Surfing in Oregon
After a two year hiatus and a trip to the middle of nowhere, I went back to Oregon for the May long weekend for another surfing extravaganza. This year's trip was going to be a record breaking 7 people, but they soon dropped like flies for reasons such as opportunities to surf in Hawai'i or being too sick to keep food down. So it ended up being just four of us.No problems and a minimal wait at the border looked like a good start as we started the sunny drive down. We left early to get to Oregon to get a campsite since they were first come first serve. I figured it should be okay since it was Friday, and it wasn't the American long weekend. A brief stop at McD's for breakfast and some frisbee in the parking lot and we continued on. Things were not looking good at Oswald West State Park as all the campsites were full already at 1:30pm. Fortunately I noticed my friend Luke who I hadn't seen in a couple years, and they had a few campsites, one of which they graciously offered us to share with two of his friends who were coming later.
Setting up camp was a little bit of a challenge as the tent we had rivalved the Unitent in size and there was not a flat spot large enough to set it up. So we eventually managed to fit the sextagonal tent on a small square tent pad. As the tent was not pulled taut on all sides, its water repellentness left something to be desired. With camp set up by 3:30, although it felt like 6 or 7, we headed into Cannon Beach and Seaside for a late lunch and to pick up groceries. Forgetting that in the states you have to specify how well you want your burger, Jordan and I enjoyed our medium cooked burgers when the ground beef is a little pink inside still - e.coli anyone?
It absolutely poured rain during the night and the sky looked like more was coming, which was disappointing, but we went out surfing anyways. The forecast said 8 foot swells increasing to 11 feet the next day, so we were pretty stoked about that - until we got to the beach. So they were storm swells. Messy, irregular, coming in from all directions, closing out - I think the only thing we were missing was onshore gusts. Not the greatest day for Steph to learn to surf, but this didn't faze her. She was out there trying to catch waves more hardcore than the rest of us. The three of us on long boards all had some good rides on the white water, despite the conditions - it is totally what you make of it, and we had fun.
After a few hours we decided to go warm up back at camp. Its interesting how its warmer without clothes on than in a wetsuit when you're out of the water. Jordan and Brett worked at getting a fire going in the rain and with wet materials, while I made grilled cheese for lunch. Brett decided to literally grill his second sandwich on the BBQ which provided some entertainment for Jordan and I, especially when the butter flared up and he had a fire grilled sandwich. The rain let up so we took a few walks on the beach - it was good times.
Evening consisted of playing games, sitting around the campfire and listening to Brett announce when he felt a couple of raindrops ("It's raining.") and make ridiculous statements. If only I could remember the top three - the best was made after several trip to the washroom, "My bladder is the size of this bottle...or my arm."
The rain came down even harder and longer the second night, which really showed that we needed another tarp over Brett's side of the tent. Morning found him with the BBQ on drying his jeans - he got a few odd looks from other campers as they walked by our site. The surf today looked the same as yesterday, and the weather even worse, so after some deliberation we decided to pack it up and head home a day early.
Photos to follow at a later date.
posted by Aaron @ 7:58 PM
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