A walk in the woods...

Tahkenitch Landing Campground

Gardiner, OR

There are hiking trails near the Tahkenitch Landing Campground that I thought I should investigate.  After all, I am here at the Oregon Dunes for the Summer.  The two closest trails to my location are the Three Mile Lake Trail and the Tahkenitch Dunes Trail.  Both start from the Tahkenitch Campground, which is a quarter mile south of Tahkenitch Landing Campground.  Both trails lead out to the Dunes.  I enjoy the Dunes but I am not terribly anxious to walk on the Dunes for any distance.  So, knowing this, I chose the Three Mile Lake Trail.  The Three Mile Lake Trail is…three miles long, one way.  It is a moderately difficult trail.  The surface of the trail is hard packed dirt and, in some places, hard packed sand, so mostly an easy surface to walk on.  The moderately difficult part is the terrain.  The trail is either up a hill or down a hill.  The only level portions of the trail are at the bottom of a hill before the trail begins to climb again or at the top of a rise before the trail begins to descend.  There were three bridges, but two of the bridges angled slightly up. 

The first half mile of both trails parallel Hwy 101.  After splitting from the Tahkenitch Dunes Trail, the Three Mile Lake Trail continues parallel to Hwy 101 for another quarter mile or so and then turns west near Elbow Lake, toward the Dunes and, ultimately, the Pacific Ocean.  If you walk at a good pace, a person can walk from the trailhead to Three Mile Lake in about 90 minutes, longer if you stop to take pictures.  From the time you turn away from Hwy 101, the predominant sound you hear, other than your footsteps and your breathing (which can be labored), is the sound of the ocean, about a mile away (as the crow flies).  The forest through which you are passing is mostly Douglas Fir.  The trees are tall and stately.  Not far down the trail after you turn west at Elbow Lake, the Dunes have begun to encroach on the trail and for about 20 or 30 yards the trail has been covered by the white sand of the Dunes. 

At one point on the trail, as you have descended quite a distance, following the contours of the terrain, you will come upon a tree stump that the trail passes through.  Most of the stump is on one side of the trail, while the remainder of the tree is on the other side.   

Approaching the stump from the trail.

Looking back up the trail.

On another portion of the trail, you will come upon a tree that appears to have been felled by a lightning strike.  The jagged edges of the stump and the appearance of the scorch marks are the first things you notice as you approach the tree.  On the other side of the trail, opposite the stump, is the remainder of the tree.  Its bark and wood is black, like it had burned. 

Near the end of your walk/hike/trek/jaunt/adventure, you come down a hill (actually you descend along the side of the hill as the trail almost never runs straight up or down any of the hills, as that would make the trail much more difficult to use or maintain), turn a corner and walk out on to a bridge which crosses the creek which feeds Three Mile Lake.  To your left is the Lake. 

The day I took my walk the skies were cloudy and the wind was blowing briskly into my face as I looked out on Three Mile Lake.  My glasses became covered with the mist blowing down the Lake.  After pausing to snap my pictures of the Lake, I continued across the bridge and began the walk up the trail to the beginning of the Dunes access.  About a quarter mile further on, I came out on the edge of the Dunes. 

The three pictures above represent a three picture panoramic view of the Dunes.  If you look closely, you just make out the surf on the shoreline, above the trees in the distance.

This picture was taken after I photographed the three picture panorama by turning 180 degrees and snapping the picture.

The moisture in the air was so thick that I could hear but barely see the beach and the ocean.  When I took the pictures from my perch on top of that hill above the Dunes, I didn’t think I could get the camera to see the beach or the waves on the ocean.  I suppose, if I had a better camera or a filter that could reduce the glare of the white sand and the mist in the air, I might have been able to capture a better picture of the beach/ocean.

The return walk back to the trailhead took about 60 - 75 minutes.  I took only one picture on the return.  I was still trying to get a photo of the beach and surf.  No luck.  Still too bright for the camera.  This picture is shooting downhill toward the surf and the beach dunes.  The contrast between the darkened forest and the sand/mist is more that the camera can calculate.  It was either too bright or way too dark.

And now you folks tell me what you think.  Leave a message on the blog.  Adrian, tell me what you think!  

Until the next posting...