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By Karin Thomas & Zoe Sweet Our second hike of the year at Seven Devils Wayside was at 2:00 P.M. instead of the usual 10:00 A.M. due to the expected high tide. About 25 hikers arrived for the hike down the beach. Our guides for this adventure were Don Luce and John Bragg. When we started down the hill to the beach we came upon a creek that we had to cross in order to get to the other side. All of the hikers went in different directions using different methods to cross the water. Some picked up driftwood to make their own bridge, some used the large rocks as stepping stones, and some just stepped into the cold water to cross to the beach. From there we hiked at our own pace to Five Mile Rocks. While we walked, we were all looking for that special rock or treasure that the ocean had left for us. As John Bragg explained at the beginning of the hike, we were to keep one eye on the ocean at all times to watch for sneaker waves and as usual the ocean waves were gorgeous to watch so we didn’t mind keeping an eye on them! The beach we walked on is called Merchant Beach after a family that settled in the area. Gold was found in the black sand deposits from old marine terraces in 1853 and a local gold rush followed. Miners lined the beaches and built long wooden sluices to separate the good dust from the black sand. The creek and beach to the south became referred to as Whisky Run as a reference to the miner camps there and their penchant for drinking. A small town sprung up on the bluff just a quarter mile south of Whisky Run creek called Randolph. The gold rush ended as suddenly as it began when in the winter of 1854-55 the exposed black sand was washed away by storms and the little town of Randolph faded away soon afterwards. Don Luce provided information about the history of the beach and specific names of the different treasures we found. Some of the things we saw on our beach hike were fossil clams, petrified wood, agates, White Slipper & Keyhole Limpet shells, and rocks. Down at the Five Mile Rocks, the ocean tide pools were fun to explore containing multiple colors of Pacific or Ocre Sea Stars, Giant Green Anemones, mussels, and barnacles. We also saw some Harbor Seals sunning themselves on outcroppings of rocks. Going back to our starting point we found a couple of Ling Cod heads on the beach with big toothy grins. Don said it kind of makes you wonder how a fish that looks that ugly could taste so good! When we got back to the creek some of us decided to take an easier way across by balancing on the huge pieces of driftwood that had piled up. Our next hike will be at Millicoma Marsh trail. See you all at the next hike.
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