Crashhhhh, rushhhh ashore, washhhh back, inhale, Crashhhhh, rushhhh ashore, washhhh back, inhale… Waves along the shore are like breathing, always busy in the background, never-ending, unassuming. The bluff-lined hike between Hastie Lake Beach County Park and and West Beach Park to the north is a two-and-a-half-mile display of the power and fury of ocean meeting island. Or it can be a walk alongside towering bluffs and peaceful waters, depending on the weather. Either way, the waves are a constant companion. Sunday dawned on Whidbey with cold winds and dark clouds that roiled and boiled and then poured hard-driven raindrops. I headed north to West Beach expecting a drenching rain. But skies cleared, the sun beamed, and the seas settled down into light ripples instead. Thank you rainshadow! Still, West Beach is a raw and wild beach. Here is not the sweet design and beauty of Meerkerk Gardens or the grandeur and gentility of a forest walk at South Whidbey State Park. No, West Beach is a never-ending collision. The waves of the Pacific can come crashing into the two hundred-foot cliffs, and then it’s not a place for a picnic or stroll. Storm waves quickly chew up the sand and gravel in the bluffs, creating small landslides. The newly freed dirt is scoured away and carried northward, enlarging the beaches of West Beach, Joseph Whidbey State Park, and eventually the dunes of Deception Pass. But today, all was calm, all was bright. Starting at the south end, the beach is narrow where houses intrude into what used to be the actual beach, homeowners protected from ravaging storms only by beach-destroying armoring. What remains of the beach here is large grapefruit-sized cobble, difficult to walk on for very long. Fortunately, the houses soon retreat off of the beach, and the shoreline becomes spacious and natural, with the high tides creating log-strewn backshores. I passed one couple resting on a log and they greeted me by saying “you scared the birds away.” “They’ll be back,” was all I could think of as a reply to this greeting as I continued my stroll northward. And indeed they were. Whimbrels played leapfrog with me and other hikers much of the way up and back down the beach as they looked for meals along the water’s edge. Me, I just looked for the music of the water and the magic of the beach. Crashhhh, rushhhh ashore, washhhh back, inhale… I approached an older and younger woman walking a dog, with the dog running circles around them just for fun. The dog noticed me and came towards me like a boxer looking for a fight but wagging its tail and smiling mischievously. We became instant friends, and he then did circles around me as I caught up to the owners and smiled and chatted about the playfulness of “Bogey”. He danced with me awhile as I hiked past, then retreated back to the friendly faces of his owners. Cobbles became sand below the bluffs closer to the West Beach trailhead. Clam shells, crab shells, and the detritus of wrack and seaweed cast ashore by the most recent storm filled the lower beach line. Gulls dropped clams, hoping for some fast food. An eagle cast her gaze over us all, far above the busyness of the scene below. Sunlight danced on the waves as they broke shoreward, now just a background rhythm reflecting the bright sunshine of the clear blue Sunday afternoon sky. Two and a half miles up, two and a half miles back down, among gravel and sand, shells and seagulls, waves and light winds. The hike left my legs a little tired and my soul refreshed, my afternoon well spent with the waves and the wild and the wonder of the beach. Crashhhh, rushhhh ashore, washhhh back, inhale… I breathed deeply of the sea air, climbed into my truck and drove home, the sound of the waves still echoing in my mind and heart, and in my dreams of returning again. jack Most of the tidelands between the Hastie Lake Beach Park and West Beach were in public ownership, but not long ago the Whidbey Camano Land Trust acquired a quarter mile of beach near the halfway point to provide legal public hiking access all the way from the Hastie Lake Beach Park to the West Beach parking area. However, the lands south of Hastie Lake parking area are private. Please do not trespass in that direction.
Directions: From Highway 20, 4.4 miles south of Oak Harbor or 6.4 miles north of Coupeville, turn north onto Hastie Lake Road and drive to Hastie Lake Beach Park. The West Beach parking area is about 2.5 miles north on West Beach Road.
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Maribeth Crandell has been a hiking guide in the Pacific NW for over 20 years. She's lived on Whidbey and Fidalgo Island for decades. As a frequent bus rider she easily makes connections between trails and transit. Archives by date
April 2024
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