A6 • Friday, December 28, 2018 | Cannon Beach Gazette | CannonBeachGazette.com
Overcoming obstacles along the Pacifi c Coast Trail
Landslides, gaps
create hazards
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Dissuaded by snow and
dangerous river crossings,
some backpackers ditched
the popular Pacifi c Crest
Trail in early 2017 and
turned to the shorter, less
well-known Oregon Coast
Trail.
But though the trail was
declared “hikeable” in 1988,
hikers looking to walk it
from end to end struggled
to navigate gaps between
segments and faced unclear
signs, few legal camping
options and, in general, a
trail that wasn’t quite ready
for them.
Now the state is looking
for solutions.
This month, the Ore-
gon Parks and Recreation
Department held several
open house presentations
across the state to gather
feedback from stakeholders
about the trail. The outreach
followed guidance estab-
lished in a law passed by
state Legislature in 2017 that
requires the department to
work with other state agen-
cies, local governments,
nonprofi ts and organizations
to develop an action plan .
The effort builds on pre-
vious connection strategies,
like a 2011 plan that identi-
fi ed 31 gaps in the trail that
ranged from natural hazards
like creek and river cross-
ings to stretches where hik-
ers have to hop onto high-
way shoulders to reach the
next section.
Though the state has
worked over the years to
address the gaps, Robin Wil-
cox, a senior state parks and
trails planner, estimates over
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian/The Daily Astorian
A 10-man crew from the South Fork Forest Camp chainsawed,
mowed and raked its way over Tillamook Head, clearing the
trail for the state Parks and Recreation Department in 2016.
Katie Frankowicz/The Daily Astorian/The Daily Astorian
A section of the Oregon Coast Trail in Ecola State Park has been closed after a landslide washed
it into the ocean.
20 remain today. Some of
them are more recent obsta-
cles, like a landslide in Ecola
State Park that sent a portion
of the trail into the ocean.
There are other issues,
as well, tied to changes in
property ownership and
questions about how best to
maintain the trail’s different
sections.
These types of chal-
lenges are common with any
long trail system, said Chris
Havel, the associate director
for Oregon State Parks.
“That’s always the case
with long trails,” he said.
“You get the fi rst 70 percent,
80 percent fi gured out ... but
even portions of the Pacifi c
Crest Trail went unresolved
for decades.”
400 miles
The Oregon Coast Trail
runs for nearly 400 miles,
though the actual distance
can vary depending on how
a person chooses to hike.
The trail is not continuous,
interrupted by highways,
towns, property lines and the
ocean. In some places, hik-
ers must time their trek with
the tides as the trail drops
down from forested hills to
sandy beaches, around rock
outcroppings and back up
again.
In fact, most people expe-
rience the trail through day
hikes at state parks, perhaps
not even realizing they are
walking a piece of a much
larger system.
“You know, honestly, I
think one of the main chal-
lenges still is that people
don’t even know the Oregon
Coast Trail is a thing, that it
exists and why it could be
important for them,” Wilcox
said in a presentation to state
House lawmakers in May.
“That is an exciting
opportunity.”
On the North Coast, the
Oregon Coast Trail winds
through Fort Stevens, Ecola
and Oswald West state parks.
The state has identi-
fi ed fi ve trail gaps in Clat-
sop County — two in 2011
and three more recently.
They include Hug Point,
where a rocky outcropping
is impassable at high tide;
Camp Rilea, where the trail,
which runs along the beach,
is closed periodically due to
artillery training; and areas
where the trail turns onto
local roads and U.S. High-
way 101.
One of the newer gaps
emerged in 2016 after a
landslide snipped a portion
of the trail that runs between
Indian Beach and Ecola
Point in half.
Park staff had allowed
hikers to walk the trail up to
the landslide, but the entire
section is now closed at the
trailheads.
People were not honoring
the closure at the landslide,
said Ben Cox, park manager
for the Nehalem Bay Man-
agement Unit. One person
even tied a rope to a tree to
help people navigate around
the slide.
“It was to the point where
people were going out and
beyond the area closed and
then we were getting com-
plaints about the poor shape
of the trail,” Cox said.
The state’s plans to
address gaps in the Oregon
Coast Trail will dovetail
with work to reroute this sec-
tion in Ecola State Park out-
side of the slide zone. Cox
and his rangers examined
a possible reroute in 2017.
They had hoped to have a
new trail available soon, but
staff changes and other work
delayed the project.
Since 2017, he and park
staff have fi elded ques-
tions from people looking
to hike the entire Oregon
Coast Trail. They encoun-
ter people who are using old
information or tips gained
from other hikers about
where to camp — often in
places where camping is not
allowed.
But there are few options
for hikers, Cox said. There
are stretches between camp-
ing and lodging options that
hikers just can’t make in a
one-day trek.
As Wilcox and her team
continue to look at how to
improve the trail system,
Cox anticipates conversa-
tions about where camp-
ing could be allowed might
come up. For the section
of the trail he oversees, he
believes there could be an
opportunity to work with
cities and counties.
Yearslong work
The state expects the work
of identifying gaps along the
Oregon Coast Trail, improv-
ing safety and connectivity,
adding signs and looking at
the trail as a whole will take
several years.
Elsewhere, some cities
are already in the middle
of addressing some of the
problems.
Manzanita landed a grant
several years ago to build
a trail connecting nearby
Neahkahnie Mountain with
the city, closing a gap iden-
tifi ed in the 2011 plan. No
access exists and hikers are
forced to walk along the
shoulder of Highway 101 to
stay on the route.
