Mile 204 Report
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
December 3, 2013
On the day before.
Report Details
On the day before...the day of the high tides, we had a series of very violent hail storms. It was fun to see that the hail had left dimples in the clean smooth sand. Rather like really rough sandpaper! As usual, we enjoyed our walk on that very cold and beautiful day.
Conditions
Temperature: 41 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: 7.9 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 14. Number of dogs: 14. Walking or running: 14. Everyone was really enjoying the cold clear weather. All but us had dogs and the dogs were just happy to be out running.
Concerns
Vehicles
Notable Wildlife
There were, oddly, no birds or other animals, and very little seaweed.
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
none
Driftline Content
Seaweeds and seagrass, Animal casings (e.g., crab, shrimp molt), Shells, Wood pieces. Saw 1 plastic lid. The driftline was surprisingly uncluttered. Only a few of each checked item and sparsly scattered
Man-made Modifications
None noted
Natural Changes
We expected more bluff damage due to the very high tide the day before. Saw none. But, there was also no new driftwood and the wood that was already there was covered with sand.
Actions & Comments
No actions...but near the north end of our mile (there are 2 wooden stairways that mark our end) there are a lot of groundwater seepages. One area had quite a bad smell, rather like sewage. When we got home, our shoes still had the smell. We needed to scrub them to get rid of it.Perhaps the heavy rains caused a septic system to overflow...
All Mile 204 Reports
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Mile 204 isn't my usual mile, so I've waited to walk it again until work resumed on PacWave South's wave energy testing project at Driftwood Beach Wayside. https://pacwaveenergy.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Today marked my latest sighting of the old growth driftwood log that I've admired and whose comings and goings from Driftwood Beach I've documented since June 2020, when I first photographed it high on the beach south of Buckley Creek.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I had read that the 265-foot vessel Seacor Lee would be anchoring a mile off Driftwood Beach in support of OSU's PacWave South wave energy testing project, positioned so that divers from the ship could perform work on previously installed seafloor conduits.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
I haven't walked Driftwood Beach regularly since the PacWave South wave energy project completed work underground in the Driftwood parking lot.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
By the time I got to Driftwood Wayside, a lot of people had already arrived for their New Years Day beach walks, some 30 vehicles in the parking lot and 30 - 40 people down on the beach, accompanied by at least half as many dogs, almost all leashed.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
This was probably the last dependably dry Mile 204 walk before the rains begin in earnest.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
After the morning fog lifted and before the marine layer moved in, I walked from Seal Rock on Mile 205 to Beach Access 66C on Mile 203.
Jon French
Mile 204
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
Driftwood Wayside is open again after PacWave's departure, but I was the only visitor on this breezy, drizzly day.
Jon French