After leaving our spot at Cape Lookout we continued on 101 heading north to Warrenton where we are camping for a week to check out the area. Our first day was a trip north into Washington to tour Cape Disappointment. We stopped first in Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock.
First some quick facts. Cape Disappointment sits within the traditional territory of the Chinook tribe, known to be sophisticated traders and highly engaged in the maritime fur trade. Though the cape was first mapped by Spanish explorer Bruno de Hezeta in 1775, its naming is credited to English Captain John Meares, who approached the cape in 1788, but could not locate the river’s entrance. Meares, therefore, named the headland Cape Disappointment. In 1792, American Captain Robert Gray successfully crossed the river’s bar and named the river “Columbia” after his ship, the Columbia Rediviva. In 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived at Cape Disappointment after their 18-month, 3,700-mile journey from St. Louis, Missouri.
Cape Disappointment Lighthouse
We started by hiking out to Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. The Cape Disappointment Lighthouse was constructed in 1856 to warn mariners of the treacherous river bar where the Columbia meets the Pacific, known for its many shipwrecks as “the graveyard of the Pacific.” This is the oldest operating lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest. Plans for a second lighthouse, North Head Lighthouse, were drafted in 1889 because of poor visibility of the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse to southbound ships. In 1898, the North Head Lighthouse was completed. This is a short paved trail that also has great views of the coastline.
Next we hiked out to Dead Man’s Cove and North Head Lighthouse. The hike to these are a little steeper but worth it!! Dead Man’s Cove is named after dead people that washed ashore after a ship called Vandalia crashed offshore in 1853. It’s a peaceful little cove with a daunting past.
North Head Lighthouse
The 65 foot lighthouse sits on solid basalt more than 190 feet above sea level and is still operational today. North Head is one of the windiest locations on the West Coast. Winds of 120 miles per hour have been recorded at the site! That would drive me crazy. In fact, one dramatic story tells of a head keeper’s wife who was “unable to bear the howling of the winds” and flung herself off the cliff into nearby Beard’s Hollow.
This day was NOT Disappointing. haha
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