On a trip to the Oregon Coast, I took a detour to visit Soapstone Lake.

It is a relatively easy hike – – – three miles roundtrip with 475 feet of elevation gain.

The area lies on the west side of the Coastal Mountains and was logged maybe a century ago. Several of the cedar and Douglas fir stumps were over ten feet in diameter.

Similar to two years ago in May there were literally hundreds of newts on the trail. They are well camouflaged which forced me to watch every single step. Amphibians, they spend their adult life on land, returning to the lake to breed.

For once I didn’t spot fresh Roosevelt elk tracks or see any blacktail deer.

The Lake was low but very clear. It remains a very pretty setting.