Oregon Coast Trail - Part 3

The final day of the Oregon Coast Trail adventure begins at Barview Jetty with one major decision: take the short road walk toward Garibaldi or head back onto the beach for one last stretch of hiking. The beach wins, giving James and I a fitting final chapter to our first successful backpacking trip in years—and plenty of time to start thinking about what comes next. maybe James won’t cause us to miss a bus next time?

Pedalshift Live - September 11, 5pm PT!

Topics TBA, but it’s a summer closeout and certainly a preview of some stuff coming in the fall. ALSO we’re doing a super fun giveaway exclusively for people that make it to the live show itself… there’s some incentive for ya! ALSO ALSO, some special previews of all sorts of things. Am I being cagey? YES. Show up anyways! Chat room is fun, live shows are fun… but if you can’t make it, it’s the pod for the following week. pedalshift.net/live!

Email reminders coming too. Maybe some previews of my previews? Who knows? Sign up here.

"My Tent is not Viable"

Check out this absolutely hysterical special design awarded to Brock and I to memorialize our night 1 mishap...

See more of Simone's designs here.

The Pedalshift Project 450: Oregon Coast Trail - Part 3

Waking up at Barview Jetty after a slightly better night’s sleep—and some bonus fireworks from Garibaldi Days.

• Breaking camp with damp tents, questionable battery-charging logistics and a decision to make about the day’s route.
• Road walk toward Garibaldi or return to Rockaway Beach? Naturally, the beach wins.
• A few physical reminders of the previous day’s nearly 11 miles, including the lingering consequences of bad sand.
• Meeting a touring cyclist at camp with an impressive résumé that includes the C&O, GAP and Empire State Trail.
• Another reminder that there were considerably more bicycle tourists on the Oregon Coast than expected.
• Tim and James make it official: they’re backpackers again.
• Why backpacking may be easier to share with more people than bike touring—and why it may become a regular part of future Pedalshift adventures.
• Heading north along the beach toward Rockaway for the final hiking segment of the trip.
• Yesterday’s brutal headwind finally becomes today’s much gentler tailwind.
• A little filtered sunshine and substantially easier conditions make Day 3 feel like a victory lap.
• An IT band issue provides one last reminder that walking on soft sand changes your gait in some interesting ways.
• Looking back on three days that provided a surprisingly complete shakedown: climbing, beach walking, rain, wind, good sand, bad sand, camping and multimodal transit.
• Arriving in Rockaway Beach and wrapping up the hiking portion of the adventure.
• Food, another encounter with the cyclist from camp and the beginning of the journey home.
• Back into multimodal mode: bus to Tillamook, bus to Portland, retrieve the car and eventually drive back to Seattle.
• Plenty of waiting around reminds everyone that transit-based adventures occasionally involve the advanced outdoor skill of sitting somewhere for a while.
• Final verdict from James: “Great trip.”
• Three days later, the experiment feels like a pretty staggering success.
• Backpacking appears destined to become part of the Pedalshift adventure mix—including the possibility of combining hiking and cycling on future trips.
• Next up: the takeaways episode, including gear lessons, what worked, what didn’t and why this backpacking thing might stick.

Statistics

• Route choices 2
• Sand types still 2
• Wind normal!
• Bicycle tourists encountered MORE!
• Transportation segments after Rockaway 3
• Buses James is permitted to cause me to miss 0