They said it was the last gasp of summer, the last sunny, warm weekend we’d have for some time. So I picked my apples and pears, weeded the garden and mowed the grass. Then I went to join others who were doing the same at the Freeland Wetland Preserve. When I arrived Bob was patching holes in the driveway, Lee was mowing grass, and Jeremy was almost finished blowing leaves off the barn roof. I grabbed my gloves, rake and clippers and walked down to join the crew. At the barn I met Kelly, the new executive director of the Whidbey Watershed Stewards. She introduced me to her son Oliver, a handsome 3 year old proudly wearing his Carharts, ready to take part in the work party. Nearing the trailhead I met Barbara, pulling and clipping blackberry vines, and down the trail I met Marie doing the same. She called the web of trailing blackberries “Devils shoelaces”. They had crept in and crawled over everything, threatening to catch our shoelaces if we didn’t pull the vines out first. A little further along there was Blaine and young Ainsley, clipping and raking around a big cedar tree. They were happy to take a break and pose for my camera. I continued on through the cedar grove. The tall, dark trees spread their trunks wide. Their feathery branches swept the many layered canopy from top to bottom. Bare ground between these monoliths held a shady, silence, like entering a cathedral. I slowed my step and walked on in awe. Moving downslope toward the wetland, cedars gave way to alders and maples. I heard kinglets, chickadees and a nuthatch, high in the tree tops. With binoculars I watched one turn topsy turvy going after bugs among the bright colored maple leaves. A towhee called to my left. A Pacific wren called from my right near the forest floor. I stepped toward the wetland and looked across to cattails and drought dried lilies. A marsh wren sang and flew from the salmonberries. Red legged frogs leapt across the path as I continued on the loop passing dead snags and fallen logs. One still stood though it had been deeply gutted with woodpecker holes. Just then I heard the tap, tap, tap high on an alder. A Hairy Woodpecker worked its way up, up, up, drilling and dining toward the top. Finishing the loop, I put away my camera and put on my gloves. Pulling blackberries and visiting with the crew, we cleared the trail, raking and clipping. Oliver and Ainsley watched over the rain barrels as Bob took buckets of water to the rhododendrons by the road. When the rain barrels were empty he cleaned them out and set them up again before the next rain. Jeremy took our piles of blackberries and loaded them into his truck for his lucky goats. We gathered at the barn for drinks from the cooler and a choice of cookies. Talk turned to efforts toward a recent acquisition. The parcels by the road were up for sale, including the parking lot and barn. Without them the trail could be inaccessible. Whidbey Watershed Stewards members applied for a Conservation Futures Fund grant to purchase the property. It looks hopeful that with a few more signatures, the property will be theirs and the trailhead will remain open, and well maintained, for us all! Whidbey Watershed Stewards also manages the Outdoor Classroom on Maxwelton Road, and other watershed habitat. They focus on watershed education, restoration and research. For more info about them, and how to help at the Outdoor Classroom or join the next work party, click here. Maribeth Directions: Take Highway 525 to Freeland. At the stoplight turn north onto Main Street. Go straight at both stop signs and turn left onto Newman Road by the espresso stand. Look for the entrance sign on the right within 100 yards (across from Maple Ridge Assisted Living).
By Bike and Bus: Island Transit Route 1 passes the espresso stand on the corner of Newman Road. Look for the bus shelters on both sides of Main Street within 200 yards of the Freeland Wetland Preserve. For a schedule click here. Main Street and Newman Road have slow traffic. Main Street is busy and steep at the west end around the post office and Payless shopping center, but quiet and flat on the east end. Newman Road is quiet but has no shoulder. Please wear something bright if walking or riding a bike along the road. Mobility: The trail is short, narrow, with a hill on the far side. There are benches near the wetland.
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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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