Cape Sebastian

 

Since the morning broke clear and sunny, I opted for an impromptu hike on Cape Sebastian, just south of Gold Beach. Sullivan's Oregon Coast book characterizes the hike as 'moderate' to the beach, with a 700' elevation drop. He also says it's 3.8 miles round trip but somehow forgets to mention that it's 700' back up that hill and I would not characterize that portion as moderate. It's a long, steady grind. But, this little old lady managed it at a respectable moderate pace, so it is doable.

 

Views up here are expansive, but not terribly photogenic. Ocean, ocean, and more ocean, for the most part. Winds can be strong, as evidenced by the windswept trees all around.

Much of the trail goes through lush forests as it snakes its way up and down and all around the cape.  Vistas are everywhere in all directions, assisted by frequent side trails to various viewpoints.

At the base of the cape are plenty of rocks of a very treacherous nature.  I used the zoom for this one, to try for more interest. 

 

This is about as far as I went, and you can see that I had a bit further to go to reach the beach. My camera lens had a hissy fit at this point and refused to function, stuck at optimal zoom. I was not amused, and since I felt rather naked without a usable camera, I retraced my steps. As I climbed steadily back up the hill, the fog drifted steadily into the shore, following my path and drifting into the fingers of land. We both reached the top about the same time.  Interestingly, when I reached my car and could see both north and south, I found that only the north side was fogged in. The south side was as clear as ever.

All in all, a worthy trip with some lovely views.