I’d planned a top ten trails list for this blog post, a special New Year’s review. But then it snowed which transformed everything! So I’m doing what we’ve all learned to do in the last year or two. Pivot!

I work at Island Transit just south of Coupeville and like to take my lunch break walking nearby at Pacific Rim Institute. This week that walk has been especially captivating.

I walked over as the noon day sun cast diamonds on the snow. In the roadway a little bird tugged at the ice until it managed to pull a worm from beneath and ate it!  As I approached the driveway at PRI, there was a raucous riot among sapsuckers! They flew fast and furious around a big tree that was riddled with sapsucker holes. They wrestled on the ground with feathers and feet up in the air! Tumbling and tearing at each other! I wondered what could provoke such a savage attack! Nothing short of attempted murder! Later, a birding friend thought it might be a fight over food sources. In these freezing temperatures, food, which is fuel, becomes that much more precious to those living outside.

I watched juncos, sparrows, towhees and varied thrush foraging at the base of other trees or among the branches. I began my usual walk between the sheds that used to house pheasants. The puddles were frozen on the old farm road and packed snow made it easy to walk. I saw tracks of two toed deer, three toed birds, four toed dogs and coyote, and five toed people. Ski tracks crossed the road and continued over the farm. Bird houses had their own icicles with snow insulation on top. Garry oaks clung to their thick, brown coat of leaves.

I followed the old road to the barn that stood stately in the snow at the edge of the woods. Two open windows near the top would seem an invitation to owls or other birds seeking shelter. Passing the barn I entered the forest. Robert Frost’s poem came to mind. “Whose woods these are, I think I know, his house is in the village, though. He will not see me stopping here to watch his woods fill up with snow”.

The snowy woods were a magical wonderland, totally transformed by the snow and the slivers of sun stabbing through the gate of vertical trees. Rotten stumps and broken trunks provide a place for small critters to tuck in on a winters night. Ocean spray, salal, and thorny shrubs bent by snow formed a tunnel that, in places, required doubling over to creep through. The splendor of ice and snow highlighted every twig on every branch. Sounds were clearer, smells more intense, and colors shimmered. The dome of brilliant blue arched over the white capped evergreens. The lumpy landscape of snow covered shrubs provided cover for a community of critters searching for food and huddled together for warmth.
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What joy to experience a deep freeze, bundled up in scarves and sweaters, to step outside under a brilliant blue sky into a stunning world of white, just as we transition from one year, with all its challenges and changes, and gather our gumption to pounce into the next! What a precious parting gift from 2021. Let’s celebrate, whether we light fireworks or candles, as we enter 2022. And remember what we’ve learned, to be grateful for simple, beautiful things, and to embrace change as a teacher. Without a doubt, the new year will bring its own challenges and changes and when it does, take some time, take a breath, take a walk close to home. Take care of yourself and each other and let's all have a happy, healthy New Year.

Maribeth
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For more information about Pacific Rim Institute click here.

Directions: From the stoplight on Highway 20 in Coupeville, drive 2.8 miles south and turn left onto Morris Road, then turn left again on Parker Road. Pacific Rim Institute is about 1/2 mile north on the right.

By Bus or Bike: Take the Route 1 bus to Morris Road just south of Coupeville. A bus can carry 2-3 bikes. Walk or bike about a half mile north on Parker Road where traffic is light and there's a wide shoulder. 

Mobility: Pacific Rim Institute has old farm roads around the fields that are a bit rough but nearly level. Trails through the woods are narrow with some low branches.

First impressions can be important. But sometimes what we first perceive is only the shell of what lies beneath. True meaning and beauty might be hidden by outward appearances, or by what doesn’t fit our preconceived expectations and experiences.

Maybe it takes a change of perspective, a meditative prelude, or an open mind that has no expectations at all other than to be open to surprise, to wonder, to beauty, however it may appear.

That can happen with trails. We expect a certain kind of experience or view or environment or destination, but encounter something different, something unexpected.

First impressions are not always accurate. This can happen at the Beach View Farm Trail.

