Monroe Landing

Monroe Landing on Whidbey Island was the site of a large permanent settlement of Lower Skagit Native Americans. They called the village Čǝ𝒌ʷ olá (pronounced Chekw-olá). They were displaced from Whidbey Island by the Treaty of Point Elliott with many tribal members joining the Swinomish tribe at La Conner. There is a sign in the parking lot detailing some of the history.

I decided to wander up the beach after parking, picking my way north accompanied by a murder of crows.

This log seemed to be their boundary because once I passed it they stopped watching me. They were still there when I returned.

The trick to beach walking is to not be in a hurry. I took my time as I progressed north, with the terrain bouncing between sand, pebbles, small rocks and larger rocks.

I passed the narrowest point where decaying logs formed a derelict tidal block. I was hiking on a pretty high tide. Low tide was an 8 moving towards a high tide of 10.5. With that small of a tidal exchange the water was fairly calm.

I passed several private stairways down to the beach and had to admire the ingenuity of this one.

A small boat was stuck in the driftwood and ahead a jumble of downed trees formed a beach jungle gym that I had to navigate over, under and around.

There were a myriad of beautiful rocks on this beach and I was struck by the beautiful fire orange of this one. The beach had white quartz as well.

Coupeville was directly across from me as I hiked.

Above me was a tall bluff with interesting layers and strata forms, some with a honeycomb aspect.

I came across this rock which looked like an altar with steps cut into it. It invited me to climb up and sit awhile but I continued on up the beach.

I came upon the rusted remains of an engine and axle. I suspect it was driven over the bluff above and crashed onto the beach. I hope no one was in it when it crashed because that would have been a long drop.

Out in Penn Cove I could see some kind of animal that I thought was a bird at first, but as I got closer I realized it was a pair of harbor seals. They gazed at me warily as I hiked past.

Finally, I came around a bend and could see Klootchman Rock ahead. Klootchman means "Woman" in the Chinook jargon and is a huge rock the size of a house.

Klootchman Rock is believed to have come from the north and been deposited during the Ice Age by a glacier. I tried to see why it was called "Woman" by the Indigenous but I did not see anything that looked like a woman's face or body. As I approached it I could see that it had lines of white quartz running through it that looked almost like roots going down to the beach and water.

Cautiously I clamored over a log jam of driftwood to see the other side.

After studying the large rock for awhile I started the trek back to my car. The tide had come in a bit and I had to creatively climb around a couple places to keep my feet dry.

I passed an odd whirlpool where the waves rolled in concentric circles. I watched, oddly hypnotized, before continuing on.

Back to Altar Rock, and then to the narrow part of the beach. I had to climb behind the post wall for a bit to keep out of the water.

I got back to where I had left the crows and they cawed a welcome. Or maybe it was an alarm; hard to tell.

Water on a stone formed a heart. It felt like a love letter from above just for me.

This hike was about 3.5 miles and took over two hours. I picked up a walking stick from the beach while was helpful on the return trip. This was a great way to get a walk in before the Super Bowl game.

Padilla Bay Hike

 It feels like it has been a solid month of dreary gray, wind and rain. But today I took the day off for a doctor's appointment and took advantage of a sun break to hike the Padilla Bay Trail afterwards. I parked at the north trailhead and headed down to the trailhead.

Padilla Bay Trail is a nicely graded, gravel covered trail that even mid week had several hikers and bikers on it at noon. As I walked, the clouds dissipated and the sun was out in all its glory.

The tide was receding and birds were hunting for food out in the bay. In the distance I saw two eagles sitting in a tree surveying the water. I had grabbed my binoculars and was happy to have them as I focused in on the distant birds.

A large group of snow geese swirled and landed on the water in the distance. 

I perused the sign at Indian Slough that talks about the migratory birds in the area. 

I continued along the path and saw a large bird in a tree. I pulled out the binoculars again but am not sure what I saw. It is perhaps a juvenile eagle because it does not have a white head or trail.

Many ducks and other birds hunted for food as the tide continued to go out and more of the mud flats were revealed.

I passed a rustic wooden building and a rotting piece of equipment that looks like it had seen better days.

I saw many herons hunting while I hiked the trail. They stood stock still until their beak would suddenly lunge into the mud.

When I reached the end of the trail I turned around and headed back towards my car, the sun warming my face. There is usually a moment about a mile into a hike where my shoulders loosen and slump and the stress I've been carrying slides off. I often don't even realize I am carrying stress until that moment happens. It happened for me as I came upon another heron.

Just past the heron I could see an odd looking piece of equipment and I was pleased to see a sign explaining that Western Washington University is using the equipment to monitor the area.

I passed the rustic building again and noticed the downed tree. Last time I hiked Padilla Bay Trail the tree was alive but sadly it probably perished in one of our wind storms this winter.

I feel so lucky that it was sunny and I had time after my appointment to get outside and hike. Recently I was reading a thread on social media where a woman talked about how she's lost her love for hiking. I have to say that although I still love to hike, I understand when she talked about how planning, logistics, and driving long distances sucked the joy out of it for her. I have not been hiking as much as I usually do but today reminded me of why I love it so much. Being outside nourishes my soul.

Several little planes buzzed over head since the trail is fairly close to Skagit Regional Airport. In the distance was a huge eagle's nest. I returned to my car and my tracking app says it was 4.44 miles in an hour and 47 minutes.