In September, city lead-
ers requested an extension
of the state grant funding
the work after unexpected
changes — including a land
transfer — delayed con-
struction of the trail.
Cannon Beach, Seaside wrestle with the topic of food carts
By BRENNA VISSER
Cannon Beach Gazette
Mike Selberg wants to be
able to serve cocktails with
the spirits he creates at the
Cannon Beach Distillery.
In order to do so, Sel-
berg would have to have a
kitchen that satisfi es Oregon
Liquor Control Commission
standards — a costly reno-
vation. Instead, he would
like to bring in a food truck
for his parking lot, which
would satisfy the kitchen
requirement and offer a new
food option in town.
But there is no way to
do that legally in Cannon
Beach, which generally pro-
hibits food trucks outside of
the weekly farmer’s market.
For years, cities like
Astoria and Portland have
courted the food truck move-
ment. But smaller commu-
nities like Cannon Beach
and Seaside are beginning
to question whether food
trucks should be part of
their culinary scenes.
A large sector of the local
restaurant industry objects
to food trucks, seeing them
as an unfair form of com-
petition and out of step
with community charac-
ter. Many business owners
in these tourism-dependent
towns say they are already
struggling to make enough
money in the busy season to
carry them through the year.
But others see food
trucks as a way to usher in
more diverse food options
and opportunities for a
younger generation of busi-
ness owners, and believe
cities should get ahead on
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian/The Daily Astorian
Vendors at a food truck await customers at the Cannon Beach
Farmer’s Market in 2017.
writing codes that adapt to a
growing trend in a way that
will limit their community
impact.
Spread thin
In November, more than
25 Cannon Beach busi-
nesses that offer food met
to give major feedback
on the subject, mostly in
opposition.
The potential for food
trucks to take up parking
spaces that are already at a
premium was a major issue.
Many also claimed it wasn’t
fair to allow new businesses
that wouldn’t have to pay
the same kind of rents and
property taxes as brick-
and-mortar businesses — a
problem especially dramatic
along the downtown core,
where property values are
high.
“I’ve been closed for
over a month and a half
because of staffi ng short-
ages ... losing thousands of
dollars, and then I’m hear-
ing this?” said John Sowa,
of Sweet Basil’s Cafe. “It
raises the hair on the back of
my neck.”
Cannon Beach and Sea-
side share similar fears that
the small towns have restau-
rant markets that are already
spread too thin, with 44 food
establishments in Cannon
Beach and 75 in Seaside.
“I would suggest to this
body that the restaurant
pool in the city is stretched
pretty far,” Doug Wiese, of
Dooger’s Seafood, said at a
July work session. “Every
person that stops in there
and eats is one more meal
that does not get taken sit-
ting down in one of our
restaurants.”
The relationship between
food trucks and brick-and-
mortar restaurants doesn’t
have be adversarial, said
David Reid, the executive
director of the Astoria-War-
renton Area Chamber of
Commerce.
“I think the food trucks
came in and fi lled a void
that existed: the quick lunch
meal,” Reid said. “Initially,
it didn’t feel like it was tak-
ing from competitors —
it was fi lling an additional
need.”
Seaside City Councilor
Seth Morrisey feels this pat-
tern could be the case in Sea-
side, too. Morrisey plans to
introduce a new ordinance
that would allow food carts
to operate only on private
property and require own-
ers to connect to city water,
power and sanitary systems,
as well as require permanent
restrooms.
Requiring food cart pods
to provide infrastructure is a
way to make sure the own-
ers are invested in the com-
munity, in contrast to tem-
porary carts looking to just
profi t during the summer, he
said.
Morrisey recognizes the
concerns about competition,
but sees food cart pods ben-
efi ting residents, who often
can’t fi nd a spot at a restau-
rant in the summer anyway.
Because most are owner-op-
erated, he feels food carts
wouldn’t exacerbate the
region’s employee shortage.
“Competition is a good
thing. It provides better,
diverse options,” Morrisey
said. “I don’t see the pie as
limited.”
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Morrisey’s plan has been
meet with mixed reviews by
the City Council, but for the
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Cannon Beach City Coun-
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food trucks, but appeared
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ing food trucks for regular
operation.
“I don’t know that it’s
worth it since only a small
number want to see it hap-
pen,” City Councilor George
Vetter said.
But for Selberg, the food
truck discussion should
center more around Can-
non Beach’s future business
owners.
“No one wants to take
away business from any-
one else. But this makes
opening a business more
accessible for young peo-
ple. Maybe it will encourage
younger families to come
and stay in Cannon Beach,”
Selberg said. “There is a
way to make this all work.
I encourage everyone to be
open-minded.”
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most part, he feels the com-
munity is supportive. The
pushback is more intense
among the older genera-
tion of restaurant owners,
who started their businesses
within a different economic
and cultural context.
“Investments are huge for
brick and mortar,” Morrisey
said. “Food carts have low
barrier to entry. It gives local
people a chance to try an
offering and see if it’s right,”
he said. “The younger gen-
eration is looking to do our
own thing.”
In Cannon Beach, there
is some consensus that food
carts could be allowed for
special events or circum-
stances with the right per-
mits and standards. For
many business owners,
though, the core of the issue
comes down to image.
“We’re not Portland,”
said Shelley Crane, owner of
The Oil & Vinegar Bar. “We
never want to be Portland.”
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