Hike Coordinator: Lane Harris
Narration by Lane Harris
A good dozen or so hikers showed up for this ‘nothing-but-beach’ hike along the northern stretch of land that lies near the mouth of the Umpqua River, otherwise known as the Umpqua Spit. The parking at the end of Sparrow Park Road was limited, as it was filled with vehicles belonging to all the weekend nature lovers. Whether they were there to fish, picnic, or just frolic on the beach, it was quite a surprise to see that many people in one area. Then again, this year was the year to be outside since it was safer than being indoors with a bunch of strangers.
Once on the beach, we headed south and away from the hoards of people near the entry point to the beach. We enjoyed the sand under our boots and the fresh air. We then enjoyed more sand under our boots…. You get the picture.
Some of our group turned around early, probably because they were eager to know what it was like to walk on sand in the northbound direction. The rest of us continued south, with Brad being the only one completing the entire route to the tip of the actual spit.
After a casual lunch on logs, we headed back north to enjoy, you guessed it, more sand walking! Brad did eventually caught up to our group. We paused for a minute after Wendy’s curiosity led her to a group of people digging in the sand. Not clams or oysters, but it was worms they were digging up! They had a bucket with the creatures in it, whose fate no doubt would be at the end of a hook to lure in some sort of seafaring delicacy. After Wendy offered to give the worm digging activity a try, she did manage to get one! We then graciously thanked the sand people and went on our way.
The walk back was hindered by the insistent northerly wind that seemed to knock us back one step for every two steps we took, making the hike back a little bit tougher than the first half of this beach walk. Nonetheless, all hikers were accounted for in the end, and all that was left to do was knock the sand off of our boots.
More pictures on Lane Harris’ Flickr page
Pictures below by Lane Harris
