Having just moved to Portland, OR so I can be closer to the beaches I like going to, I am quickly learning about an amazing coastal resource called the Oregon Coast Trail which runs from the mouth of the Columbia River in the north to the California border south of Brookings, OR for ~400 miles (depends on the source).

As an unabashed beach person who has been living in the Seattle area for the last 9+ years and taking the majority of my west coast beach vacations in Oregon, one would think this gem would have hit my radar several years ago, but maybe that's what happens when you are more focused on raising kids.  At least now I am aware of it now and plan to take full advantage of it going forward, perhaps even hiking the entire trail at some point.

I qualify that last statement as someone who grew up in Boston and has always harbored aspirations of doing big, crazy things like running the Boston Marathon (nope) or hiking the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, have hiked parts in New England, Virginia and North Carolina but maybe 1/10th of it's 2000+ miles over numerous hikes.  But as I learn about the Oregon Coast Trail, this has the potential to be that one big, crazy thing I might actually tackle.  While I am not suggesting it would be easy, averaging 10 miles / day this should take no longer than ~40 days which seems doable.  

Clearly I have more to learn and need to test drive some hikes on the trail to get familiar with it, but at least now I have something new to stir my imagination.  And having recently come across the poem Youth by Samuel Ullman, I have additional motivation to consider hiking the entire trail sometime in the next few years.  Stay tuned.