For a Change

Roots & rocks

My last real vacation was in September of 2018, when I rode the Galloping Goose Trail. Since then I've done some daytrips, and of course had three months off work during the Covid shut-down, but couldn't really go anywhere. Near the end of May I got into a spat with a co-worker who was rude to me, and I was even getting snappish with difficult customers. Definitely time for a sanity break.

At first I meant to take off somewhere for a whole week, but then I decided to try some places closer to home that I've wanted to visit for years. Now that I have a car I can drive to starting points for hikes or bike rides; before if I'd had to bicycle to the start I'd be too tired out to do the hike/ride and still ride home.

So for my first adventure, today I hiked the trail from Chuckanut Drive to the Samish Overlook. The trail is about 4-5 miles round-trip, and it's pretty steep and rocky in places, enough to make me sweat and get my heart-rate up. I carried a new backpack filled with items from my 10 Essentials/Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit, including one and half liters of water. I didn't really need that much stuff, but wanted to try out the weight (about 10 lbs) and pack fit, which went fine. Luckily my legs, heart and lungs are still strong from bicycling, though my knees started to hurt a bit on the way down.

Along the way there are peek-a-boo views of the bay through second-growth Douglas fir forest, with a lush understory of hemlock, huckleberry, ferns and various other native plants. The area seemed pretty well cleared of English ivy and Himalayan blackberries, invasive non-natives that often take over. At the top of the climb there is a parking area and bathroom, and some launching areas for parasailers who jump off the bluff and glide over the Skagit Valley farm lands and Samish Bay. Today the wind was light and no sails appeared. Horses are allowed on some trails and there is also a shaded area to tie them for a rest. The trail continues up to Oyster Dome via some other loops and "short cuts" that would make about an 8-9 mile round-trip but I decided not to push that far. Next time.

About half-way down the trail on the return trip I heard a high-pitched squealing above me on the hill. Thinking it was a bald eagle I stopped, trying to spot a nest. As I stared up at the treetops, the squeal changed to a sort of chirpy chittering, which I've heard is cougar-talk - they don't meow, howl or roar as you'd expect from a cat. We left each other alone.

Big pictures:

The jumping-off point

Skagit Valley view

Low tide at Samish Bay