Day 27 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast!
10:17 AM, 66ºF, Humbug Mountain (1,761 ft.) trailhead off Hwy 101 – 5 miles S of Port Orford, almost immediately after Hwy 101 swung inland away the Oregon coast, a big empty gravel parking area appeared on the R. Joy of joys! SPHP had been hoping there might be a way Lupe could climb Humbug Mountain, and there was! Parking the RAV4, a posted sign, complete with a map, confirmed the existence of a Humbug Mountain trail that went all the way to the summit!
Oh, we gotta do this one, SPHP! Humbug Mountain is practically right on the Pacific Ocean. Just think what we might be able to see from up top!
No argument from SPHP there! Within minutes, the American Dingo was on her way.
In case there was the least bit of doubt, a few pawsteps into the forest a Humbug Mtn Trail sign directed Lupe L. 3 miles to the top! Actually that was a slight exaggeration, no matter which part of a loop Lupe took. No need to even think about that yet, though. The trail wouldn’t divide into E and W routes until the first mile was about over and done with.
The trail headed SE a short distance into a ferny forest before trending NE, winding its way higher at an easy to moderate pace along the N side of the mountain. Lupe began coming to posts marking each 0.25 mile. Progress was good. The trail was in great shape!
Before reaching the 0.5 mile mark, the trail curved into a little valley. At the far E end, Lupe crossed a tiny, clear-running stream, the only water she would come to on the whole route.
After crossing the stream, the trail reversed direction, going W or S most of the time. Lupe passed a 0.75 mile post. Shortly before reaching a 1.0 mile post, she came to a bench. This was where the trail divided into E and W routes.
Which way, SPHP? E or W?
Hardly matters, Loop. The E route is 0.2 mile longer, but both routes will meet again a little below the summit. The map shows that the W route has 3 viewpoints, while the E route only has 1. If you don’t mind, I’d rather go W, so we can check out the views on the way up. We can do the E half of the loop on the way down.
Sounds good to me, SPHP!
The W route started out going WSW, before turning S. The Carolina Dog soon reached the first viewpoint, a narrow opening through the forest featuring a glimpse of the Oregon Coast over by Port Orford. The air was rather hazy. Looked more like smoke than humidity.
Cool to see the Oregon Coast from elevation, SPHP!
Marvelous, Loop! A little discouraging, though, that we’re practically in the drink, and there’s still all this wildfire smoke hanging around.
Nothing we can do about it, SPHP. Let’s keep going.
The trail continued S, then turned W again. Less than 5 minutes from the first viewpoint, Lupe came to a second bench. This bench was also the location of a second viewpoint, although the view was almost exactly the same, another look at Port Orford from a little higher up.
Beyond the second bench, the trail soon turned SW, but that didn’t last. Before long, the Humbug Mountain Trail was snaking it’s way SE, then E. The forest was amazing, but was all Lupe could see.
At least the posts the American Dingo continued to pass every 0.25 mile provided encouragement that progress really was being made.
Lupe kept climbing. If there actually was a third viewpoint along the W route, SPHP never saw it. 1.6 miles from the first bench, the trail crossed part of a tree trunk had been hewn away. Immediately beyond this spot, the E and W routes of the Humbug Mountain Trail merged again. An arrow on the final post pointed up a short spur leading to the summit.
11:53 AM, 63ºF, Humbug Mountain (1,761 ft.) – The short spur quickly brought Lupe up to the W end of a 125 foot long summit ridge. Running NW/SE, this ridge was roughly 20 feet wide. The RAV4 had been alone at the big gravel trailhead down by Hwy 101, and Loop had seen no one at all on the way up the mountain, so SPHP was surprised to see 3 couples basking in sunshine on benches strung out along the ridgeline.
Several log slice benches were near a big stump where Lupe came up. Two normal benches were farther SE. A battered metal container full of cement was 10 feet W of the middle bench, which was stationed at the true summit. Inspection of the container revealed a survey benchmark.
Everyone was friendly! Turned out they had all spent the night over at a campground N of Hwy 101 directly across from the trailhead, explaining why no vehicles had been at the trailhead.
Humbug Mountain had been entirely forested on the way up. However, that wasn’t true here! A good-sized clearing on the upper SW slope let the sun shine in, and provided a stunning view of the Oregon coast. A fair amount of smoke was visible, but mostly near the horizon. Closer by, the smoke wasn’t bad enough to seriously mar the scene.
The main view was S along the coastline, but Lupe could see SW out over the Pacific Ocean, too. A surprising amount of smoke was drifting way out beyond the coast, limiting visibility, but it still felt incredible to be looking down on the ocean from such a height.
Wow! Bet there are some amazing sunsets from up here, SPHP!
No doubt about that, Loop! Maybe we should have come later in the day?
That would have been sweet, SPHP, but we should be happy we’ve got a view at all. So much forest on the way up, I wasn’t really expecting to see much of anything. This is awesome!
Trees did block the views both E and W, and only the same limited view of Port Orford was available to the N, although more ocean and coastline could be seen from this height.
