Fort To Sea Trail

Trail Views on Nov. 14, 2005

President and the Pacific: Yes, we know Thomas Jefferson never made it to the Pacific Ocean in 1805 – as staged at Sunset Beach on Nov. 14, 2005. But the trail dedication was as much theater as it was the official opening of the Fort-To-Sea Trail and Oregon’s observance of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Corps of Discovery enactors led hikers on the entire 6.5-mile trail during trail dedication events. Left to Right: Enactors include, Sgt. Prior (Matt Hensley), President Thomas Jefferson ( Bill Barker), Pvt. Peter Weiser (Michael O'Cassey) and Pvt. Richard Windsor (Phil Huff).

The hike begins : Leaving the site of Fort Clatsop, an honor guard portrayed by Dave Scott as Captain Lewis (left in buckskins) and Matt Hensley as Sgt. Prior (blue coat), head the procession that marched to the ocean for dedication ceremonies at Sunset Beach, more than six miles away.

On the trail: Preceded by his wife, Patty, Ken Wightman, completes the hike from the fort to the trailhead at Sunset Beach. Wightman, CEO of David Evans and Associates, convinced 13 companies to donate services to design and help build the trail. He’s a descendent of a members of the Corps of Discovery.

Presidential appearance : A Thomas Jefferson enactor from Colonial Williamsburg, VA, Bill Barker (left) and Chip Jenkins, Superintendent of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, are interviewed by Zetty McKay, of New Northwest Broadcasters. The President was a surprise, crowd-pleasing speaker at the trail dedication ceremony.

The Crowd : More than 400 joyful hikers and observers showed up for trail dedication ceremonies at the west trailhead at Sunset Beach State Park.

Dedication day: Two hundred hike the trail as a 50-year-old vision becomes reality

Warrenton, OR, Nov. 14, 2005 – Fifty years as a vision. Ten years of planning. Two years in design. Sixteen months in construction. Two-and-one-half hours to hike the entire trail. The Corps of Cooperation has completed its work.

Corps of Cooperation? That is the novel cooperative effort combining the resources of federal, state and local agencies with the creativity and generosity of 13 private companies that delivered the completed Fort-To-Sea Trail on time on Nov. 14. Add in too, the efforts of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial of Oregon (LCBO) to raise $3.1 million in public and private funds to build the legacy trail commemorating the spirit of the Corps of Discovery 200 years earlier.

And the finale all came down to a spectacular noon hour –– the sun breaking through the clouds to end the siege of rain and grey skies – as a joyful crowd gathered at Sunset Beach to witness the dedication of the Fort-To-Sea Trail.

Starting shortly after 9:00 a.m. from the Fort Clatsop Unit of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, a raincoat-clad crowd trekked the 6.5-mile trail through coastal hills, wetlands and dunes to Sunset Beach State Park. Mary Oberst, Oregon’s First Lady, accompanied by an honor guard of Corps of Discovery enactors, led the parade. The parade included merit-badge-seeking Boy Scouts, proud state and federal employees, private-sector managers whose companies donated time and money to the project, uniformed Oregon National Guard and Army Reserve specialists who helped build the trail and many, many more.

Official designation: At noon, more than 400 enthusiastic witnesses to history observed dedication events. (See news release) “ The (Bicentennial) commemoration will soon be part of our cultural history,” said Oberst, who read prepared remarks from her husband, Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski. “But this trail is a legacy project.”

Proud of its joint project with the State of Oregon, the National Park Service made a special announcement during the dedication. The trail will be designated as an official piece of the 4,0000-mile Lewis and Clark Trail, said Jon Jarvis, Regional Director for the NPS Pacific West Region,

The project idea was simple – build a path that recreated the experience Lewis and Clark encountered as they traveled between the temporary fort and the Pacific Ocean. But actual trail building didn’t start until July 2004, when an extraordinary alliance of Oregon companies and public agencies began making the Fort-To-Sea Trail a reality. (See fact sheet)

Aids local economy: The trail serves two primary goals: To preserve links to our pioneering past and support the Lower Columbia region’s growing tourism economy. As Oregon State Sen. Betsy Johnson observed: The trail will help turn the area into a two-day visit rather than a two-hour stopover.

"What may be more important than what we've done here is that it raises the question of what else we can do," Chip Jenkins, Superintendent of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park told David Sarasohn of The Oregonian.

See photos of dedications ceremonies at Fort Clatsop Marchers, the Hike to the Beach and dedication events at Sunset Beach Ceremony.

Dedication day: Two hundred hike the trail as a 50-year-old vision becomes reality

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