Mile 224 Report
Beverly Beach north, Johnson Creek
September 24, 2011
Very warm day at the beach, not much wind.
Report Details
Very warm day at the beach, not much wind. While it was sunny, there were mare's tail clouds and a fog bank offshore. There was some ground fog further south and it was foggy this morning north of Yaquina Head (south of mile 224) that didn't dissipate (until around 4pm) until 11 am or so. Felt humid. Many people on the beach for this beach, and parked along the lookout & near the Otter Rock, Mo's. All the spots along the road were occupied. Not everyone wants to go down (and back up) the 90+ steps, generally they just walk in the area near the lookout or to the north side of the park. Many surfers, not all of them in the water, there were probably over 30 people w/boards & wetsuits on, but some were resting. All but one of the dogs appeared to be well under control, even if off lead. The 5th dog was let off lead & ran wildly all over the beach and into the ocean. Eventually the owner caught up with it & while not putting it on lead, did keep the dog closer to her. The driftlogs continue to seem to shift location slowly to the north. There were again only a few driftlogs at the Alpine Chalet access, very few near the stream flowing (except it wasn't really flowing today, more like a slow moving puddle) just to the north of AC, so the bulk of the drift logs were to the north of the stream outlet, stretching north for perhaps 100'. There were signs of at least 3 fires near the stream outlet, one at the base of the bluff & right next to bluff vegetation, horsetails, etc. The Coast Guard helicopter flew by in the general vicinity (you can hear it coming some time before you see it) as I turned back to walk north to my access point/Devil's Punchbowl park). However, the helicopter flew to the EAST of the beach, either over the highway or to the east of the highway. The further south it went along my mile the further east it flew. So, instead of flying OVER (or at least near) the beach on a very warm day when many people were surfing or south of my mile, wading and playing in the ocean, they flew further & further away from the beach and over land. There did not appear to be any interest in keeping an eye on all the people in the water. That happens fairly often, maybe it's because the CG's been part of DHS for a number of years.
Conditions
Temperature: 69 F. Cloud Cover: Sunny. Wind Velocity: Calm/Light. Wind Direction: SW. Tide Level: 5.0 feet.
Human Activities
Number of people: 70. Number of dogs: 5. Walking or running: 27. Playing in sand: 3. Sitting: 5. Surfing: 25. Other Activities: mining?. 3 children were climbing & then sliding down the bluffs a little north of the Beverly Beach state park access.There seemed to be 4-5 people a little north of the climbing children who were chipping away at the strata there to procure fossils. A little north of that at a creek (flows through a culvert under the highway, can't remember the name) were around 12-15 people who appeared to be sluicing the water for something. I've seen people there before doing something similar but never as many as today.
Concerns
Climbing bluffs/seastacks
Apparent violations: possible cliff/strata destruction for removal of fossils.Disturbances: Shorebirds moving in response to humans/dogs
Vehicles
Notable Wildlife
Seagulls only. Some cretin of a young woman was amusing herself by chasing every seagull she got near. She looked around 20 or in her 20's.
Dead Fish or Invertebrates
Saw only some crab shells in driftline.
Driftline Content
Seaweeds and seagrass, Small rocks, Wood pieces. plastic bits.
Man-made Modifications
nothing new observed.
Natural Changes
usual slow erosion of bluffs.
Actions & Comments
I may call the state park beach ranger re: the suspected fossil hunting & mining activities. No idea if a permit is required for the latter.
Report Images
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