This time of year I go looking for leaves. I suppose it’s my Appalachian upbringing that makes me long for color in the fall. You could drive into the Olympics to see vine maples, or high into the Cascades to look for larch. Here on the Islands we have Big Leaf Maples. I try to think of trails where I could find them in abundance, not just for the color, but for kicking, fluffing and wading through ankle deep. And their wide hollow trunks look like homes for elves which puts me in a mood for Halloween. I traveled to the south end of Whidbey Island to Possession Point State Park on a sunny afternoon this week. There were six cars in the parking lot when I arrived which surprised me for late on a weekday. Yet, I only passed one other person on the trail. I’m glad I remembered my walking stick for this hike which went up immediately from the parking lot, but then went down and up and over and around and through and under and up again. It had rained hard the day before but the leaves on top were crispy and dry. I plowed through them while making my way under the broad canopy of outstretched trees. I stopped to catch my breath and listen. The small parachutes drifted in mid-air. I felt as if I were floating, too, from the tops of the maples down into the ravine below. The steep slopes were covered with wall to wall sword ferns. Licorice ferns preferred to grow in the trees. There was the scolding of Douglas Squirrels, the hoarse honking of herons, and an occasional eagle squeaking from the top of the ridge. This bowl shaped landscape kept me going round and up and ducking under logs and over roots and climbing ever higher for a look from the rim. Emerging from the shady forest into the sun I gazed across the wide blue expanse of Puget Sound. Leaning on the railing, I took it all in. The little white ferry left Kingston and met another coming from Edmonds. A buoy rang as it rocked on the water. Sea lions roared and laughed as they climbed aboard. A tugboat pulled a barge in the distance. A train whistled as it made its way along the shore. Starting down the same path I’d come up, I soon veered right on a short cut toward the beach. On the way, I came across three twisted Yew trees. They have peeling bark and sprawling limbs. They’re slow growing and scattered apart, so they’re easy to miss, but so full of magic. I leaned against one and closed my eyes and felt it humming. Pacific Yew is a natural source of taxol which stops certain cancers from growing. Yews grow so slowly and are so rare that we’d never be able to harvest enough taxol to meet the needs of all the cancer patients, so scientists learned to synthesize it in the lab. So these yew on the trail keep climbing, twisting and humming in this seldom seen corner of the forest blending in as if they were nothing special, when, in fact, they are modest miracle workers. The trail spilled out on a carpet of leaves behind the wood shed near the beach house. I walked across the wide lawn toward the shore all in shadow on this side of the bluff. To the north the Clinton and Mukilteo ferries crossed sides. I paused on a beach log to have a look around. At my feet was a mosaic of tiny twigs, broken shells and smooth rocks, the result of many high tides and storms. I took one last look across the water then turned to walk the road back up to the car under a canopy of golden maple leaves. Maribeth Directions: Take Highway 525 to Ken’s Korner shopping center 2.7 miles from Clinton and turn south on Cultus Bay Road. Stay on this road for 7 miles, even as the name changes to Possession Point Road. Just before the end you’ll come to Franklin Road, a narrow lane marked by the names of many families with beachfront homes here. Make a sharp right and go to the end and you’ll see the State Park sign. Bring your Discover Pass for parking. (If you miss Franklin Road you’ll see the next road with a sign for the Possession Beach Waterfront Park, home of the Dorothy Cleveland Trail. Backtrack to the previous 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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