In Astoria: the Fort to Sea Trail

August 14, 2023

On the drive back from Boise I mentioned to Rachael that I’d like to come over to Astoria for a couple of nights during our stay in Portland. We got a super deal on the place we’re staying (only about $65/night, as we keep reminding ourselves since we don’t really like the place very much) so we can afford to splurge in a couple of days out of town.

Rachael took me up on it, after noting that a heat wave is coming. What a perfect time to head to Astoria, which is almost always significantly cooler than the valley in conditions like this. It’s due to be hot even over there though, so we get a really early start for the two hour drive and arrive at the trailhead for the hike we have planned by about nine. Already it’s feeling warm.

We’re taking a hike because even though Rachael’s knee is steadily improving she’s not really ready to try the bike yet. We’ve picked out a fairly short hike, partly to see how she does and partly to get out of the sun before the hottest part of the day. The hike we’ve picked is an OAB in the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, starting with a riverside walk before leaving it for a hike through the woods toward the coast. It sounds like an excellent plan for a hot day, as we expect to be in the shade nearly the whole way.

Alders line the path for the first mile as it hugs the bank of the Lewis and Clark River. I know now that these are alders and not aspens because there are no eyes looking back at me, thanks to Ms. Brown.

There’s not much water in the river this morning, and what there is is slowly flowing inland with the incoming tide.

We’re on the Netul River Trail, named for the original name for the river before Lewis and Clark arrived.

Looking inland on the Netul/Lewis and Clark River. The pilings are remnants from the logging era, when logs were floated downriver to this area for sorting and bundling into rafts for transporting to local mills or to ships for exporting.

After about a mile we leave the river for the trail that crosses the narrow ridge between here and the coast. It’s about a seven mile one-way hike from here to trail’s end at the sea just north of Seaside - more than we have time or legs for today. And even if there were time, it’s too hot! We want to get back to the car before the hottest part of the day.

There are few outward views along this trail, but it’s a fine spot to wander slowly and look up in awe. Like at this magnificent Sitka spruce.

It wouldn’t hurt me to crack a smile as long as I’m going to take the time to pose for a shot.

Some of the hemlocks are impressive too, as are the cedars.

Rachael’s knee is doing well so she’s of course walking farther and faster than I am, which is fine - there aren’t really any views until you come out the other side of the ridge, so I’m content to take my time and check out the forest.

On the way back we pick a different trail, the Slough to Sea Trail. It’s considerably lumpier but it’s good for variety as we skirt a slough and walk through a third environment. Alders and spruces are replaced here by skunk cabbages and reeds.

It’s Rachael! Even with her face half hidden, I’d recognize that hat anywhere.

A view across the slough to Saddle Mountain.

An aging skunk cabbage leaf. Not that impressive, until you consider it’s over two feet long.

What a beauty! It took some research, but it’s the caterpillar of a southwestern eyed sphinx moth (Smerinthus opthalmica).

The caterpillar is great, but I’d really love to see the adult.

The river is much fuller now than when we started out, and the tide is still coming in. This shot was taken near the earlier one with the exposed mud bar.

It’s about noon when we get back to the car, which feels like a Dutch oven when we open its doors. Our room won’t be open for maybe two hours so we head downtown to find a cafe to hide out in until then. It’s much too hot to be outside - 94F, which must be as hot as it ever gets here in Astoria.

Our first idea is the Rusty Cup, but after we go in and have a quick glance at the menu we lose interest and decide to keep looking. Much more to our liking is Gaetano’s Market & Deli. I have an Italian panini and an IPA while Rachael cools off with an iced soda, and we just hang out until we hear that our room is ready.

When we get ready to leave I realize I can’t find my glasses, but I’m not too concerned at this point - they’re probably back in the car.

We’re staying at a place new to us - 515 on 15th - that considering the price (about half of any other place available) suits us just fine. It’s really more like a hostel, with quite small rooms but nice common areas and a kitchen. Our only complaint is the same one we have with our apartment in Portland - there’s a fan but no A/C, which is less than ideal in a heat wave.

For dinner we drive down to Bridgewater Bistro - at over a mile away, it’s much too hot to want to walk that far since we have an option. We enjoy king salmon entrees and a spectacularly good large plate of roasted Brussels sprouts to start.

Afterwards we walk out on the pier to see what there is to see, but we’re not there long before the heat forces us to retreat to our room again. It’s too bad - one of the things I like best in Astoria is walking along the waterfront at the end of the day, but it’s still pretty insufferably hot. We’re very happy to be here though, where it’s ‘only’ 94. Portland’s high today was 106!

On the shady side of the pier, looking upriver with the Bridgewater Bistro behind.

I took this shot because I liked the three evenly spaced ships. I still haven’t found my glasses, so it takes Rachael to point out what I’m missing - the dark fringe at the base of the bridge supports.

I’m curious how many cormorants are gathered here. Could someone count these and report back? We’re only looking at about a fifth of the scene here, so we’ll just extrapolate to a total number after we get a good count.of the subset.

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Bruce LellmanPortland actually topped out at 108 degrees on this day so you did the right thing by taking off to Astoria.
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