It’s different. It’s not forested at all; there are hardly even any shrubs. It’s all meadow and farm field. You can see the end from the beginning, whichever end you park at, so at all times you know exactly where you are in your explorations. It does not wend or wind, it goes property-line straight from one end to the other.

And yet I find the trail to be an absolute joy every time I hike here.

I brought a friend of mine along with me this week, someone who had never been here before. We started at the west end, at West Beach, on a bitingly cold but sunny day. The sunshine warmed our spirits after another stretch of steady rain. I pointed out the eastern end of the trail as we stood at the western trailhead, and we could see the entire route right there in front of us.

As we walked through the prairie meadow along the lakeshore, the open meadows and long-distance views welcomed us, so different from being among sight-obscuring trees and shrubs. Waterfowl swam in the lake, pintails and widgeons and mallards and more. A couple eagles soared high above. A northern harrier hovered a few feet above the grasses, looking for an easy meal, floating easily, lazily.

Kath looked at me and said “I like this, it’s so open, a meadow environment so different from the usual deep woods of these islands.”

The stresses of our day and the season fell away as we followed the trail, watching geese flying above us, seeing the Olympics rising behind us, and the nearby farmlands around us resting for the coming spring.
At the footbridge, half a mile in, the terrain changes from meadows to farmland. Dozens of chickens foraged the pasture, protected by a movable fence, so they could add their fertilizer over the entire farm through the course of the year. Cattle grazed on the hill beyond, also rotated across the farm as needed. In 2015 a new generation of Fakkema family farmers began focusing on regenerative agriculture here with pasture cropping, grazing rotation, composting and mobile animal shelters. This replenishes the soil, retains water, and reduces climate impacts, while providing healthier livestock, improved yield, and sustainable food production.

Eventually the trail arrives at Wieldraayer Road, which leads to the eastern trailhead.

We turned around and headed back down the trail toward the beach, past the farm, across the bridge to the tall grasses and wildlife of the meadow and lakeshore. From here we saw open fields framed by distant forests, open views of the farms, the Strait to the west, the lake to the north, and the sun above.

Back at the beach, waves crashed ashore. The Olympics posed for us, modestly draped in coverings of clouds. We took one last look at this trail of farm and field, of sun and water, grass and wildlife.

Of all the good gifts given this time of year, ours was the sky and wide-open wanderings.
 

jack
 
Our heartfelt thank you to the Whidbey Camano Land Trust, the Fakkema family, Island County Parks, and all the others who helped make this trail opportunity a reality.

For a 9 ½ minute visual bath in beauty and gratitude, enjoy this Ted talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/louie_schwartzberg_nature_beauty_gratitude?language=en

Directions: West end: park at West Beach Park on West Beach Road, about a mile south of Joseph Whidbey State Park. Walk south a hundred feet or so then east a hundred yards along an unnamed road to the trailhead. East end: From Highway 20 in Oak Harbor take Swantown Road about 1.4 miles west to Wieldraayer Road. Turn into the church parking lot and find signed spaces at the northwest corner reserved for hikers.

By Bus or Bike: Island Transit does not serve this area directly from Oak Harbor. West Beach Road and Swantown Road are usually not very busy roadways, and have about three-foot shoulders in most places.

Mobility: The trail is generally flat and even, graveled through the farm area, mown grass through the meadows. Currently there is standing water in places in the meadow area.

Pets: Dogs are allowed on-leash in the meadow area. Dogs are not allowed at all on the farm portion of the trail. Murphy had to turn around at the bridge separating the two.

What's Your Favorite Trail?
Send a photo and a few lines describing which of our trails you like best and why, and we may include it in our top 10 list on New Year's eve! Deadline is Dec. 26th. Email: HikingCloseToHome@gmail.com

I love the holidays, in a homespun kind of way. But lately, with the non-stop Christmas songs, the glitter and hype, I needed some peace and quiet. I needed to reconnect with my roots.  I needed a walk among the standing stones.

As I approached the Earth Sanctuary at the end of the muddy road, I saw a row of prayer flags on the ground. The string was tied to a tree limb that had fallen in a recent storm. I worked the knot loose and retied them to another tree. Stepping back, I realized that small act was enough to slow my pace and bring me to the present. The bright colors fluttering in the breeze brought joy and a prayer for peace.

