Springtime. It seems like a dream in the middle of winter, as storms buffet our forests and roil our waters. I dress in layers as soon as I rise, and keep most of the layers on throughout the day. The wildlife around me waits hopefully as well, as their life cycles depend on the return of the sun. And here it comes. The evening is lighter later, the mornings earlier. Robins sing a chorus to me not long after I rise. Frogs are just now calling to their mates as I lie down at night. Buds are swelling in the woods outside my bedroom window. I heard a yellow-rumped warbler this morning, the first I have heard this year. It’s still cold, it’s still wet, it’s still windy. But the calendar and the sun and all creation are all in agreement that we can be hopeful. With hope in my heart and spring in my step I hiked into Rotary Park, a part of Cap Sante in Anacortes. The trail is gentle, short, and paved, and lit by Narnia-like lamps in the early morning hours. I walked the beach just below the trail. Mallards and mergansers swam in the sheltered waters of the marina. I gathered a couple shells to add to my windowsill display. At the end of the trail and beach, I walked up the stairway to the south-facing beach at the base of Cap Sante. A strong wind pushed rolling waves from the south; gulls floated by above the beach, their early morning playground and playtime. A pavilion here shelters visitors from the rain and marks the end of the pavement. From here, social trails climb the cape with varying degrees of difficulty. The trail at the far south end is steep and direct, marching along the bluff’s edge right to the top. The trails further north through the disk golf course go at a gentler pace. I marched up the southern trail, stopping halfway to take a movie of the wind through the madrone, but mostly to catch my breath. The wind along the bluff edge of Cap Sante (12-second video) At the top, rocky balds invite scampering to the highest point of Cap Sante. From these meadows you can see the parking lot below, and views of Fidalgo Bay, the refineries, and on a clear morning the Cascades beyond. On this day, clouds scudded across the Cascades, a curtain drawn across the mountain views. In the other direction, Anacortes awakens slowly. The San Juans beckon nearby. Two ravens flew as a couple above the Cape, also playing on the wings of the winds. An eagle passed by on the other side, never moving a wingtip, just idling in park a hundred feet above me, then turning, and still without any movement that I could see, roared with the wind out of sight to the north. I heard kinglets, a pileated, a towhee, and a sweet-singing warbler that stayed out of sight. An Anna’s hummed within a few feet of me, looking for early red-flowering currants. Indian plum is exploding with new leaves emerging, and its white flowers coming along too. I came back down one of the easier trails and walked past numerous fallen trees, back to the paved trail and back home. A year ago on this day I walked this trail to the pavilion in a cool drizzle with a dear friend, with hopes and dreams for the spring that was coming. The days between then and now have brought unimagined joy and sorrow, hope and heartache, dreams and new directions. The hopes and dreams remain. The coming newness of this spring invites renewed energy, emerging strength, and the courage to climb those longed-for pathways again. Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth. - Mark Twain Life finds a way. Spring is almost here. I rejoice in its gentle return. jack Directions: From Highway 20 at Sharpe's Corner, where you can turn toward Mt. Vernon, Whidbey Island, or Anacortes, head toward Anacortes. The highway becomes Commercial Avenue in Anacortes. Stay on Commercial to 4th street. Turn right and turn right again on T Street. Follow T Street to 6th Street, and angle left toward the water. There is a parking lot at the end of this road a couple blocks farther. Rotary Park trail heads south from here.
Accessibility: The paved trail from here is fully accessible, although the parking lot is gravel. The trails from the end of the Rotary Park trail up to the top of Cap Sante are challenging. Transit: Take the Skagit Transit bus 410 to 10th and Q. Walk down 10th to 9th, then east on 9th to the marina, and follow the marina walkway to the trailhead.
0 Comments
|
Authors
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
Categories
All
|