Mile 260 Report

October 5, 2015
by BeachcomberJim

Location:
Tillamook
Kiwanda Beach west of Pacific City and Nestucca River
Conditions:
Monday 10:40 AM
Sunny
Wind:
Moderate from the S
Tide Level:
6.0 ft
Humans / Pets:
People:
11
Dogs:
5
Activities:
Walking / Running:
10
3 horseback riders in dunes
Concerns:
Litter
Disturbances:
Vehicles:
Cars/Trucks parking:
11
Cars/Trucks on beach, allowed:
1
Activity Comments:
A warm sunny morning that found several people enjoying this more remote section of beach that is one mile south of Pacific City beach access. fewer people by far due to limited assess to this beach section.
Notable Wildlife:
Several flocks of Sanderlings wading and feeding in surf.
Dead Birds:
Total:
8
Species/names:
Dead birds appeared to be common Murres by size and coloring. The remains of 7 dead have been here for long time due to decomp and dryness of the carcasses.
Stranded:
Fish & Invertebrates:
two large moon jellyfish measured at 12 inch diameter or larger found in high tide zone, both fresh enough to have been stranded at this morning's high tide.
Driftline:
Kelp or Algae·Shells·Wood pieces
Large clusters of sand flea casings observed in drift line.
New Development:
Modifications:
Natural Changes:
Sand deposits have formed a bench 6 to 8 feet above this morning's high tide line. No evidence to know how new this bench may be.
Comments:
No items requiring action found today.
Summary:
The warm weather made this section of beach a joy for the people out enjoying this October day.No dramatic issues were seen as can be found on our more populated beaches.Mile 260 has limited access via a crude sand-filled parking spot adjacent to Beach marker 37A that has been seen to have 10 or more vehicles parked. One pickup truck was observed deflating his tires and driving at high speed up the dune in order to top the dunes and gain beach access. Beach driving is legal here.The only other obvious access is a parking lot in Bob Straub State Wayside where 11 vehicles were parked today.This is a quiet beach (I expect due to the limited access) making it a good walking, strolling and beach combing area. The disturbing finding was that I captured 10 to 20 times more trash than on mile 261 to the north where 10 times more people were observed recreating.
Other Mile 260 Reports (5)

2010

September 8, 2010 - [email protected]
Nice day to walk beach - only problem was the softness of sand - made it extra difficult to walk - the surf had a yellow green color and surf line/foam was green like the words in coastwatch - didn't...
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May 31, 2010 - [email protected]
Cloudy day - some initial rain around 11:00 am - not windy with nice temperature to walk the beach. Beach was clean except for an occasional plastic bottle - Surprised at lack of birds - not much...
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February 15, 2010 - [email protected]
It appears that mile 260 is stable and does have continued human activities - There had been vehicles driving on the beach in the authorized area. Had multiple tire tracks of vehicles and had one...
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2009

November 8, 2009 - [email protected]
It was a nice cloudy day with a good wind from the South of about 15-20 miles/hr. Clear skies below clouds - People walking the beach were enjoying the quietness and fun of walking and talking. Had...
read more

2008

May 23, 2008 - J.M. Trunkey
Heavy human use (65 people, 7 dogs) on Friday before Memorial Day. Hillside below condos continues to erode.
read more