Over the Fourth of July weekend, my family and I went on a short backpacking trip on the Oregon Coast Trail, starting in Downtown Seaside, and ending in Cannon Beach. We spend one night at a hiker camp, and another night at a campground close to town. Guided by the Far Out app, with the Oregon Coast Trail downloaded, we were able to see real-time availability of amenities, check for trail warnings, and plan our trip with precision. It also helped us to gauge the distances between to locations with altitude and distance calculated, making break planning a breeze. The Oregon Coast Trail spans the entire length of the state of Oregon, so we hope to use the map for southern segment exploration later.

This momentous hike marks our first family backpacking trip, and the kids crushed it! We covered 15 miles, and 2500’+ in elevation gain along the Coastal Trail where we took in the salty ocean air, and through the trees along the ridge line, caught glimpses of the famous Northern Oregon Coast rock formations. At times the trails were muddy and overgrown, but most of the route was clear and lined with ferns. And to our delight and disgust, we saw a few enormous banana slugs.

In the evening we were mostly left alone by the mosquitos (thanks, Sawyer Picaridin Insect Repellent Lotion), but the hiker huts were a rodent hot spot with lots of mice scurrying around all night. It was gross and unnerving, but ultimately we were also a little too tired to care. We would have pitched tents the first night but there were so many dead trees around the tent pads, and as we were plotting our evening, we heard a tree fall not too far from our camp site. On that windy night, the huts made more sense.

The incubation period of the bubonic plague has passed without infection, thankfully. As you can imagine an anxious person would, I read everything I could find about the plague in Oregon after we connected to a cell signal — it was a serious concern for us when we lived and camped in Arizona, but not so much in Oregon. A relief.

This stretch of coast line really is world class, I encourage anyone with the time and means to visit the area! The Coastal Highway 101 offers many of the same views from the road, with many small towns to stop and enjoy coffee, souvenirs, or fish and chips.

After we collected our car from Seaside (a short bus ride away from Cannon Beach) we followed the 101 to the Tillamook Cheese Factory and enjoyed some tasty samples while taking in a self-guided tour. We grabbed a meal from their food court and then meandered down the 101 back toward Eugene, stopping here and there to take in some sights and sounds. Upon returning to Eugene, we talked about how enjoyable it is to return from a camping trip to a neighborhood that looks only slightly different from the woods we visited, and appreciated once again the duty assignment we’ve been handed this time around. We love Oregon.