Mile 224 Report
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
July 22, 2023
Lovely day on the beach.
Report Details
Lovely day on the beach. I left the beach at 10:14 am, leaving by a "private" access. When I arrived, the Beverly Beach (state park) area & beach was very foggy, the fog extended all the way to the north end of my mile although it was already beginning to lift there. By 10 am the only fog visible was way out over the ocean. Humans on the beach probably varied from 40+ to maybe 50+. Observed remnants of 2 fires: (1) built immediately adjacent to a pile of drift logs; (2) built close to a bluff w/vegetation, if the wind was blowing when the fire was active, it was close enough that sparks might've landed in the vegetation. Sea whips. Saw no whole shells, only relatively small (1/2 to 1" at most) pieces of shells, fair number of them appeared to have weathered edges. Noted lack of the usual mass of plastic bits, nice not to see them.
Conditions
Temperature: 63 F. Cloud Cover: Foggy. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: NW.
Human Activities
Number of people: 43. Number of dogs: 13. Walking or running: 36. Sitting: 5. Surfing: 2. My first sight, after descending to the beach from the long stairway down, was of two people staring at their dog as it deposited a pile of feces in the intertidal zone. It's such a pleasure to see how some visitors to the Oregon coast display their respect for the cleaniliness of the beach, the ocean, and the health of local surfers. I saw many dogs on the beach today, and some ran around vigorously, ignored, for the most part, by their owners. Which means if those dogs deposited feces on the beach, their owners might not even have noticed. However I didn't, fortunately, have to avoid stepping onto any (different then walking w/30' of the west side parking lot of Agate Beach wayside) but since the tide was out, the beach was wonderfully wide/big.
Concerns
Fire
Apparent violations: Observed remnants of 2 fires: (1) built immediately adjacent to a pile of drift logs; (2) built close to a bluff w/vegetation, if the wind was blowing when the fire was active, it was close enough that sparks might've landed in the vegetation..Stranded Marine Mammals
Total stranded mammals: 1. Stranded/dead. I couldn't get a good look at what I believe was a dead seal as somone or several someones had decided to bury it, not by digging hole, putting the seal into & covering the hole but by piling some sand on top of the seal. I could smell the body as I got close to it, and I frightened off 2 vultures & 3 crows, so I'm reasonably sure it was a dead seal even if I didn't actually see it.
Driftline Content
Small rocks, Seaweeds and seagrass. Sea whips. Saw no whole shells, only relatively small (1/2 to 1" at most) pieces of shells, fair number of them appeared to have weathered edges. Noted lack of the usual mass of plastic bits, nice not to see them.
Natural Changes
Landslides/major boulder falls, Visible retreat of solid bluff. Saw exposed tree roots (not newly) w/the tree slowly tilting more & more, only a matter of time & perhaps some heavy rain & wind before it ends up on the beach.
Actions & Comments
There's no action to take, far as I can tell, I'm seeing natural erosion, slides, etc. The culvert that I believe goes under 101, that's about halfway (maybe between halfway & 2/3s, walking south) on my mile continues to deteriorate. I could hardly see it this time because of a pile of drift logs obscuring my view.
All Mile 224 Reports
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Sunny & warm day, with more people & dogs then I've seen in years on the beach, probably because of the heat wave in PDX, the Willamette Valley & so much of the US. In addition to walking the mile to do a Coastwatch report, I participated in a Surfrider day after the 4th beach trash pickup.
s hogg
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Low tide at Yaquina Bay was listed as 12:16 pm today, the north jetty & a headland, and probably about 8-10 miles separate YB from the beach at Otter Rock where my mile is located, I don't know how much those factors change (or not) the exact tide level when I stepped onto the beach this morning OR when I left, about noon. Overall a beautiful day on the beach, on my arrival there were probably 23 people (including surfers) on the beach, that number increased to the number I entered.
S hogg
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Very low tide this am, I have no idea what the exact tide level was so I didn't enter a number.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Pleasant if chilly walk on the beach.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Quite a dynamic winter on this mile, more erosion noted, and a moderate sized slide seen on the mile.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Nice day for a walk on the beach, clean beach, saw 6 cyclists (one solo, I think the rest were more or less together), first time I've seen cyclists on this beach, have seen them off & on from the south jetty north to Lucky Gap access.
malachite
Mile 224
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
Pretty day on the beach, I was on the beach when the tide was going out, my South Beach tide table indicates the low tide in SB was at 9:43 am & 1.
malachite