass, which I have. The only sign I saw that suggested this was at the hiker camp. I think Ecola needs to reconsider their signage. Still, I am glad we hiked in from Seaside.

Storms over the last year or so have wreaked havoc to some of our coastal forests. Dig back to my post on Cape Falcon a few weeks ago and you will see more of what I mean. In fact, that hike and this one form into the same trail and I am told, make a great two to three day shuttle hike. Anyway, this section of trail is no exception to the havoc condition.

Some of the largest trees have fallen making for complicated traversing with kids and pack dogs. One of these made a great spot to sit and enjoy lunch overlooking the ocean; another took us about ten minutes to get the crew across.. In other spots, fallen trees were smaller and more numerous. They fell in all directions, tearing the ground around them into a mud field. Maintenance crews have gotten to most of these spots and carved the trail through as you will see in the pictures.

This trail is beautiful and I recommend it anytime of year so long as there hasn't been heavy rain for a few days before you go. If you are up for a short overnight hike, there is even a hiker's camp closer to the Indian Beach side with three cabins that sleep four, a large covered picnic table and fire pit area, and plenty of room around this community area to pitch tents. See pics.

Be aware that there isn't much water from Seaside until Indian Creek unless you can filter or purify from the mini marshes.

Overall the girls were great. After about eight miles we started to hear the complaining of hurt feet, but never saw any blisters or chaffing. Also worth note is that at about mile eight, the kids dropped their packs at the hiker camp while we hiked down to Indian Beach in search of water. They must have got their second wind or been kissed by the "my feet are ok" fairy as they were running, jumping, playing like kids are known to do. We decided to trick them into an extra three mile loop while we fetched water at Indian Creek. They were oblivious until we had to climb the hill back to the hiker camp. Then the feet started to hurt again. Still no blisters or chaffing…

So we set camp at the hiker camp; the kids and Jane in one of the cabins and us parents in our tent just outside. I wanted to test the tent in the rain as it had let me down a little up Eaton Ridge a few weeks ago. Since then, I have sprayed it with a water proofing spray and committed to using all stakes and tie-downs. Rain started falling about 11:30pm and persisted until about sunrise. Dry. The windward side pressed the rain-fly against the main tent wall, causing a little wick-through which I figure is to be expected. I may be able to lash down the rain-fly slightly different to prevent this next time.

An eighth of a mile down the hill from hiker camp is a beautiful overlook of Tillamook Lighthouse. We were able to watch the sunset here and then came by again before heading out to see the sea by morning light.

I recommend this trail for short overnighters, testing new gear, hiking with kids or old slow people. If Gena and I were doing it without kids, we would likely continue the trip to Neahkahnie Mountain.

Link to Flickr Set... Still trying to figure out how to post them in the message text.

Links:
Our First Snowshoe
Elk Meadows Hike
Timberline Trail #600 Hike 2010
Three Sisters Hike 2010
Eagle Creek: How to Poop in The Woods