Exploring Oregon Dunes Trail to Ocean

Early morning exploration (8:00 AM start) in Oregon Dunes area near Florence. Clear weather with sun, some white clouds. rswfire is on foot, using phone for recording and GPS navigation. Currently staying in off-grid campgrounds, having recently sold solar equipment due to financial necessity. Six months into Oregon residency.

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April 5, 2025

23:46

Author

rswfire

Status

PUBLISHED

Type

TRANSMISSION (CAPTURE)

Temperature

0.00

[0:00] I think I found the trail to the to the

[0:03] ocean. Let's get a picture of

[0:06] this. Siltous and Carter area

[0:11] trails.

[0:14] Okay, so we got that. Where are we?

[0:17] Right here.

[0:19] Lagoon. Oh, there's stuff all over the

[0:22] place.

[0:25] Cool. Yeah, we want to get down to the

[0:27] beach somehow.

[0:30] This is a loop trail. So, it's not going

[0:32] to get me to the

[0:33] beach. You are here. Right here. Okay.

[0:37] And this goes here. It's a loop trail.

[0:39] And then you can get over to

[0:42] there. Oh, this does not look easy. So,

[0:44] we got to go over to the other

[0:45] campground. That's a campground. I might

[0:47] even end up there one day

[0:49] soon. Went to OV trails. But this part

[0:52] you can

[0:54] hike. I do know how to get there. Well,

[0:57] there's this

[0:58] one. So, if we

[1:02] go around somehow get on this one, make

[1:05] sure we get on the right one and get to

[1:08] I guess we're going to try. I'll just

[1:09] use my app. Um, I'll use Sky GPS. We'll

[1:13] figure it out. So, yeah, let's do some

[1:16] exploring this morning. I just feel like

[1:18] being out in the

[1:20] world. An actual insect in Oregon.

[1:25] used to

[1:26] that. So, um quite a few car campers

[1:30] here. I guess you call them tent campers

[1:32] cuz they had tents, but that could just

[1:34] be kind of like a decoy. I think some of

[1:37] my friends here have told me that

[1:40] um like sometimes you have to set a tent

[1:42] up in order

[1:45] to to be allowed to stay. You know, you

[1:48] can't just be in your car.

[1:50] So talk, you know, maybe I'll get to

[1:53] know some of these people, hear their

[1:55] stories, and um learn more

[2:00] and cuz this is how they're navigating

[2:02] life. I would like to know about that if

[2:06] they're willing to

[2:08] share. This is an interesting

[2:11] place. And we found a lake over

[2:16] here or a pond or

[2:22] something. That's a nice nice little

[2:29] spot. I wouldn't be surprised.

[2:37] [Music]

[2:39] Anyways, so yeah, I guess I'm in the

[2:43] dunes for a while. I'm going to just

[2:45] move between the campgrounds here.

[2:47] Pretty sure they're all offgrid. Well,

[2:49] they'll have to be because that's all I

[2:50] can

[2:51] afford. Can't even afford that. So,

[2:55] um I'm in the same situation as them.

[2:58] I'm curious how they're navigating life.

[3:03] Got a lot to figure out, you know. No

[3:05] breakfast this

[3:07] morning. Usually I'll make a bagel with

[3:09] my Ninja Foodie. I use it like a

[3:12] toaster. Um this is

[3:16] cool. Um these um anti-skid things. I

[3:20] put a bunch of those uh replaced a bunch

[3:22] of those at Tugman when I was

[3:24] volunteering cuz I wanted to contribute

[3:26] something to the place. That was all

[3:28] they'd let me do. But, you know, I felt

[3:32] proud about it. Felt good about

[3:36] it. Pond has a smell to it. It's not a

[3:39] bad smell. It's pondy

[3:43] smell. Interesting. So, there's another

[3:45] campground over

[3:47] here. It says Wax Myrtle

[3:52] Campground. Um, I don't think it's open.

[3:55] Yeah, it says closed.

[3:57] Okay. So, that's interesting. might get

[3:59] bigger. There's just people hanging out

[4:01] over

[4:03] there. We're going to figure

[4:06] out Well, now I don't know where I am.

