Today we got back on the trail. We took a taxi to the trailhead at Cape Lookout State Park and started hiking at 9:15. I think there was some hesitation about leaving the comforts of normal life behind, but we felt better once we started moving. We took a very nice trail for the first few kilometres that descended through some huge spruce tree forests to the beach.
Today's walk was tough but we had some pretty cool adventures along the way. For the most part the sand was very packed which we really like!! We hit a strip of beach a few kilometres long which could be described as ATV Alley. It made for a good diversion to watch the four-wheelers and dirt bikes race up and down the beach, but we were happy to get back onto restricted beach which is a lot more peaceful.
At about the halfway mark we came to our toughest river crossing yet, which was not helped by the fact that it was just about high tide. The crossing forced us to get wet twice (waist high) and added a couple of kilometres. On the upside it was a little refreshing to get wet and cool down for a bit.
Once we got back to the main beach we found a small pool which made for a nice break spot. The boys and I decided to go for a swim in the ocean, while Amanda enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet. While we were getting our boots back on a guy who had been kayaking in the area struck up a conversation with us. He described himself as a naturalist and we learned a little bit about the area from him.
Towards the end of the day we approached Cape Kiwanda. We had to walk over the neck of the cape, which basically looked like a mountain of sand. It was the biggest dune I have ever seen, and for a little while it felt like we were in the Sahara. Once we made it over we had less than a kilometre to our campsite and the end of our day.
We are in a campground in Pacific City tonight which allowed us to have showers before dinner. We walked across the street and had dinner at the Pelican Pub a small microbrewery right on the beach. From our table we looked out on the beach towards Haystack Rock which is the picture on the background of our blog. It was very enjoyable.
We met a lot of nice people along the beach today who had lots of questions and encouragement for us. One man offered the to call child protective services for the kids. I changed the subject before they could say yes!
That's about it for today. Mandy just mentioned from the other tent that she hopes tomorrow's campsite is a little louder. Hahaha!!!
Thanks for reading everybody! Talk to you soon.
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