Beach Run ~ Cape Meares, OR

View looking northwest, towards the ocean.

Location: Park in lot next to beach, on Bayocean Road West, between 3rd Street NW and 4th Street NW, in Cape Meares, OR.
Date run:  October 6, 2012, 7:30 am
Distance:  3.0 Miles, out and back
Pros:  Gorgeous views, quiet beach, relatively even ground (no slant) for a beach run.
Cons:  No real cons were evident on this run.  The fog *just* lifted when I set foot on the beach to start my run.  Driving to the parking area, I wasn’t sure I would be able to see two feet in front of my face.  The air was pretty nippy (36 degrees F).
Number of people encountered on run:  two runners; one family of 5 taking photos

Summary of run:  I spent the night in Tillamook, OR for work, and had to be up and running early, if I wanted to fit this run into my schedule.  I woke up, freezing, at 6am ~ but still managed to muster the enthusiasm for an early morning run (thank you, motel room coffeemaker).  This run, which I found by scanning Google Maps the night before, was about a 15 minute drive from my motel.
I stepped outside of the motel to find that the sun wasn’t yet up (those of you who are normally early risers may not have found this as surprising as me), the fog was heavy and that my windows were iced over.  For a second, I thought about going back up into my room, and crawling beneath the covers.  But, knowing that my 9:30am meeting later that day would involve lots of sitting, a fair amount of stress, and easy access to processed carbohydrates, I scraped the windows and headed out to the coast.

The drive was an eerie.  The road was barely visible with the heavy fog.  I didn’t know where I was going.  I drove past Tillamook Bay ~ where I saw nearly 20 lanterns being held by early morning fisherman, about two per boat, through the thick fog.  At the time, the scene reminded

me of a re-enactmenet of Washington Crossing the Delaware, until I looked up the painting and realized that no one in Washington’s crew is holding a lantern.  I suppose they took that whole surprise attack thing seriously.

I found the parking area, barely stretched, and then made my way out onto the beach.  A quick up and back was all I had the time for, and I soaked in every moment.  I was dressed for a chilly run, and was grateful I had a neck gaiter to pull up and over my face.

View heading south, back towards the parking area.

Normally, I hate running on the beach.  The flat area is too sandy, and the solid area is too angled.  This run was just about perfect.  The hard, wet sand didn’t dip too much to meet the ocean and provided a flat, solid surface on which to run.

I didn’t see a single person on my 1.5 miles run north.  Heading back to the car, I passed one male and one female jogger heading in the opposite direction.  Nearer the parking area, a family of 5 was out taking photos.

The views were incredible.  Unspoiled beach, sea birds hunting for breakfast, capes jutting out into the ocean.

All in all, a great run, and a reminder that nature trumps tv any day.