I started down the nearest trail where I found a bell hanging from a tree. I struck it and closed my eyes, following the sound inward for a moment before moving on. At the labyrinth two young women walked the spiraling path.  I approached a bench by the pond as a merganser, with its spiky hairdo, swam silently away. A spotted towhee called from within a wild rose bush full of red rosehips.  The sun shone golden across the water.

My favorite structure here is the dolmen, a stone monument that sits on a little rise among tall trees. I’ve encountered dolmens while traveling in the British Isles, where my ancestors lived, but they’re found all over the world. On the trail approaching the dolmen is a prayer wheel. My mind spins around the globe to Bhutan, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where I traveled years ago. Like the prayer flags, they prompted me to spin the wheel in a sunwise direction and offer up another prayer.

This week we’re spinning toward the shortest day of the year for the northern hemisphere. Tuesday, December 21st is our winter solstice, a time when the earth will begin tilting toward the sun again, toward warmth and light. A walk at the Earth Sanctuary inspires a tilt in our hearts toward warmth and light for each other, the best gift we could give this holiday season, or at anytime of year. The Earth Sanctuary is a gift in itself, a place of peace and quiet, joy and reflection.

The trail follows the contours of a hillside overlooking the ponds. Ducks glide across the mirrored surface. This is a great place for waterfowl providing food, cover and nesting sites. I see ring necked ducks, mallards, wigeons and buffleheads. A flock of pine siskins skitter among the treetops. A distant eagle calls. A kingfisher skims the shoreline. A Pacific wren calls near the forest floor. 

I pass a glacial erratic sitting silently by a cedar just off the trail. Seats magically appear just where you’d want one, by a view of the pond, or a small stream, inviting us to pause and take in our surroundings.

At the far end of the pond the trail turns away from the water. I pass another prayer wheel and spin it sending out good wishes to all the world. Then I turn and approach the stone circle.
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Like Stonehenge in England, these tall standing stones are aligned as a calendar. Unlike Stonehenge, which dates back to 3,000 B.C., these stones were erected a few decades ago with help from huge machines and skilled operators who carefully arranged them according to the 500 year plan of Chuck Pettis, artist, environmentalist, and owner of the Earth Sanctuary. He’s been enhancing and restoring the property as a nature preserve, while also creating a sculpture park and honoring the ancient civilizations of the earth. The standing stones, tall and silent, circle within a circle, help us tap into the ancient rhythms of the spheres, a perfect place to celebrate the solstice and begin to tilt toward warmth and light.  

Maribeth
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There's a $7 entrance fee. For more information click here.

Directions: From Highway 525, 2 miles south of Freeland, turn north onto Newman Road. The Earth Sanctuary will be about a mile ahead on the right at 2059 Newman Road, Freeland.

By Bus or Bike: Take Island Transit Route 1 Northbound to Newman Road or take Route 1 Southbound to Useless Bay Road, carefully cross the highway, and walk Newman Road one mile north to the Earth Sanctuary on the right. Newman Road is lightly traveled but has no shoulder so wear bright clothes for visibility while walking by the road.

Mobility: This trail is gentle but narrow and muddy in places and not appropriate for wheelchair users. 

What's Your Favorite Trail?
Send a photo and a few lines describing which of our trails you like best and why, and we may include it in our top 10 list on New Year's eve! Deadline is Dec. 26th. Email: HikingCloseToHome@gmail.com

Directions: From Highway 20 north of Oak Harbor, take Sleeper Road east to the very end. There is a small parking area here, with room for maybe 10 cars or so.

By Bus: Dugualla State Park is several miles east of Highway 20.

By Bike: Using back roads such as Jones Road and Taylor Road you can bypass the busyness of Highway 20. The terrain is rolling with some steep sections, narrow shoulders, but minimal traffic.

Accessibility: Where the trail is a former roadbed, the slopes and condition are fairly gentle. The trails beyond become steeper, and there are occasional roots or rocks. The trail to the beach is steep in places.