After a week of dank, dark and dreary weather, the brilliant sunshine suggested to me a hike to the top of Goose Rock. A friend named Judi, relatively new to the area, had never been so she asked if she could join up. Sure, I said. I enjoy seeing people’s reactions the first time they experience the view from the top. Memories flooded through me as we passed Pass lake, crossed the bridge, and drove onto Whidbey. My experiences here still hover around like old friends. The places we live and work carry the evidences of our time there, sometimes in tangible results but also in subtler ways: the relationships, or a conversation, or an idea that changed the direction of a life, of history. Those legacies follow us throughout our lives, our hand-print on the world. This park is a reflection of ancient leaders setting it aside to help protect our communities from some enemy. And here we now protect it from the dangers of habitat destruction, an overcrowded planet, a changing climate, and a culture out of touch with the earth and our ancestors. But this is today, to make new stories to treasure. We started from Cornet Bay Road near the Retreat Center exit gate. The trail crosses a very wet wetland this time of year, dances through an open forest, then hugs Cornet Bay before turning its attention to the steep south slope of Goose Rock. The Rhody forest here is cool, but the trail soon climbs into the rockier, higher hillside. We peeled off a layer of coats as we climbed, stopping to catch our breath occasionally, me with the pretense to take pictures. It was a good excuse, I thought. At the top the views opened up in every direction, as you know. They did not disappoint, and the look on Judi’s face was worth every step of the climb. It truly is a magnificent place to be any time of the year, but especially while basking in sunlight and warmth, absent for so long. Okay, so it wasn’t all that warm, really. We put our coats back on. The brown-tinged Skagit River water coming out of the pass collided with the deep blue of the Straits, forming a visible line between the two. Navy jets pierced the peace, then gave way to the far more friendly P-3 Orions practicing maneuvers. Eventually we headed down the Northwest Trail, then angled over to the Perimeter Trail. Along the way we found old-growth trees thrown like matchsticks into each other, some ripped out of the ground, some knocked down by their neighbors. That must have been one wild night up here. That trail circles around the south side of Goose Rock, climbing a short distance, switch-backing down to Cornet Bay, then back to the dense forest, the wetland bridge, and Cornet Bay Road. This route is just under three miles of hiking, with a nearly five-hundred-foot ascent and descent in the middle, and a couple other ups and downs along the way. From the earliest days when a human left a hand-print on the wall of a cave somewhere, people have left behind a little legacy of ourselves wherever we have been. It may be a work of art or craftsmanship, or food or clothing, or maybe just a word spoken at the right time to a relative, a friend, or even a stranger. We often don’t know the impact we have on others, on our culture, on our planet. It’s hubris to think that only people leave a legacy. All the life around us lives their stories in the ever-evolving balance of the history and future of this earth. The echoes and shadows of our ancestors are reflected in the landscape we inhabit today. In the reflection of their lives we live, and move, and have our being, creating hand-prints for the generations to come. Directions: From Highway 20, park at the bridge, the park office, or on Cornet Bay Road.
Accessible by Island Transit 411W bus. The northbound stop is the store just north of Cornet Bay Road. The southbound stop is on the south side of Cornet Bay Road. Cross at the signal and walk to the park office to begin your hike. The trail is steep, rocky in places with slick rocks when wet, uneven in footing and slope, and muddy near the wetland and occasionally elsewhere too. Most of the trail is dry year round, however.
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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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