Going Coastal: An Open Letter to my Readers

Dear Readers,

In 1911, a very wise man named Oswald West was elected Governor of Oregon on a platform that promised to reclaim all of the state’s beaches as public land. The state legislature—who weren’t as wise—strongly favored privatization of the beaches, but Oswald argued that public ownership was required for transportation purposes, and in 1913, the entire length of the ocean shore, from Washington to California was declared a state highway. Decades later, in 1966, some unwise Republicans with ties to coastal developers tried to challenge the highway bill and reopen the land for private use. Luckily, another very wise man was Governor at the time, and in 1967, Tom McCall worked diligently to pass the Oregon Beach Bill, which granted the public “free and uninterrupted use of the beaches.” Over the course of the next 50 years, thanks largely to the Oregon Recreation Trails Advisory Council, a trail was developed allowing hikers to travel almost continuously from Washington to California. The route is known as the Oregon Coast Trail and this summer my girlfriend Katelin and I will attempt to hike the entirety of it, some 400 miles. I also intend to write a book about it afterward, much like The Road and the River, though funnier, cleverer, and more interesting and insightful. “Impossible!” you say. Well, okay, it will at least be much shorter, that I can guarantee.

But my intention of this letter is not to boast about my summer adventure plans, but rather to discuss my blog. Over the past two years, I have taken great pride in posting something new each and every week and I don’t intend to take a break simply because I’ll be on an extended trip. So, what I’ve done is written a story in seven parts, which I will post over the course of the next seven weeks. Read them each week and wait in anticipation for the next, or wait until the end and binge read them all at once—your choice. I will try my best to post them on the Friday of each week, though due to certain circumstances—including my inability to adapt to modern technology—I may not be able to make this happen. But I’ll try my best.

I hope you all have a wonderful and adventurous summer. And, as always, thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Jon

P.S. For those of you interested in photographs of our hike, feel free to visit my amazing girlfriend’s Instagram…Page? Account? Doohickey? Whatever you kids call it: @kktella

…if you’re going to be a bum

It is best to be done

Walking in the warm summer sun…