September 9, 2011
Day 25: Fort Stevens to Nehalem Bay State Park
For the next 5 days I will navigate down the Oregon coast using the Oregon Coast Bike Route map. It's printed on waterproof plastic and is given away for free at visitor centers.
The map shows distances, elevation profiles, alternate routes, and street detail when needed. It also includes a comprehensive list of campgrounds which is very helpful.
Map of today's route:
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It was 50F and foggy when I got up at 8. I took a shower and spent a long time talking to neighbors in the hiker/biker camp. Then I pedaled 1 mile to see the shipwreck on the beach.
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A rising tide pushed the ironclad wooden sailing ship onto the beach while it was waiting for an escort into the mouth of the Columbia river. Most of the wreckage has decayed or washed away in the last hundred years.
The sun started shining at 11 as I was breaking camp. Finally on the road at 11:30. I just can't get motivated in the dense fog.
My first tourist stop was further north in the park. Fort Stevens was a coastal defense fort from 1863 to 1947, guarding the Columbia river from hostile invaders. Over the decades, more and larger artillery were installed, culminating in massive 12-inch guns during World War 2. They also had remotely controlled mines in the mouth of the Columbia river.
The guns were never used in battle. During that period there was never a credible threat that any country would invade the U.S. west coast. It's doubtful that the huge artillery would have been useful in case of an invasion. 6 soldiers were killed by the concussion when one of the largest guns was test-fired.
During World War 2 the Japanese did conduct 3 symbolic attacks on the U.S. coast. A submarine lobbed 17 artillery shells here at Fort Stevens. Most of the shells landed harmlessly, but one shell destroyed the backstop at the fort's baseball field. A plane dropped incendiary bombs on forest near Brookings, Oregon. And a submarine shelled oilfields in Santa Barbara, California.
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The fort was decommissioned in 1947. The guns were removed and the 3700 acre property was given to the state of Oregon as a park. It's one of Oregon's largest state parks, with one of the largest campgrounds on the U.S. west coast.
After visiting the coastal defenses I continued my circle tour towards Astoria. I stumbled onto a bike trail that went a mile or two along the Columbia river in the town of Hammond.
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I came into Astoria on the Youngs Bay bridge, with a view of the much larger bridge that crosses the Columbia river. I pedaled across that bridge in 1989, but won't go on it this time.
I had lunch and looked around town a bit. The sunshine felt good. Astoria is several miles upriver from the ocean, so it generally has much better weather than the cold foggy coast.
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From downtown Astoria I went straight south through town, crossing a huge hill. I pushed my bike up the section that was a 25% grade. I was able to pedal up the 12-15% grades with a couple of stops. Astoria has many beautiful Victorian and Craftsman homes. It's still a thriving port.
My next stop is Fort Clatsop, where the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition spent the winter of 1805-1806 after traveling 2 years to cross the unexplored continent that the U.S. had just purchased from France. It's best not to think about how France could be recognized as "owner" of an unexplored continent, or that the unexplored continent was already inhabited. The Lewis and Clark party were probably the first humans to cross North America.
The fort is a reproduction based on detailed drawings and descriptions in the party's journals. They spent one month building the fort and they lived in it for only 3 months before returning east. I suspect the original fort wasn't as well constructed as the replica.
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It was past 3 PM when I left Fort Clatsop, heading for the coast. I detoured a mile off US 101 to the strand in the town of Seaside. Unfortunately the fog rolled in at 4 PM, a few minutes before I got there. It was interesting, nevertheless. The fog was so dense that I couldn't see across the wide beach to the water. The town had a ghost-like quality.
I don't know why the Pacific Coast bike route doesn't recommend a short detour into Seaside. US 101 has no ocean views in this area.
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Seaside is totally flat and exposed to the ocean. That makes a great beach, but the town will merely be a memory after the next magnitude 9.0 Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. The earthquake will damage or collapse most buildings in town. Shifting continental plates will cause the shore to sink 10 to 15 feet, transforming the town into a shallow estuary. Then a tsunami will wash away what remains.
The subduction zone is only 50 miles offshore, so the tsunami arrives very quickly. Every escape route will have collapsed bridges and there is no nearby high ground for people to evacuate to. The outcome is easy to predict...
Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes have occurred 41 times in the last 10,000 years. The last one was in January 1700.
On a more positive note, the sun came out again about an hour south of Seaside. Finally I had good ocean views. Progress was slow because US 101 climbs 3 huge hills between Seaside and Manzanita. The heavy traffic was annoying as usual.
On a more positive note, the sun came out again about an hour south of Seaside. Finally I had good ocean views. Progress was slow because US 101 climbs 3 huge hills between Seaside and Manzanita. The heavy traffic was annoying as usual.
The Pacific coast would be my favorite touring route if the weather was like this all the time.
I planned to camp at Oswald West State Park, but that park no longer allows camping. So I continued on to Nehalem Bay State Park which is 2.5 miles down a dead end road. It was dark when I arrived at 8 PM, my reward for getting on the road at 11:30 this morning.
I went to bed at 10. Strangely, at 11:30 PM four people arrived on bikes, talking very loudly, cutting wood, and building a fire.
Distance: 64.6 mi. (103 km)
Climbing: 2658 ft. (805 m)
Average Speed: 11.0 mph (17.6 km/h)
Hiking: 1 mi. (1.6 km)
Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 1,238 miles (1,992 km)
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