Tursi Trail

Mystic rocks, a dilapidated old log cabin and an abandoned mine shaft. These are some of the unexpected treats along the new trail being built to connect the Anacortes Community Forest Lands with Deception Pass State Park.  For hikers on the National Scenic Pacific Northwest Trail this new extension means a little less road walking on Fidalgo Island.

The trail is named after 90 year old John Tursi who worked as a CCC worker at Deception Pass during the 1930s and has been an influential community member in Anacortes. Skagit County and Washington State officials have been working to secure easements from private land owners along the route for over five years and construction began this winter.

Last Saturday I loaded up the dog and drove to Pass Lake by Deception Pass to check out the work being done. I strapped on my day pack and headed up Pass Lake Loop Trail. Below me I could see glimpses of lake water sparkling through the trees. Despite the record setting rains of the previous week the trail was in pretty good shape, although there were a few places where water was flowing down the trail.

From Pass Lake Loop I took Ginette Trail and dropped down into Naked Man Valley. I passed fantastical rocks as the trail meandered through ferns and skunk cabbage. I skirted carefully over and around a tree that had fallen, the the upturned root ball wiping out a section of trail. But it was obvious trail maintenance had been performed recently as blow downs were neatly cut up and off the trail and foliage was cut back.

After squishing around a giant mud puddle I began the ascent up Ginette Hill, popping out at an amazing view point where a concrete slab foundation and a pile of old wood are all that remain of some family's previous home. I stood and gazed out towards Mt. Erie and Campbell Lake, enjoying the rewarding view after that ascent. Eventually we continued along the path.

Campbell lake in the distance

I continued my walk through the woods, taking note of various side trails that l could take to see over the ridge I was hiking along. I passed an old quarry with a fire ring where people have apparently camped before, rounded a corner and saw the entrance to an old mine shaft. I was tempted to explore but didn't have a powerful headlamp and the entrance was full of water, so I continued on my way. 

An old mine shaft from the 1940s. I was told that  they mined some substance that they used in lipstick!

The trail was now flagged with tape and I could see where new trail had been cut in. Eventually I got down to where the trail work had ended and although I could tell from the flags where the trail was to go, I didn't want to bushwhacked my way through the thick brush so I turned around.

As I returned I noticed an old log cabin that I had somehow missed on the way up. The roof was missing but all four walls were still intact. I explored around it for awhile before continuing on my way. 

 

Four walls are all that remain of this log cabin

On the way back out I had the fortune to encounter another couple who were hiking with their dog and we stopped to chat. The man worked for Skagit County Parks and had been instrumental in getting the landowner agreements to create this trail! They were both very nice and told me about the craggy rock face across the valley, called the Morris Graves Rock, after the famous mystic painter Morris Graves.

 

Morris Graves Rock across the valley

Morris Graves bought a piece of property up at the top of the bluff above Campbell Lake at a tax sale in the 1930s for $40. He built himself a rustic cabin with no electricity or water and painted some of his darkest paintings while he lived there. He was one of four painters of the Pacific Northwest School of Art, and he painted according to what he saw with his inner eye, versus in an abstract form or realistic form. Eventually he left and moved to California and the cabin was given to one of his long time companions, who sold it to another artist. This man lived in the cabin for several years. He suffered from Lou Gerhigs disease and unfortunately, in 2001 was caught in a fire which completely destroyed the cabin and killed him. 

Campbell Lake below with the Morris Graves Bluff and Rock in the left center. Tursi Trail winds through the trees on the right side of the lake over to Pass Lake.

After returning to my car, I drove up to the top of Mt. Erie to take a picture of Campbell Lake, Morris Graves Rock and to see if I could see any of the trail, which I couldn't. I highly recommend this delightful trail. There is another work party mid March which will hopefully complete the trail so it is ready to open officially by spring and summer.