The Colombia Bar

I did a day trip down to the mouth of the Colombia River as it absolutely crashes into the Pacific. The Washington side is Cape Disappointment State Park; in Oregon, Fort Stevens State Park. I largely stuck to the Washington side.

Fujifilm X-T5, 35mm f2

Cape Disappointment is a rocky promontory that housed Fort Canby until the end of WW2. There’s an active lighthouse maintained by the USCG.

Fujifilm X-T5, 35mm f2

The state park itself is largely just the ruin of Fort Canby and it’s artillery platforms. There’s also a visitor center and lots of hiking trails. I brought my X-T5 and the 35mm f2 as well as my Toyo 45CF and a Nikkor 135mm f5.6. I only took two sheets on the 4x5…basically this photo below.

Fujifilm X-T5, 35mm f2

Looking back on it I wish I had gotten this one on 4x5 instead. “Buried concrete structure in the old growth” is interesting to me. Next time!

Fujifilm X-T5, 35mm f2

The visitor center - pictured in the third photo - is well above the waterline on a cliff. You can hear the water hit the rocks and literally feel the impact. The eastward current of the Pacific meets the westward current of the Colombia so there are giant standing waves that constantly pummel the coast. And I was there on a calm day.

Fujifilm X-T5, 35mm f2

Apparently the bar is extremely dangerous for boats…there have been many thousand (!) shipwrecks in the last couple hundred years in the waters nearby. I like the view as a landlubber and it’s worth the drive to check it out.

Fujifilm X-T5, 35mm f2