Dave’s Detours: Neahkahnie Mountain
By Dave Powell
For the TODAY
I am setting at home, looking at 10 sheets of 11" by 17" paper. They are in color, and they look marvelous! The new Oregon Coast Trail (OCT) maps have been released, the trail has been set (at least for the moment), yet there are several trails that are closed due to tree damage. Compared to the 2016 state OCT maps, they are a great improvement. There are nearly twice as many instructions, more insert maps showing greater detail, and even the BA (Beach Access) numbers for help when walking the beach. I am especially looking forward to hiking the changes in the route — new scenery is calling. They can be found by Googling “Oregon Coast Trail Maps,” the first or second hit is “Oregon Coast Trail — Oregon State Parks”
And the new maps have Neahkahnie Mountain trail with a change. No longer after finishing the southern Neahkahnie trail are you to walk half a mile to Highway 101, then walk the side of the highway for one and a quarter mile to Nehalem Road and then head west to the ocean at BA 21 Neahkahnie Beach. And, to coin a phrase, “it took a village”.
I was ready with this article in the fall of 2020, but was waiting for the “powers that be” to announce the trail was open for hiking. So, now that the state maps show it...
It was a beautiful summer day — almost two years ago in 2019.
I was near Oswald West, south of Neahkahnie Mountain working with Trailkeepers of Oregon (TKO). Pat and Elaine Keavney (the chief captains of Cascade Head trailwork) gave the safety talk, Susan Schen was in charge. The morning would have a “chocolate break,” and there would be liquid refreshments and chips at the end of work. And, oh yes, Gretchen Ammerman from Oregon Coast TODAY was there to ask about the TKO work at Neahkahnie and on the northern trail at Cascade Head. Her July 12, 2019, article “Check Out the New Digs” detailed two gaps of the Oregon Coast Trail — Neahkahnie Mountain and Cascade Head.
Both projects were expected to be completed in 2020. Neahkahnie is done, Cascade Head is still not completed. The wind storms of September and winter rains bringing down cliffs and trees are going to require more work. I am hoping the trail will reopen (after more than a decade of being closed) later this spring, this summer at the latest.
The work at Neahkahnie was scheduled to be done at the end of October 2020, and it was. Some maintenance was performed about two weeks ago–another tree had fallen on the trail and several muddy spots had their drainage changed. The first Oregon Coast Trail gap is finished. It is done. And all it took was elbow grease. One particular, a tree fell across the path from the September 2020 wind storms. The upper side of the trail cut (remember fire season, so no chainsaws) was through nearly 60 inches of tree — and had to be done from the bottom up because twisting pressure prevented sawing from the top by binding the six-and-a-half-foot blade. The second cut on the lower side was much easier — just 49-inch diameter and, with the release of pressure, it could be cut from topside.
Although trail work is easy to see, there was more work required to make this trail addition possible.
This project was initiated by part-time Manzanita resident Connie Soper, author of “Exploring the Oregon Coast Trail”. She worked with the City of Manzanita to prepare a grant application for Recreational Trails Program funding available through Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. A grant was awarded to the city in 2016 for design and trail construction. Design services were provided by Sentieros Consulting, and trail construction was completed by the Northwest Youth Corps and Trailkeepers of Oregon.
In addition to OPRD and the City of Manzanita, a number of other stakeholders have collaborated to complete the trail. Four separate landowners have provided public access for the trail, including OPRD, the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Lower Nehalem Community Trust, and private owners. The Northwest Youth Corps completed most trail construction during the summer of 2019 and, despite setbacks due to COVID-19 restrictions, TKO led efforts, recruited volunteers and hosted numerous work parties during 2020 to reach completion.
Final Tally:
Old Neahkahnie Route via Highway 101 was one and three quarter miles of road.
New Neahkahnie Route via trail, two miles. I am ready for some extra time away from traffic. How about you?
Get outside and enjoy! Take time to look around. Take and wear masks on trails when people come within six feet. Stay safe and perhaps our paths will cross — I did with three readers at Nestucca.