running cape falcon

When life asks you to drive your daughter to the beach to stay with a friend, what do you do? You go running, of course!

Her drop-off location was near Oswald West State Park, a hidden gem on the Oregon coast. The beach is surrounded by headlands, so it stays calm, the waves break well for surfing, and the surrounding forest is filled with giant, old trees.  It is one of my favorite sections of coastline, so naturally I chose to head that way.  The trail along there is part of the Oregon Coast Trail, but judging from the conditions away from the park, the trail is not well maintained.

I would say that the cool air of the ocean was a nice break from the warm temperatures of the Willamette Valley, but who am I kidding?  We have yet to really get to summer here.  The trail was very muddy, so it was a challenging run - it was nearly impossible to get a rhythm (un ritmo) going, but the views were well worth the effort.

Short Sand Beach at Oswald West State Park. The trail goes out and around the bluff.

I am a sucker for hidden waterfalls.

Looking down on Short Sand Beach. See the surfers?
We do have some very cold surfers here on the Oregon Coast.
This is a hugely popular beach for surfing.

A hidden cove only viewable from the trail.
The trail extends up the coast, but it was very overgrown and bee infested.

As I was running along, I thought of a good challenge - to run from Arch Cape to Neahkanie Mountain and back - it would be nearly 20 miles of good, hilly trail, with fantastic views - a great challenge for a weekend.  Because of the bee factor, you would want to wait until the flowers were done blooming, but what a fabulous way to put in a long run!