Oswald West State Park~

After two-days of pouring rain, it was grand to see the sun!  We'd already found the best bakery in town, so stopped there for coffee & a donut before our planned drive south.  I was determined to find a place to hike in an old growth forest that wasn't too far to drive.

Oswald West was one of those parks we'd driven by many times on our way to somewhere else - usually - the beach.  It doesn't have a campground & we always camped.  Less than an hour south of the Astoria, we could make the drive, get in a hike & still be back in time for the dinner Jentry had planned.

We were surprised at the number of cars already parked in the lot.  Jentry had called to remind us to not leave any valuables in the car - so that meant locking up the few things we had in the trunk.  When you fly in the winter, taking coats etc., takes up so much space.  We hadn't brought our hiking boots or gear.

On our way~

The beginning of the trail was well traveled & along a crystal clear, rushing creek.  Just the sound was so incredibly wonderful.  The air was full of negative ions & had that rich, earthy smell I love so much.

Necarney Creek

It's an ecosystem so rare now, every step is precious.  We wanted to hike every trail we could find.  The day went from sunny to cloud cover, then later in the afternoon, back to sunshine.   

Big Trees!

It's impossible to capture the scale of these Giant Sitka Spruce.

In the land of the Giants~

 We soon found the bridge~

Suspension~

Built in Western Red Cedar, it was the perfect complement to the terrain.  Only a short hike later, we came out on Short Sand Beach.  There were several people surf boarding further down from where our trail had come out.  So popular now & too close to the ever-growing population of Portland...

A tucked away cove~

From here, we found another trail without crossing back across the bridge & it climbed up the mountainside.  Called Elk Flats Trail - it seemed to go about straight up!

Looking down at the creek from the trail~

As Butch climbed ahead of me, I asked him to stop for this photo - adding scale to the image :-)

Butch on the trail~

We climbed & climbed!  We saw some Huge trees!  It was truly a grand landscape, green, moist & lush.  Cresting the top of the ridge, we'd gone down a short way, when we came up on the huge tree below.  We had no idea where we'd end up.

Tree on Elk Flats Trail~

Soon, we came to the edge of either a clear-cut, or the park, or something?  Taking a little off-shoot path - we found ourselves looking straight down at the ocean!

Looking down~

Checking the map numerous times, it showed the many trails here, there & we weren't sure just where we were.  The highway was somewhere off to the east & we'd been moving mostly south.  I hadn't brought my Garmin - it would have been fun to have downloaded our hike onto Google Earth!

Heading back~

 We eventually came out into the meadow on the side of the mountain.  The trail became a mowed, muddy path with tall grass on both sides.  Another couple - coming from the opposite direction with large backpacks - told us we were just a short distance from Devils Caldron.  We were running out of time & I was hungry!  My morning cinnamon roll had long been hiked off!

Back at the creek~

Turning back, we found a short trail that we didn't recognize.  This trail soon put us back on Elk Flats & we climbed the mountain again, the opposite direction.  We weren't the only one's who'd made this mistake.  We another couple we'd passed early in the day :-)

At the Bridge~

By the time we arrived back at the car, we'd been out almost four-hours.  We did have water in the trunk & split a left-over donut!  We made it back in time for dinner!  Jentry's spaghetti & meatballs were the best Ever!