Mile 204 Report
Driftwood Beach Wayside, Buckley Creek
May 18, 2018
5-18-18 mile 204 Driftwood beach wayside north to south end of Seal Rocks beach8:30 am, 1.
Report Details
5-18-18 mile 204 Driftwood beach wayside north to south end of Seal Rocks beach8:30 am, 1.7 minus tide, went with 1 other person, cloudy morning, no rain, very little windonly other people on the beach were 2 people gathering mussels, (not sure if commercial or private) and 1 surf fisherman on south end of Seal Rocksseveral tide pools, sea anenomes in abundance and rocks were covered in mussels and starfish, quite a comeback from the last die off and in many colors.observed several seagulls and cormorants on the offshore rocks and 3 vultures on the beach near high tide mark, did not see anything that the vultures were feeding onfound one fairly large, seemingly intact dungeness crab dead on the beach, did not turn it over to see if male or female the rocks above the tides were covered in blooming pink thriftthere was very little marine debris or litter on the beach this day.6 photos attached
Conditions
Temperature: 54 F. Cloud Cover: Cloudy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Tide Level: -1.7 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 4. Number of dogs: 2. Walking or running: 1. Photography: 1. Fishing: 1. Other Activities: 2 people gathering mussels.
Vehicles
Notable Wildlife
3 vultures above the high tide line in the sand, no apparent feeding, normal seagulls and cormorants on the rocks offshore
Report Images
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