2012-05-14 46 -123

Location

On the beach west of Astoria, Oregon.

Participants

Michael5000

Expedition

A hashpoint on the beach seemed pretty novel (although it turns out it wasn't!) and a great excuse for a little road trip. I started with a less interesting hashpoint, grabbed some lunch, and headed down the Columbia to the coast.

Certain skeptical friends thought the hashpoint would be underwater, but I was not born yesterday and timed my arrival to coincide with low tide. That didn't make this an especially easy expedition, though. It was on a fairly remote stretch of beach, and the only available access point was flooded two points by the swampy ponds that tend to form behind coastal sand dunes.

I spent a while trying to find alternatives, but eventually just had to find a walking stick and be glad that I hadn't worn good shoes.

That having been done, it was just a matter of crossing diagonally across some dunes...

to get to the beach.

Kind of a boring beach, really. Where I grew up, the beaches are strewn with rocks and driftwood and creeks and various interesting features; this was just BEACH. My camera had a hard time finding anything to focus on.

Oregon's beaches are technically public highway, a legal fiction (albeit an excellent one) that prevents private ownership of the seashore. This does mean, though, that on some stretches of beach you may actually be surprised by someone taking the "public highway" thing seriously!

But enough about our charming local customs! I proceeded to the hashpoint. It was a nice walk, about a mile each way, except for the wading. Not for the first time, I was glad I pack a towel and extra shoes in the Geohashing Expedition Vehicle.