Harts Cove

(Left: Mom found a walking stick at the beginning of the hike, lucky her! Right: Smiling for the camera midway through our hike.)

I didn't think too much about taking my mom hiking with me in the past, but this summer has changed everything! It all started with a book I found at Costco, Hiking Oregon. I was ready to go out and hike as soon as I purchased the book, but it dawned on me that I didn't have anyone to go with. Sure, I could go alone, but that element of having a shared experience of the beauty around you, would be missing. Plus, it's not exactly safe. Unfortunately,  most of my college friends were out of town for the summer, or had reasons why they could never really make it. I talked to my mom about this issue I was having, because heck, I was ready to enjoy nature! Her response, "why don't you take me hiking with you?" Of course this was her response, I was simply too blind to see that she is a perfectly capable human being. Furthermore, I'm sure we both knew that we would have a blast together! My mom's my greatest friend, and this way I don't have to tell her how great it was, she will know for herself. With that being said, we were ready to take on our first hike of the summer together. I picked a hike from the book that was considered a moderate hike, and about 5.4miles out and back. It sounded like a good hike to begin with.

How To Get There: From Lincoln City, head North on US 101 for 8.5miles, or from the OR 18 and US 101 junction, drive North for 4.1miles. The road you need is FR 1861, and it will be on your left hand side. This road is gravel, and a little difficult to spot. I remembered it by recognizing that it was on the top of the hill, at the end of the guard rail(when you are near your milage.) Follow FR 1861 to the end of the road. It should be about 4.3miles, and you will reach a parking area.

Helpful Things To Know: No parking permits are required at this location. Hiking poles would have been nice on this hike because of some steep switchbacks in the beginning, and the end of the hike.

(Beginning our trek on the switchbacks)

The Hike: When I had read about this hike, it was briefly mentioned that there were some steep switchbacks to begin and end the hike. I had no idea at the time, that by steep, they meant 1000 feet elevation gain/decent. Luckily, as pictured above, my mom found a walking stick leaned against the Harts Cove sign to help her with the trek. This hike felt a bit backwards because you actually go downhill first, instead of going uphill to start. Going downhill wasn't so bad, and my mother and I enjoyed a nice conversation as we trekked through the dense forest. The moss covered trees were luminous with the morning dew upon them, and the cool air smelled of the salty sea. It was a refreshing way to begin our adventurous morning.

(Tarzan Trees)

After about 0.7 mile we came across a small bridge that crossed a steady stream. There I stood for a moment to take pictures, and play with my cameras shutter speed. It was difficult for me to stay perfectly still at this time, but I attempted to achieve the effect regardless.

(Slower shutter speed)

After my pause for a photo session at the creek, we continued forward. Soon after, we found an abundance of mushrooms scattered throughout the forest. Some were climbing trees while others were burrowed near the ground. It's a common thing in Oregon to find mushrooms in the forest, but they always seem so fascinating. Maybe this interest in mushrooms stems from one of my Grandpa Newt's paintings to my mother. It's literally a painting on a mushroom like the mushrooms pictured below.

Between the mushrooms, giant shrubbery, and neon green lichens, this coastal hike felt very whimsical. You can live in Oregon your entire life, but it never stops being beautiful. It was nice that this hike wasn't too difficult, that is, if you were to exclude the switchbacks. Sometimes it's nice to have a laid back hike, and to just enjoy your surroundings to the fullest.

After about 1.4 miles into the hike, we finally had our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. We weren't certain how far we had to go, but we sure thought we were closer to our destination than we really were.

(First glimpse of the ocean)

                                                 

(Manroot from the cucumber family. Pretty, but not edible.)

After our glimpse of the ocean, we found this strange fruit. Its vines looked similar to that of a grape vine, but the fruit itself was very different. We didn't find the name, or information on the man root until after our hike. It surprised us to find that it wasn't edible, and it came from the cucumber family. What an interesting find! Continuing, we arrived at a bench that had a great view of the ocean. Not ready to eat yet, we briefly took a few pictures and carried on. On the trail we didn't run into too many people, but we did come across other hikers here and there. For the most part it was a peaceful hike with only the sights, smells, and good conversation. Not a bad way to spend a summertime Saturday. As we hiked along, my mother noticed something orange to her left, it was a cluster of wildly colored mushrooms! It was almost as though these mushrooms had been painted, and the artist had swirled the paint around in yellow and orange hues. I had never seen mushrooms glow so bright with color. They were a real treat to find.

(Orange and yellow mushroom, almost neon in color.)

It was difficult to walk past these. More so, maybe even a little frustrating that it was difficult to get a good picture with where they were located. They were so cool! We talked with enthusiasm about our findings of strange fruit and fungi until, we crossed our second bridge. The bridge didn't exist, so we had to balance on rocks to get across the creek with dry feet. It always adds a little excitement to the hike if you get to cross a creek in this fashion. It wasn't difficult, but there's a sense of accomplishment when you still have dry feet on the other side. As we went on, my mom was convinced there were bears around us, and that there were bear droppings. I humored her a bit, and we joyfully bantered about the possibility of bear's in our near future. Suddenly, as we went through a garden like entrance of shrubs surrounding us, the ocean view burst through.

The sights changed from a shaded forest, to a golden meadow on a breezy bluff. The sounds went from our quite conversation, to crashing waves, yelling seagulls, and the echo's of nearby seal lions. It was a majestic view that felt as though it was exclusively ours to keep for the moment. Walking through the tall meadow, we realized we were suddenly in a sea of thimbleberry bushes. They were very sharp, and not pleasant at all. Thus, we tried to quickly get through them. However, once past the thimbleberries, we relished in the sights before us.

(Harts Cove, you would think you were in Hawaii)

The bluff we stood upon felt like the perfect spot to eat our lunches. We found a good location on the south side of the bluff, and brought out our PB&J's.

(This scene, while we ate lunch, caused us to laugh at ourselves)

This location, as we would soon find out, was a prime place to have our picnic. When we wandered over to the west side of the bluff, there was a good breeze that would have caused a picnic to become unpleasant. We lucked out! The ocean was so calm that day, it felt like a good day to see some whales. Unfortunately, we didn't see any whales out there, but we did find a giant turtle!

(Turtle Rock?)

The once quaint bluff was becoming more populated as the afternoon rolled around. We decided to head back to conclude our Harts Cove trek.

The journey back was relatively mild but then, we arrived at the bottom of the switchbacks. We did not remember them being so steep while we were going down earlier in the day. As we climbed up, we just kept saying, "I'm feeling alive!" That seemed to get us through the switchbacks alright, but this is where hiking poles would have been nice to have. Finally through the switchbacks and back to the car, we were drenched in sweat. Luckily, I like to be clean, and before we left home I reminded us to bring extra clothing. While that was nice, the best part after any hike is taking off the hiking shoes, and putting on the flip flops! Our feet said thanks! Harts Cove was a great hike, but a little more difficult at the end than we anticipated. I'm so glad that my mom and I realized how much fun we have together, especially in the great outdoors! Cheers, until next time.