March 1st 2008: Oswald West State Park

There we were! For our very first wildness outing, Ivan did a great job at planning and we decided to have our first campground experience on the beautiful Oregon Coast. In March, the weather is still very uncertain, and the coast seemed to be the wisest destination we could think of. While Ivan wanted so bad to have a rainy day to check if the tent was really waterproof, and to have the temperatures below zero to see if our sleeping bags were as warm as they are supposed to be, I was praying very hard to have some sun and not to be freezing my arsch.
We arrived at the Oswald State Park around 4pm on Saturday.

We would stay until Sunday afternoon. This State park is located 10 miles South from Cannon Beach. The campground is on a first come first serve basis and is down the hill from the highway. This is quite a nice spot - far away enough from the highway and close enough to the ocean. You can't hear the highway traffic and you can be cradled by the ocean waves.

Sunday hike: 8 miles round trip from the Oswald West park campground to the Neahkahnie Mountain. Level was moderate, wonderful hike through the forest and gorgeous ocean view. On the top of the summit, breathtaking view on Manzanita.

Please click on the video to see an interactive simulation of the hike!

What we learned:
- to set up the tent as a test run in our appartment beforehand was definitely a great idea
- campgrounds are self service: registration and payment are placed in an envelope for the ranger who will come picked it up the day after. Be sure you bring enough cash or better, your check book
- to light up a fire is not as easy as it seems - still need to improve our technical skills. Bring tinder and newspaper.
- sleeping bags are great as long as you understand how to use it. After half through the night, my head was frozen, I didn't wear a hat nor had my head completely covered in the sleeping bag. Ivan helped me to spend a wonderful warm second half night. Not recommended for claustrophobic.
- No cotton when hiking. Even though Ivan warned me, I decided to wear only cotton clothing, and after the 8 miles hike, I was soak and wet. Yes, I know, dickkoepfig.
- Protect your feet's hotspots.
- don't forget a day pack - more convenient than having all snacks and water in pocket.

Next hike: Angel's rest in the Columbia Gorge on March 29th.

Stay tuned...