| Date: January 17, 2008 | | Location Tahkenitch Creek Hike | | Where: Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area | This is our third hike in less than a week at the Oregon Coast in an effort to take advantage of the sunshine. While some of Oregon's valleys have been locked in daily fog, bright sunshine has been the rule here.
The Tahkenitch Creek Trail is one that we always enjoy, and we have done it enough to think it quite predictable. However today we were in for several surprises. First, due to the extreme low temperatures, we found ourselves walking on frozen sand. It was quite a different experience to step on solid sand rather than sinking with each step.
Our second surprise came in the way of noise from machinery. About a mile into the trail we could hear the beep-beep-beep of reverse warning devices, and the clatter of track machinery. It sounded way too close for roadwork. When we finally got to a clear spot we could see across the creek where bulldozers were at work in the grass-covered dunes. After considerable thinking, I believe they were in the process of removing the European beachgrass, and leveling the dunes, in an effort to improve the nesting habitat for the Western Snowy Plover.
|  | Our third surprise was to find that the mouth of Tahkenitch Creek had moved north away from the bank, allowing once again easy access to the beach. This means loop trips are again easy to make using Three Mile Lake Trail or Tahkenitch Dune Trail.
|  | Statistics of the day:
Distance: 5.8 miles
Climb: 400 feet
Time: 3:39 hours |  | | beach |
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