He's retracing his steps to spark interest in the visionary project

By BENNETT HALL

Corvallis Gazette-Times

Twenty years ago this summer, Al LePage walked 360 miles along Oregon's Pacific shore to explore the proposed route of the Oregon Coast Trail.

Now, with the trail still unfinished, he's retracing his steps, hoping to spark public interest in completing the visionary project and preserving what remains of the wild coastal landscapes that Oregonians hold so dear.

"We're not talking about walking down the Oregon coast on Highway 101," said LePage. "A road is not a trail."

The dream of creating a continuous oceanside walking route from the Columbia River to the California line dates back to 1971, when the Oregon Recreational Trails Advisory Council made the idea a matter of state policy.

And today, as LePage has demonstrated, it's possible to walk the length of Oregon's coastline. Sometimes, however, you have to cheat a little.

Much of the route traverses sandy beaches or crosses rocky headlands. Maintained footpaths provide detours around some of the more rugged stretches, and travelers must sometimes consult pocket tide tables to take advantage of low water.

In many populated portions of the coast, however, hikers still have to resort to walking on asphalt. LePage wants the state to finish the trail so users never have to pound the pavement.

"There are 50 missing links in the trail," he said. "It would be nice to connect all of those in the next several years."

LePage began his encore hike of the Oregon Coast Trail on Monday, 20 years to the day after he began his first coastal trek. He plans to complete the journey on Aug. 12, just as he did in 1988, walking an average of 12 miles a day. He'll camp along the way, mostly in state parks.

He also plans seven public presentations en route, with the first set for tonight in Cannon Beach and the last slated for Aug. 12 in Brookings. He'll share stories and songs about the trail with a focus on how it's changed in the two decades since his first walk.

In his first couple days on the trail, however, LePage has been struck by what hasn't changed. Speaking by cell phone Tuesday from the coast south of Astoria, he cited Sunset Beach State Recreation Site as an example.

Today it's the terminus of the Fort to Sea Trail, a 6.5-mile path from the restored Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark made their quarters during the rainy, hungry winter of 1805-06. But the historic beach was preserved only after citizens stood up to protect it from development as a golf course and resort hotel.

"It was very close," LePage said.

Completing the Oregon Coast Trail, LePage hopes, will help preserve some of the few remaining wild stretches of oceanfront in the state that aren't already protected. It's also part of an even bigger dream for LePage, a dedicated trails advocate who lives in Portland and heads the National Coast Trail Association.

"My vision is to have what I call the West Coast Trail - 1,800 miles from Canada to Mexico."

He's hiked that route, too, covering the 200-mile Washington leg in two weeks in 1992 and walking the 1,200-mile California portion over three and a half months in 1996.

LePage is promoting other trails as well, including the Corvallis to the Sea Trail, a proposed 60-mile route through the Coast Range that knits together long stretches of logging road with short trail segments.

Gary Chapman, a Corvallis man who's spent years working on that project, hiked the route with LePage in 2006, coming out at Ona Beach south of Newport. They proved the route was practical, but Chapman and other C2Sea proponents are still negotiating with public land managers and private landowners over details of the route.

"We're hoping to get some trail access a little farther north and come out at South Beach," Chapman said.

He aims to present a final plan to the Forest Service by year's end. After that, an environmental assessment would need to be done. With luck, Chapman said, he might get the green light to start building trail in another two and a half years.

LePage plans to link up with Chapman near the proposed Corvallis to the Sea Trail terminus July 24, then head into Newport for a public presentation that night. Never one to pass up a chance to promote a new trail, LePage can probably be counted on to talk up the C2Sea plan.

He sees it as yet another opportunity to strengthen the ties between Oregonians and the land they call home.

"The Corvallis to the Sea Trail allows people from the heart of the valley … to make that connection," LePage said. "You can have your own little Lewis and Clark journey from Corvallis to the sea."

Bennett Hall can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.