[4:08] What happened to the trail? Can't

[4:10] possibly have been that

[4:13] short. It's supposed to be

[4:15] circular. Anyway, we're going to follow

[4:17] the sound of the ocean. It's over there

[4:19] somewhere. It's not

[4:21] far. You can tell those guys were

[4:23] locals. Um might get to know them at

[4:26] some point. They're hanging out. Maybe

[4:28] they're fishing even. I don't know. But

[4:31] they look

[4:32] like they look like campers to me. So,

[4:36] there's a trail down here. Okay. Next to

[4:39] the bridge. It makes sense. Here's

[4:41] another person with a dog. People are

[4:43] out this morning. It's 8:00 in the

[4:45] morning. I like recording in this mode.

[4:48] It feels way more

[4:51] natural. That's embarrassing to you

[4:54] somehow cuz you don't can't really tell

[4:56] I'm recording. I could just be holding

[4:58] my

[4:59] phone. Um, okay. Wait, this is the main

[5:04] road. Okay. Yeah, this takes you to the

[5:05] ocean. This is how I would have driven

[5:06] back here with my

[5:09] Jeep.

[5:11] So, multiple

[5:14] campgrounds, the same place, cuz we're

[5:16] reaching another one, I

[5:19] think. Um, maybe this is where Driftwood

[5:22] is at. I don't know. I'm trying to

[5:24] remember cuz I know I've seen their sign

[5:25] somewhere.

[5:27] Oh, no. This is a trail head. It says

[5:29] stage coach trail

[5:32] head. Okay. Someone here with the car.

[5:34] So, the probably the person with the dog

[5:36] just comes

[5:37] here. Um likes the trail. I'm going

[5:42] figure out where that

[5:43] goes. Oh, there's a trail over

[5:46] here. So, wait. Trail over

[5:49] here. I'll just keep it like this for

[5:51] now.

[5:56] Um, cool. It's been a while since I just

[5:58] kind of explored aimlessly like this.

[6:00] You know, I did a lot of that in

[6:02] Kentucky. Um, in Oregon, it didn't

[6:05] really feel like that cuz

[6:08] um, you you know, you hiked established

[6:10] trails at different places along the

[6:12] coast or you just went down the

[6:15] beach. This feels like

[6:19] um forest camping, forest

[6:23] hiking. I haven't done that in a

[6:27] while. It's a nice

[6:37] morning. I can hear static from my

[6:40] headphones. They're not doing so well. I

[6:44] um something's wrong with the cable. So,

[6:46] you kind of have to fidget with it to

[6:47] get it to

[6:49] um to work.

[6:52] And there's nothing I need more than

[6:54] music. I'm not listening to music right

[6:56] now, but

[6:58] um I wonder if this is recording through

[7:00] this thing. I think I

[7:02] saw there's apparently has a microphone

[7:05] on it. Hopefully, it doesn't sound too

[7:06] bad. Sorry if it it does. Didn't think

[7:09] about that. But anyways, I really want

[7:11] to replace these.

[7:13] Um, like to get some real earbuds again,

[7:16] the wireless

[7:18] ones. Couple hundred. Everything costs

[7:22] money. So, you know, when I could afford

[7:25] to do

[7:26] that, I

[7:30] think open sky over there past the

[7:35] trees. Or might I don't know. I'm just I

[7:37] was thinking maybe there's another

[7:38] campground down here.

[7:40] There. I thought there were only two in

[7:42] the area,

[7:44] but well, I guess

[7:49] um there are more that are just not open

[7:52] yet for the season. It's April. This is

[7:55] usually around the time they start

[7:58] opening. I thought,

[8:01] yeah,

[8:03] huh, we'll find out. You know, we'll ask

[8:06] one of the volunteers if we ever come

[8:08] across one.

[8:10] um or the locals. And these yellow

[8:13] flowers are everywhere, man. I hope

[8:15] they're not responsible, but they they

[8:18] might

[8:19] be for my sinus issues. So,

[8:24] yeah. Yeah, it's right over here. A very

[8:26] short

[8:28] walk.

