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By Don Luce The rain didn't dampen the spirits of these hearty hikers as 50 showed up to hike the trail. Tim Barnes; Geologist with the Bureau of Land Management, was our guide for the first part of the hike. Tim pointed out the various geological formations in evidence along this trail and helped us to better understand the forces that caused them. Tim also threw in a little bit of local archaeology by pointing out clear evidence of shell middens left by native inhabitants here along the coast. The trail took us along the high cliffs above the ocean to the overlook at Shore Acres State Park. The waves were really crashing here. Tim told us that the large "cannon ball" shaped rocks we see embedded in the cliffs are "concretions". It turns out these "concretions" are formed around sea creatures that are caught in the layer. As these creatures decompose they change the chemistry of the surrounding rock making it harder than the layer it is trapped in and create the huge rock balls and the pitted surface we see today. We pushed on to Simpson Beach which was the turning point for our 4 mile hike. Bob Golden led most of the group back to Sunset Beach while 17 hikers continued along the Oregon Coast Trail for a longer hike to Arago Point. The longer hike took us to Simpson Reef where we picked up the trail just across the road that connects the Coast trail to the south end of the Arago Pack Trail. The plan was for us to stop at the picnic tables at the North Cove trailhead and some of us would eat while the rest went down to North Cove beach with Tim Barnes. We ate in the covered pavilion instead and after sitting long enough to feel the cold we decided to push on back along the Coast trail to Sunset Bay and call it a day. The trail was beginning to puddle up and get muddy, but we slogged along happily. We took the old gate road out of Shore Acres to shorten our return trip and come into Sunset Bay with 8 miles of hiking for the day. I can't speak for everyone, but in any kind of weather the Oregon Coast trail never disappoints me. Thanks to Tim Barnes, we even learned a thing or two about geology and came away with even more evidence that the Oregon Coast is a really special place.
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