On the first Earth Day I walked to school with a friend picking up trash alongside the road. Our bags grew heavy. The hour grew late. We called mom for a ride. The school secretary didn’t believe our excuse. She looked at us sternly and sent us to class. Since then I’ve helped orchestrate many Earth Day events. Once I arranged to have a couple of wolves brought in to meet a crowd at a park in Bellevue. At Lake Crescent children crawled through a giant salmon sculpture to see the watershed mural inside. April is Whidbey Earth and Ocean Month with dozens of organizations offering guided walks, talks and restoration projects. On April 29th in Freeland, we’ll have Whidbey 101 with everything you need to know about living on the island. I’ll be there with info on how to reduce your carbon footprint by taking the bus. You can learn how to grow organic veggies, manage a pasture, or how to treat your septic system. You could volunteer to build trails, survey shorelines, or help provide programs for kids. Learn how to prepare for the next wind storm or king tide. This year? Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about Earth Day. They say Earth Day is every day and that’s what it has become for many of us. On any given day I might be hiking, picking up litter, or teaching people how to use the bus. I think Edward Abbey said something like when we’re all out there working to save the environment, don’t forget to spend time enjoying it, too. So last Saturday I went for a hike at South Whidbey State Park, and afterwards, joined a group to eradicate aliens. I went early and walked down the hill through the old campground where paved roads provide wheelchair access to the magnificent forest. Turning down a side trail, I was struck by the mighty maples and their gnarly trunks. Bees were buzzing between salmonberry blossoms. Kinglets flitted about in the canopy. Douglas squirrels scolded and scampered across the trail. Towhee peered through the shrubs. I heard a woodpecker high up in a snag and a nuthatch tooting in the distance. A Pacific wren sang with delight. A Swainson’s thrush called its spiraling song. As the trail twisted and turned down toward the water I heard the most mystical call of all, a loon. At the end of the trail, the bluff has worn away and the stairs tilt sideways. A rope offered assistance in climbing the last 20 feet to the beach. Nearby a flock of mergansers dipped and disappeared, only to reappear a moment later. Two gulls stood on a driftwood branch just above the water like lifeguards at the pool. I walked the beach and took it all in, the grey morning, the steady breeze, the distant mountains. Then climbing back up the bank, I thanked whoever had secured the rope, and moved briskly up the trail to join the work party by the ranger’s house. Margie Parker had circled her group by then. Friends of Whidbey State Parks were there to help remove non-native plants, or aliens. We introduced ourselves, got tools and directions, then set to work. Lach took the holly and spurge laurel (a rhododendron look-alike) while the other 6 of us began digging up a carpet of Archangel, an invasive ground cover that chokes out the native vegetation. Some of us had worked together before, installing stairs or cleaning campgrounds. After a while Margie called for a cookie break. She conferred with the Ranger about the projects that need work in the state parks between Joseph Whidbey and Possession Point. By noon we’d cleared a wide area with 5 garbage bags of Archangel and a pile of holly and spurge laurel. Just before I pulled my last plant, I discovered a salamander, still as a stick, but much cuter. Margie marveled at it, too, and then tucked it under a fern. Maribeth Click here to become a Friend of Whidbey State Parks. (Deception Pass State Park has a separate Friends Foundation.) Check out what’s happening during Whidbey Earth and Ocean Month here. Find out more about Whidbey 101 here: Directions: From Highway 525 at the light in Freeland, drive north a half mile, then turn left at Bush Point Road. Follow it for 5 miles to the park. From Greenbank take Smuggler’s Cove Road 4.5 miles south to the park. (Bush Point Road turns into Smuggler’s Cove Road.)
By Bike and Bus: Bush Point Road, which turns into Smuggler’s Cove Road, has wide shoulders and usually not much traffic. Island Transit fare free Route 1 stops at the park entrance on Monday-Friday. There is no bus service to the park on weekends. You can put 2 bikes on the bus bike rack. Please wear bright clothes when walking, biking or catching the bus by the road. For a bus schedule click here. Mobility: The old campground loops are paved, closed to traffic and offer a good forest experience for those with mobility challenges. Enter by the restrooms. It’s a little hilly.
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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
May 2024
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