Ecola State Park

Yesterday I drove to Ecola State Park and hiked the Clatsop Loop Trail plus part of the way over Tillamook Head to Seaside trail. I highly recomment the Clatsop Loop Trail for its scenic views and wonderful vegatation. This area has lots of huge Sitka spruce trees some estimated to have germinated around 1615. They would have been about 191 years old when William Clark walked this trail. William Clark and a small exloration party walked this trail in January 1806, searching for a beached whale near present day Cannon Beach.

Here are some pictures of the views from the trail.



This Sitka spruce provides an ideal nest platform for the marbled murrelet - a rare seabird that likes to nest on big branch platforms. This tree once stood in an opening that allowed the branches to spread out widely until the other trees closed in. Now its branches must grow upward, making it look like a giant candelabra. I love seeing the ferns growing up in the trees.



This is called a "clothespin" tree. The nurse log the tree grew on decayed from underneath leaving a large open area.

A typical hillside:



Watch your head!



This little guy was walking along with me but he was too slow so I went on.