Miles of Dunes

by Philip Parodayco // written on 06 October 2002, saved in Pjournal

Christie and I recently returned from a long weekend on the coast. Our big attraction was the 47-mile long Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area stretching from Florence to North Bend. For those of you unfamiliar with this state's coastline, the dunes extend from one to two miles inland and form peaks as high as 300 feet. We spent Saturday traversing the dunes on the Umpqua trail south of Reedsport.

After a half-hour walk through lush woods smelling of damp moss, we came to the beginning of what I can only describe as a desert. An enormous dune was directly before us to the left and thickets of foliage were visible off in the distance. Long, thin grasses dotted the sand and weathered logs marked our trail. Because of the elusiveness of our guideposts and the attraction of two skiers traversing the top of a nearby dune, we found ourselves climbing a steep diagonal that gave us both a strenuous workout and a spectacular view of the surrounding landscape. What most impresses me in such places is the utter silence in the air. Familiar sounds of traffic, footsteps and conversation are replaced with wind and rustling grasses and the hiss of shifting sand.

Our intention was to follow the distant sound of waves all the way to the beach. We couldn't see the water and didn't know how far we had to go. After more than an hour of walking in full sunlight over open sand, we finally crested the highest peak and had a full view of the beach ahead — a distance apparently two miles away. Having nothing more than water with us and seeing no sign of food carts ahead, we wisely opted to rest on the hillside and make our way back. I photographed this 360° panorama to remember the moment.