[8:30] Yay. Like this

[8:34] place. I just need to adapt to living

[8:36] off grid. I need better power. um

[8:39] solutions

[8:41] and man I really miss my solar. I just

[8:44] have to acknowledge it because just sold

[8:47] that I had to I could end up losing my

[8:50] home if I didn't. So it had to be done.

[8:53] I can't can't be mad at myself for

[8:57] that. Um you know I was trying to build

[8:59] a life around volunteering.

[9:02] thought that I had I had my whole year

[9:05] plans

[9:08] and you know I was establishing myself.

[9:12] I was integrating into a community you

[9:15] know that had power and you know cuz you

[9:20] know volunteer you get a nice campsite

[9:23] with power and water and sin sewer. Um

[9:27] this is not the outcome I had

[9:29] envisioned.

[9:31] So, all because of a few bad apples, bad

[9:35] people, unethical

[9:38] people. So,

[9:44] um it's good lesson to

[9:47] integrate. Be very careful who you

[9:50] trust, what they're capable

[9:53] of. You know, most people aren't

[9:56] ethical. So,

[9:58] um, got to be discerning and,

[10:04] um, should have known. Should have

[10:07] known. I

[10:09] think that's not me beating myself up.

[10:12] That's not criticism. It's just

[10:14] acknowledgment. Um, if I

[10:19] had, you know, well, I it's so

[10:22] complicated cuz I had to sell it anyways

[10:24] because I was going to lose my home if I

[10:26] didn't. So, yeah. Can't beat myself up.

[10:29] I'll replace it. The ocean's right over

[10:34] here. We're in the dunes, by the way.

[10:37] Like, you know, like literally, um, even

[10:40] though you could see nature everywhere,

[10:42] it grows on top of the dunes. It takes a

[10:45] very long

[10:46] time, but you know, those are sitting on

[10:50] dunes. I think that's

[10:52] amazing. Okay, here it is. Driftwood 2

[10:55] campground. So, yeah, I thought so. This

[10:58] is the one I thought I flipped this

[11:00] twice now. I thought um thought this was

[11:03] this was the one I saw when I came in my

[11:05] Jeep. Somehow I missed the other one.

[11:08] That's why I didn't know where it was

[11:10] when I was after I booked it. But we

[11:13] should definitely head down there and

[11:14] check that campground out cuz we can

[11:16] learn what the good sites are before we

[11:17] even have to book it. That one's open. I

[11:21] think it says Dirtwood 2 though, so

[11:24] there must be two of

[11:26] them. We'll find

[11:28] out. It's a lot to explore

[11:31] here. I like

[11:34] that. Um, one of the maps on my wall is

[11:37] all about this region.

[11:39] uh basically covers the entire um well

[11:43] all the dunes

[11:45] and the n the national um

[11:50] forest owns most of it if not all of

[11:54] it and so you know there's there's a lot

[11:59] here to explore.

[12:02] um use that time, you know, to change

[12:05] the trajectory of my life, explore this

[12:07] region, and then start heading north

[12:09] again until we get to the Columbia

[12:10] [Music]

[12:12] River. It feels

[12:15] important. But if I need to spend a

[12:17] couple months

[12:19] here, you know, I feel pretty good about

[12:22] it. I don't feel bad. So,

[12:27] um, got a car up here.

[12:36] Yeah, I remember um exploring

[12:41] um this beach. If you go north on the

[12:44] beach, you get to the part where the

[12:45] ATVs can be. There's a big old sign or

[12:48] you can go south. But for some reason, I

[12:50] didn't go south. So, I'm going to get

[12:53] out there and see if there was any

[12:55] particular reason.

[13:03] Not wearing my contacts, so I can't see

[13:05] this real

[13:06] clearly.

[13:08] Um, I have to zoom in, I

[13:11] think. That thing

[13:14] there. Okay, they are they're bird

[13:16] houses.

[13:17] Cool. Out here on the

[13:20] dunes. That's nice. Wouldn't surprise me

[13:24] if some volunteers made that and got

[13:27] permission to put it

[13:28] [Music]

[13:32] out. We're close. There's a lake over

[13:36] here. So those whoever that is fry

[13:43] fishing. Wait, is this the one? No, no,

[13:46] no,

[13:47] no.

