Cascade Head is a secluded beach break on the central Oregon coast, accessible via a short paddle down the Salmon River system, making it difficult to reach other than by kayak. This gives the area a remote feel despite being relatively close to several small towns.
I had traveled south from my home to shoot surf photos at the break with talented Oregon locals Dave White and Paul Kuthe.
When we reached the coast, I managed to paddle my own kayak over to the north side of the break, where I noticed the sweeping view to the south encompassed crumbling sea stacks and chaotically spilling waves beneath a bank of moody clouds drifting off the ocean. I wanted to layer all of these elements into the shot to try and capture the charged atmosphere that makes this area feel so special.
While Dave and Paul contended with sets of overhead breakers, my own challenge came when I decided I needed a little elevation to bring all the elements in line. What looked from below like an easy 100-foot scramble up the cliffs turned into a leg-shaking mini epic when I managed to get myself into a position of no retreat 80 feet up, surrounded by horribly crumbling shale and mud.
After 10 minutes of desperately searching for a way to down-climb—with the roar of the Pacific and my own elevated pulse pounding in my ears—I was forced to accept a risky six-foot, upward scrabble, clinging to nothing but tufts of grass anchored tenuously in the mud. As I lay in the meadow atop the cliff, breathing heavily and thanking my lucky stars, White caught this set and I managed to grab my camera and rattle off a few frames with my shaking hands.
Subscribe to Paddling Magazine and get 25 years of digital magazine archives including our legacy titles: Rapid, Adventure Kayak and Canoeroots.
