Mad River Sand Spit

Mad River County Park

(Map link.)

Following another round of destruction for invasive marram grasses at Friends of the Dunes, I decided to take advantage of the first day in a week with more than an hour of sunshine on the beach. I headed up to a rather full parking lot at the Mad River County Beach and took off along the dune trail that parallels the river, leaving nearly every single one of them behind. I had been looking for a day to get out to the mouth the hard way, and this was it. It was still quite foggy to the north and I quickly lost that sun.

A large path leaves the northeast end of the parking lot heading north along the Mad River.

Portions of this trail flood in winter, but it was all quite dry coming to the end of the dry season. It looks like there's a bit of hill between the trail and the river, but that is an illusion created by the willows along the edge. There are a couple of spur trails that punch through it to get to the water along the way. I tried one, but it quickly became much less established and I was going to see the water soon enough.

The first view of river water as the hump of bushes to the right ends.

Trail was a little less established once I was on the river's edge. Many trails come and go, but it looks like following it isn't so popular. There is enough of a route to get along with a bit of random dune climbing. It just brings a bit more of the animal antics on the river into view. The heads of seals kept popping up. They were very quiet compared to the sea lions on the Klamath River until they found something interesting. Then there would be a thrashing in the water.

Not a very reliable sunny day as there is still fog to the north and on the river. This is looking upstream.

Pelicans, sea gulls, and harbor seals are just a few of the animals grabbing fish out of the estuary.

The pelicans were finding plenty to interest them, too.

To walk the edge of the water is to annoy the sandpipers.

It's not just web footed creatures hanging out for the fish. As I walked over one small hill, I caught sight of some tallons and a hooked beak that were working on a meal. It moved further on, then a little further, then finally took off low over the sand spit to somewhere unknown.

The houses start on the far side where the land trust lands stop. There's plenty of people as Hammond Trail is over there.

A harried northern harrier makes a low escape.

A low spot where the river could potentially break through and shorten the sand spit.

Three of a dozen or so harbor seal heads that were poking out of the water a minute later.

The hills, mostly covered with that invasive marram grass, came to an end leaving shorter hills with a scattering of grasses. The patches of ice plant that kept mysteriously turning into bundles tied up in their own long roots also ended. Sprawling verbena became more prominent instead with all the room to grow.

The more changeable portion of the sand spit from the last of the taller grassy hills.

The mergansers are uncomfortable and about to slide into the water.

The shore along the Mad River has more scalloping toward the end.

Webbed footprints of all sizes.

A great blue heron stands among the small dunes. There's a bit more of the wide leaved native beach grasses in this area.

The fog is finally clearing to the north.

Those sand verbena blooming and seeding and enjoying the grass free space.

And this might be the lunch the harrier had prior to flying off. Some good raptor footprints, too.

Failed to be sufficiently careful of where I was walking.

The river deflected as far north as it can go before armoring by dumped rocks stops it.

I finally came to the end of the sand spit after about 3.5 miles of walking. It was a little longer than expected, but perhaps it wouldn't have been if I'd thought about how much of the Hammond Trail I was paralleling. I was seeing people on the other side, and a couple paddleboarders in the middle, all along the way. Footprints in the sand suggested there might have been two or three other people out that far on the sand spit during the day.

North across the river and along the coast to Trinidad Head.

So I turned south and started to return along the beach. I started north along the river that flows that way, then south along the beach where the current heads that way. Water flows downhill, so this is a hike that is downhill all the way.

There is another impressive display of thick lines of crab shells on the beach. This larger shell has a slit in the front confirming it is a molt.

It disturbs the birds to walk along the beach as well.

Looking across the dunes to where a creek comes down to the river.

I'm not sure this swing works very well.

People up ahead.

It took a few miles to see anyone on my way south along the beach. No one was actually in the water except the odd nudist sneaking her cloths off in the dunes before hurrying to the water. I was feeling quite cold enough in the breeze, especially when I walked barefoot across the wet sand. I got my shoes back on before climbing into the dunes to cross to the parking lot.

*photo album*




©2021 Valerie Norton
Written 3 Oct 2021