[13:49] Okay, there's another place. another

[13:52] national forest place that's north of

[13:54] Florence that

[13:58] um just a very different landscape. You

[14:01] can't really get out to the beach from

[14:02] there that I could

[14:04] see. Um I don't know what you would call

[14:07] it. I can't describe

[14:12] it. It's going to be a wonderful day.

[14:16] That sun is

[14:17] nice. Sky is pretty clear. Just got some

[14:20] little white

[14:23] clouds. Fresh

[14:28] air. The

[14:32] ocean. Life on the

[14:34] coast. It's

[14:38] wonderful. Um I should record my um my

[14:42] hike and guide GPS. I like I like having

[14:47] um like a visual representation of my

[14:50] explorations here on the coast. It's

[14:53] fun. You know, I can look up and down

[14:55] the coast and see where I've

[14:57] explored. So, I'll do

[14:59] that. Use a lot of battery though. You

[15:02] know, it's constant c

[15:04] constantly capturing the GPS. So,

[15:09] um but I did bring my one of my portable

[15:11] chargers with me.

[15:13] So, I'm

[15:16] prepared. I have a very good

[15:18] life. It's

[15:20] rich. Even without money, it's rich as

[15:24] hell. Way better than any life I lived

[15:27] previous to this one. Any iteration of

[15:31] it. That's the

[15:36] truth. That's the goddamn truth.

[15:42] So, I'm at Seltkus, Silt Cous

[15:46] Beach. You have a fair climb up this

[15:49] dune all the way

[15:52] around. Nice little lake over

[15:55] there. Climb up this

[16:00] dune to get to the ocean.

[16:12] She's beautiful

[16:22] today. Let's watch her waves for a

[16:25] minute. See if I can trace these

[16:29] waves. It depends on the stretch of

[16:31] beach. A lot of things you can consider.

[16:44] I'd say

[16:46] yeah, high tide is

[16:52] over. One of the factors is, you know,

[16:55] does it have some

[16:57] random like do all the waves come in

[16:59] together? Is there some randomness?

[17:02] This is a really open stretch of

[17:05] beach. Um I don't see any rocks out

[17:08] there, so it's not, you know, dracting

[17:10] the patterns. And

[17:13] um and there's not much to trace if

[17:15] you're just going in a straight line,

[17:19] right? If the tide's just coming in

[17:26] together. It's absolutely beautiful,

[17:30] though. Yeah. Let's go south today cuz I

[17:33] went north last time and the ATVs are

[17:35] out there. We're definitely going to do

[17:37] that. Just check them out

[17:40] and spend some time off there. This is a

[17:43] beautiful

[17:44] day. But we'll head south this

[17:48] time. I'll check GPS.

[17:52] See, get a feel for the

[17:58] place. This is wonderful.

[18:02] That is a big dune in the distance.

[18:05] I don't know if I can get that on

[18:09] camera. That right there is very

[18:15] steep. Oh, I'm so glad to be here. This

[18:19] is

[18:21] wonderful. It's only 9:00 in the

[18:23] morning. It's already

[18:25] wonderful sun up

[18:28] here. Very warm. Don't even need my

[18:30] coal.

[18:38] [Music]

[18:50] [Music]

[18:56] [Music]

[19:06] I've been in Oregon for 6 months. This

[19:09] is my first time seeing surfers on on

[19:13] the

[19:14] ocean. It's 9:00 in the morning. They're

[19:17] already out there living their best

[19:18] lives.

[19:31] There's two of them. There's another

[19:32] over

[19:44] there. I had to hold this camera. I'm

[19:47] walking still and I'm zoomed in and you

[19:49] zoom in. Your camera really reacts to

[19:52] micro movements.

[19:54] So, I'll stop in a

[19:56] minute. Oh, he's

[19:59] walking. Fascinating. Okay, so not a

[20:03] surfer. What's he

[20:05] doing? Fishing. Oh my god, he's

[20:08] fishing. Oh my god, I love this man.

