The Friends of the Umqua Hiking Club set off on a foggy morning in Roseburg for a hike on the dunes. Arriving at the coast, members were overjoyed to find beautiful sunshine and no wind for the hike. Starting at the John Dellenback Trailhead, twelve hikers wound their way up the tallest dune, possibly hundreds of feet in elevation, then followed the dune’s ridges to the blue hiking poles that led to the deflation plain then on to the path carved out of the coastal shore pine forest band . Lois the coordinator had warned people to stay together because of the possibility of bears in the dark and overgrown forest but thankfully even though the group had strung out along the way no one reported a bear sighting or disappeared along the trail. One group of seven reached the beach and headed south, stopping for lunch at a long log suitable for sitting. Waves came up and almost wetted lunch munchers but all removed to higher ground in time. The second group lunched where they came out at the beach and decided to turn around and go back the way they came. Some of them (Diane) had brought plastic sliders to zip down the dunes sand-a-flying. The first group of six (one returned the way they came) decided to make a loop and luckily were able to make their way almost to the mouth of Tenmile Creek. The bog that turns to a lake in winter was still a bog and Ray who spearheaded the route never sank past his ankles. Arriving back at the cars the second group decided that the hike had been about seven and a half miles. It was a wonderful hike. Some days the Oregon Coast provides a balmy golden day and this was it! Pictures by Richard O'Neill and Nettie Apland