Today Jess and I went with AG to hike Saddle Mountain in the Coast mountain range. It took us about 1.5 hours to summit and then a little over an hour to get back down. The 1600 foot elevation gain gave us a nice workout, but the trail was in great shape (though steep in places) so it was not too difficult to climb. The sky was clear, though some low lying clouds over the nearby Pacific ocean and Columbia river made viewing the coast from the summit impossible.

After we got down from the mountain we drove a little further west to Cannon Beach, OR, which is right on the Pacific coast. This is the first time Jess and I had been to the Oregon coast, and it was quite a bit different from what I expected (in that there was a real beach). There are quite a number of shops in the area, and many of them are the good kind that serve ice cream. We had a tasty lunch at the Cannon Beach Cookie Company. They do sell more than just cookies. After that we took a walk along the beach and saw Haystack Rock and lots of dogs.

Thanks to AG for the pictures.