Lupe sniffed while SPHP chatted with the other hikers. None stayed all that long. Once they all departed, Loop took possession of the bench at the high point. Peace and quiet reigned, but eventually a steady stream of people began appearing again.
Hikers came and went. The Carolina Dog remained. As the day warmed up, Loop hid in the shade of the summit bench while SPHP admired the spectacular coastline and ocean panorama. Humbug Mountain was an incredible vantage point!
By the time Loopster’s traditional summit hour drew to a close, a small crowd was present. Getting mighty busy! Surrendering the highest bench, Lupe wandered down to the lower end of the clearing for a last glance at the splendid scene before her.
On the way back, Lupe explored the E half of the Humbug Mountain loop. Marginally longer, but barely noticeable, since it was nearly all downhill. The only disappointment was that the one viewpoint the map showed along the E route didn’t seem to exist. Forest all the way!
1:56 PM, 68ºF, Hwy 101, Humbug Mountain trailhead – It was still early when Lupe got back to the RAV4. After a bite to eat, the Carolina Dog headed S on Hwy 101. A dozen miles from Humbug Mountain, SPHP spotted a sign for the Ophir Safety Rest Area. Making the turn, a short road led to a large, paved parking lot.
A restroom and picnic tables on a low grassy plateau overlooked an enormous expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Off to the N, there was a great view of Humbug Mountain.
Driven by a fierce wind coming off the Pacific, big waves were crashing ashore. The RAV4 was much more pleasant. Sunny and warm, enough of a chilly breeze flowed through with the windows cracked open to keep Lupe from getting hot.
What do you think, Loop? This is a cool spot! Want to hang out here for a while? You can snooze, or watch seagulls and waves, while I catch up the trip journal.
A snooze sounds good, SPHP! Wake me up, if the wind stops blowing.
It wasn’t long before both Lupe and SPHP were in Dingo Dreamland. Must have snoozed a while. By the time SPHP regained consciousness, the sun was noticeably farther W.
Hey, sleepyhead! I’m starving! What do we have to eat, SPHP?
A box of chocolate coconut bars was handy. To the sweet-toothed Dingo’s enormous delight, SPHP shared 3 of them with her.
Just being lazy, Loop. Don’t count on more evil feasts like this anytime soon!
The trend was encouraging! Not quite as windy now. SPHP went back to work on the trip journal.
6:50 PM, 66ºF, Ophir Beach – Caught up. Time for a romp! There’d only been a light breeze at Humbug Mountain, but down here, even though it was dying, the wind was still 15 to 20 mph out of the NW as Lupe and SPHP both headed bare-pawed down a sandy path to the ocean.
Along the shore, someone had built a little wall out of driftwood next to a log, for what purpose wasn’t clear. Humbug Mountain (1,761 ft.) was in sight off to the N. Much too far away to get to, but it seemed like the way to go. After checking out the impressive wave action up close, the Carolina Dog led the way N along the wet sand of the deserted beach.
Ophir Beach slanted more steeply into the ocean than the other beaches Lupe had been to along the Oregon Coast. With the waves as big as they were, seemed a bit dangerous to get too close. SPHP walked on the wet sand along the edge where the waves played out. Loopster preferred staying a even a little farther out of reach.
The wind was cool, the sand gritty and loose. Seemed incredible that such a large expanse of beach could be so deserted. No complaints about that at all! For a long way, Lupe trotted along happily sniffing the odd scents on the salted breeze, but there was something in the wild wind and foaming roar of the ocean that struck a primal nerve.
Pausing to examine the wonderfully rippled dry sand beyond wave’s reach, SPHP looked up after a moment and recognized a feral gleam in Looper’s eyes.
The were-puppy was here! Sick and tired of the long, featureless sandy trudge, spurred on by wind and waves, the were-puppy wanted to play! Only one game that the were-puppy likes – predator and prey! As usual, SPHP got to play the prey role, as the were-puppy launched a ferocious barking, snarling, leaping attack.
SPHP danced around, fending off the were-puppy’s determined assault, sustaining only a couple of nips in the process. A few exciting minutes, then the were-puppy vanished. Mild-mannered Lupe returned. Point made, though. Soon getting to be time to turn back.
During the return, SPHP noticed two white pebbles sitting up on a sandy bank. One had a black spot at one end. Since this was likely Lupe’s last stroll of her Summer of 2021 Dingo Vacation to the West Coast along the Pacific Ocean, SPHP picked them up. They’d become part of Loopster’s rock collection.
8:01 PM, 58ºF, Ophir Beach – The sun was nearly down by the time Lupe got back to where she’d have to leave the beach to return to the RAV4. A yellow-orange sky, slightly blurred by smoke, illuminated gray waves.
Savor the moment, Looper! Think we’ll be heading inland tomorrow.
My Dingo Vacation isn’t over already, is it, SPHP?
September now, Loop. We’ll keep it going, if we can, but depends on what we find when we head E. Smoky even along the ocean the last couple of days. We’ve been at it nearly a month now, yet it never rains enough to even put a dent in the wildfires.
Always hard to leave the ocean. Lupe watched as the sun sank into a watery gray grave. Gone! By tomorrow morning, Lupe would be, too.
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