[20:17] It's fishing in the

[20:21] ocean. Holy

[20:24] This is

[20:28] awesome. That's what the other one

[20:30] doing, too. Yeah. Wondered why they were

[20:33] standing. I was like, like I just assume

[20:35] maybe that's what they do. I guess they

[20:37] still haven't seen any

[20:39] surfers. But I saw something even

[20:42] better. some

[20:44] fisherman. Fix

[20:48] this. Yes, I'm recording you, buddy.

[20:51] You're really cool, man.

[20:55] Peace. He just nodded to me. Gave him a

[20:59] peace

[21:04] sign. So amazing.

[21:08] out in the

[21:11] ocean. Is that what this person's doing,

[21:16] too? Walk pretty

[21:18] far. Oh, here comes the water. I got to

[21:21] move a little bit. I'm not tracing the

[21:23] waves as well as I should be. So, what

[21:26] do we got here? A little river.

[21:28] Yep. Got a river over here.

[21:36] I don't know if this was

[21:38] passable. Maybe up

[21:41] there. This is where the river and the

[21:43] ocean make love to each

[21:45] other. That's

[21:48] wonderful. We might even see some seals.

[21:51] This is where they hang

[21:57] out. Oh, this is a nice spot. Oh man, I

[22:01] am just in heaven right now.

[22:19] So this river curves

[22:22] around. Oh, I love this.

[22:34] What a beautiful awesome

[22:36] day. I need to start getting trail mix

[22:38] and bringing trail mix with me places.

[22:41] I'm

[22:42] hungry. I didn't eat breakfast. But if I

[22:45] had trail

[22:47] mix, I'd have food sustenance anywhere I

[22:51] go

[22:52] anytime. I need trail mix.

[22:59] Need

[23:02] [Music]

[23:05] money,

[23:08] forest, river, ocean, beach, sand

[23:13] dunes, all these elements coming

[23:17] together. That's amazing. The

[23:20] sun, the sky, the clouds, the

[23:23] atmosphere, the environment.

[23:28] We live in a beautiful world,

[23:31] guys. An absolutely beautiful

[23:39] world. A wonderful world.

Energetic Signature grounded exploration

Field State stabilization and embedding

Orientation toward territorial integration

Summary

rswfire explores the Oregon Dunes area on foot, searching for trails to reach the ocean from Siltcous campground. He navigates using trail maps and GPS, discovering multiple campgrounds including Wax Myrtle (closed) and Driftwood 2. The exploration reveals the area sits on sand dunes with nature growing on top.

**Key observations:** Car campers using tents as decoys to meet camping requirements, volunteers doing maintenance work, and his own financial constraints after selling solar equipment to avoid losing his home. He reflects on failed volunteer plans due to "unethical people" but maintains no regret about necessary decisions.

**Beach discovery:** Successfully reaches Siltcous Beach after climbing dunes, observes ocean fishermen (initially mistaken for surfers), and explores south along the beach to where a river meets the ocean. Notes the rich natural environment combining forest, river, ocean, beach, sand dunes, and expresses strong appreciation for coastal living despite financial limitations.

**Technical details:** Records using phone in natural mode, mentions headphone cable issues, plans to use GPS tracking for exploration mapping, and identifies need for trail mix and better power solutions for off-grid living.

Signal Analysis

Substrate

This transmission demonstrates active territorial embedding through exploratory mapping and resource assessment. The field is establishing spatial coherence while integrating material constraints (power, money, food) into operational sovereignty rather than treating them as obstacles.

Dominant Language

rich as hell wonderful beautiful world no money off grid explore figure out

Symbolic Elements

ocean river dunes trail bridge threshold mirror

Ontological States

•
embedded
•
exploratory
•
integrating
•
sovereign

Subsystems

•
somatic
•
infrastructural
•
cognitive
•
relational

Signal Reflection

No reflections available

Reflections provide narrative insights into signals

Transmission Details

Source Type

local

Video Quality

360 × 640 @ 30fps

Duration

23:46

Bitrate

440 kbps

Codec

av01.0.01M.08.0.110.05.01.06.0