Bright Wings that Never Tire. July 5. Day 14. Part 1.

Dear Trail Friends,

Despite the sound (but alas not the sight) of fireworks just south of us in nearby Newport (but with Yaquina Head in between, blocking visibility),  I slept deeply. I woke, as I usually do on the trail, around 4am and was packed up and walking by 5:15am. I found my way easily through the Beverly Beach campground  to the beach, and began my walk. 

The plan at this point was to meet Chris at the Cafe Mundo in Newport (only about a 7 1/2 mile walk) and then eat a little lunch and drive to Agate Beach to meet the Flanagan family (my brother Bob's family). I would have made it a leisurely stroll and take long rest breaks and still arrive in plenty of time. Or so I thought. 

I walked the 3.7 miles of Beverly Beach with ease and pleasure. Highlights included the usual interplay of dawn light and fog and ocean breeze. All this is usual, but there is also  something fresh and new every day. Photos 1 and 2 are a tribute to that fresh morning light and the newness of this particular day. 

 

 

I was particularly aware of the birds on this walk. Photo 3 shows a group of gulls. There was something so peaceful about how they stood there as the waves rose and fell, and how calmly they ignored my presence. Once again I enjoyed being the only human on the beach. 

 

Photo 4 is a single gull, standing above his reflection. I hope these photos help you imagine being the only human sharing the dawn beach with these winged creatures so at home in the air and near the ocean. 

 

Toward the end of the beach, I searched for the surfer trail (from the beach to the top of the bluff) that the guidebook had described. The cliffs looked as if they had suffered significant erosion or landslides, the houses seemed perched precariously on the cliff, and what might have been the trail (toward the right in photo 5) did not look promising to me.  I had noticed some stairs leading up (without any private propert sign) only a short way back (photo 6) - so I decided to turn back and try them instead. 

 

 

I climbed a few flights of stairs but near the top came to a large "private property- absolutely no admittance" sign. As I stood there pondering, along came my trail angel of the day, a man named Oscar (shown with his dog, in photo 7). 

 

I shared my dilemma (to trespass or not to trespass, and was there any safe public way off the beach in this area?). Oscar recounted the saying of an old army sergeant of his "It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission." As I joined him walking past the private property sign, I talked about how that had also been our motto when I did emergency work. Sometimes we just had to do what needed to be done, whether or not it fit neatly within the rules and regulations. As we walked up into a large RV resort, I learned that Oscar actually had an RV parked legally there, so I figured I was safe as his "guest."  He pointed the way to highway 101 and I made my way to the beach access on the other side of Yaquita Head. 

To be continued in: Bright Wings That Never Tire. July 5. Day 14. Part 2.