Welcome

 I leave very soon!

Next Saturday Diane will drop me off at the Columbia River South Jetty to start the walk south, down the flat beach past the Peter Iredale wreck and beyond to a night either on the beach somewhere north of Gearhart after 13 or 14 miles or at the Seaside International Hostel after about 18 miles.

I've been planning and conditioning since January or February.  My thanks to Anita Katz for the loan of a nice lightweight pack.  I've had 30 to 35 lbs. of water in it for the conditioning hikes but expect my actual trail weight to be more like 25 lbs. 

Thanks also to Paul Norman and Alex McNeily.  They will be at Paul's Netarts Bay vacation home at the right time to ferry me across Tillamook Bay, Netarts Bay, and the mouth of the Nestucca River in one of Paul's boats, saving me many boring, dangerous miles of road walking.  Paul is even hosting me for the night at his house when I come through Netarts.  It will be great to see those guys at Garibaldi when we meet for the first ferry.  Good thing we're all boaters!

I'm feeling pretty good about this whole thing but will keep you updated on whether these early concerns turn out to be of any real consequence:
-loose sand
-headwinds
-having to wait for low tide in some places
-wading streams and the mouth of Sand Lake (I'm not bringing trekking poles or a staff)
-the narrow tunnel at Heceta Head
-road walking (even with the help of Paul and Alex there will still be a lot of it).

As Murray says, "Stay Tuned!"