Goose Rock and Deception Pass State Park

2015 has been a great year for me, although I have not done as much hiking as I usually do. Highlights of the year include visiting Spain in April with my sister, driving to Alaska with my brother, and backpacking to Shi Shi Beach with my cousin. I've had some amazing adventures this year and I have been beyond blessed to have these adventures with family!

Lately my thoughts have wandered to hikes I want to do in 2016. I have come up with a new goal for myself to help motivate me to get back in to shape. I want to hike at least 52,000 feet in elevation this next year. I figure that will be around 1,000 feet each week. It may not sound like much but since I live on an island where the highest point is only 484 feet, it may be a bit of a challenge.

One of the first things I needed to do was to discover a way to find out the elevation of my hikes. I downloaded two different apps onto my phone that should help me with this. One is called Accurate Altimeter. It is free but there is a $1.49 charge if you want to calibrate the pressure sensor. I have not yet made that upgrade but probably will. The other app is called Elevation Profile. It has some interesting features that I not quite figured out completely. I think these two apps have the potential to give me the information I want, once I've figured out how to use them.

After downloading the two apps I was eager to get out the door to try them out. I chose to go to Deception Pass State Park and hike to Goose Rock, the highest point on Whidbey Island at 484 feet. I parked at Cranberry Lake and took the 1.5 mile route up to Goose Rock.

Deception Pass Bridge ahead

The trail was in pretty good shape with only one blow down that I had to crawl under. There were a few places where water was running down the trail but I managed to keep my boots dry.

One blow down to duck under

It was a cloudy day but not raining. I started hiking around 9:30am and didn't encounter any other hikers until I got to Deception Pass Bridge.

Almost to the Bridge. North Beach down below.

I took advantage of the restrooms there at the bridge and then continued under the bridge and up Summit Trail to Goose Rock, following three other hikers I'd encountered in the parking lot. I had pulled out my hiking poles at the Bridge and they came in handy as the trail climbed steeply. I carefully negotiated my way across the slippery wet rocks at the top to enjoy the amazing views.


The west view of the Strait of Juan De Fuca

Then it was time to head back down, and despite my trekking poles I slipped on a wet rock and fell down. Luckily I didn't get hurt at all.

Beneath Deception Pass Bridge

By now it was close to 11:00 and I began to encounter lots more hikers. But for a Saturday there were not as many as I expected. I think the grey skies or perhaps just the need to complete holiday shopping kept people away.

The views on the way down were also stellar in many places. My estimation for the hike was 580 feet total elevation gain.