Appeal Tribune | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022 | 1B OUTDOORS Oregon Trails The treasures of Neahkahnie Mountain are more than just loot and lore The southern summit view of Neahkahnie Mountain looking toward Manzanita and Nehalem Bay. WILLIAM SULLIVAN/FOR THE REGISTER-GUARD William Sullivan For The Register-Guard Neahkahnie, a mountain jutting 1,600 feet above a beach near Tillamook, may or may not hide a cache of Spanish gold, but it certainly does have a different kind of treasure — a new section of the Oregon Coast Trail. h The native tribes of the Oregon Coast thought the mountain had a view fit for gods, and named it with the words "Ne" (“place of ”) and "Ekahni" (“supreme deity”). White settlers have shrouded the peak with legend as well. h The beach below this mountain might in fact be where Europeans first set foot in Oregon. Engraved blocks of Spanish beeswax have been turning up on the beach for centuries. Recent research has helped to identify which lost Spanish ship might really be here. So, where’s the treasure? See TRAILS, Page 2B Family fishing events are finally back Fishing Henry Miller Guest columnist After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is dipping its toes back into a former mainstay in angler education ef- forts known as Family Fishing Events. The first was held April 2 at Row River Nature Park in Cottage Grove. Instruction, loaner equipment and lakeside assistance, if needed, are pro- vided at each of what could more accu- rately be described as Fishing 101 begin- ner and refresher clinics. The Alton Baker Canoe Canal in Eugene is the site for the next Family Fishing Event on May 7. HENRY MILLER / SPECIAL TO THE STATESMAN JOURNAL “The interesting thing was we didn’t do a lot of publicity about the event, Facebook and a couple of other spots. The City of Cottage Grove posted it,” said Martyne Reesman, the organizer of the inaugural event. “It’s normally one of our smaller events, I was told.” Reesman is the Salmon Trout En- hancement Program biologist with the Springfield office of Fish and Wildlife. As with all of the events, the pond at Row River was stocked with hatchery trout to ensure a good chance to land something to take home. “When we pulled up there were al- ready a lot of people fishing because they’d stocked it the night before. But at one point we counted like 30 adults and about 15 kids that specifically came for our event,” Reesman said. “The public, of course, was super-excited to see us there. “There were a lot of kids that caught their first fish. But there also were a lot of kids who had been fishing like forever (but) even the most experienced 11- year-old was still receptive to instruc- tion.” And it wasn’t just the parents and kids who were fired-up, she added. It was old home week for the cadre of vol- unteers whose efforts had been moth- balled during the pandemic. “The really touching part was all of our volunteers, how excited they all were to be back helping kids and fam- ilies, just the fellow volunteers that they’ve been with for so many years," Reesman said, then laughed. “It was really like a reunion.” The department’s mission for the be- ginner/refresher fishing clinics is two- pronged. The first is the recruitment of See MILLER, Page 2B