Galavanting in Garbaldi
I’m at Kil-Har-Hurst, “the Place of the Shaman.”
Last year when I was detouring in Garibaldi I was sitting down, waiting to order dinner, reading a Tillamook County magazine, and it was about the very place where I was seated. Talk about feeling like a tourist.
Well, I am again at Garibaldi and, with a miscommunication about an event being held at the Historic US Coast Guard Boathouse, I again feel like a tourist.
This detour will cover several ways to both increase and decrease the length of the Oregon Coast Trail.
•••
First is the mileage-neutral detour to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad located in Garibaldi at Highway 101 and 3rd Street. Starting in 2003 with 2,400 riders, this year the railroad hopes to reach the 40,000-passenger milestone. The five-mile trip takes roughly half an hour — leaving a half-hour stopover in Rockaway Beach for strolling and shopping. My latest trip had the engine McCloud Railway No. 25, built in 1925 and used in the movie “Stand by Me.” During the train talk, I learned that the big “G” on the hillside above Garibaldi is now maintained by the Coast Guard and Fire Department — no longer by the school.
Second, is a real shortcut. Unfortunately, the state Oregon Coast Trail maps list it as an alternative. It is the Garibaldi Marina, from where you can catch a ferry trip to Crab Harbor on Bayocean Spit. Rather than having to walk 10 miles of Highway 101 through Garibaldi, Bay City, to Tillamook center, then two miles on Highway 131 and six miles on Bayocean Road with a mile, the ferry means you only have four and a half miles to reach Cape Meares Beach Access 30. The marina is located at 302 Mooring Basin Road (take 7th Street down toward the dock sign, veer left about 50 yards). You will need to call 503-322-3312 a day in advance, the ride is dependent on weather and tides. If you are going to take this 12-mile shortcut make sure you have stocked up on supplies.
Third, is the Garibaldi Maritime Museum located at Highway 101 and 2nd Street. It is open Thursday through Monday, 10 am to 4 pm. I have bought several books about Native Americans from the museum bookstore and eagerly await the launch of a new exhibit “Beating the Wind” about the mechanics of wind-propelled sailing ships. I really would like to understand the physics of how ships can tack into the wind.
Fourth, is the historic Coast Guard Boathouse (reached from 12th Street), the reason for my visit north. I thought the Coast Guard Appreciation for Albert “Ole” Olsen, Jr. was taking place there, when in fact it was being held nearby at the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad headquarters. As one person so aptly put it, a generation of first responders is disappearing, and if we are going to remember and honor them we better hurry. Newport’s Coast Guard has Master Chief Thomas McAdams. I found and re-read some of the book about McAdams, and viewed the shorter hypothermia recording he did for CERT training. My father-in-law was medical at the Battle of the Bulge. His original unit was entirely killed, no prisoners taken. He survived since his truck broke down, being left behind with another unit. Without that mechanical breakdown, I wouldn’t have been married to his daughter for the past 50 years.
Final Tally:
The detours add virtually no mileage, even counting the pier walk to the Coast Guard Boathouse. In fact, the ferry trip saves 13 miles.
Get outside and enjoy Take time to look around. This is the great Oregon Coast. Maybe our paths will cross. And maybe this time, also take some time to think about those who went before us, and ponder what we are leaving to those who will come.