We’re turning the corner now, leaving summer and entering fall. It’s getting dark earlier and I’m feeling the pinch on my hiking time. This may be the last month I’ll be able to take a hike after work, so I wanted to take advantage of our lovely late afternoons for a walk with a friend. Vin Sherman and I used to work together at the County. That’s where we discovered our common love for hiking. Vin was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail then, spending his vacations hiking the long trail over 17 years. I had thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail a few years before we met. Now Vin is helping his friend Teresa, a little white haired choir director, who has already hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, and is trying to finish the Continental Divide Trail and complete the Triple Crown. But this week, while Vin is home, we just went to a local trail in Coupeville at Rhododendron Park. Vin’s favorite hiking partner is his 4 year old grandson, Zander, who had just spent a week with him. They had hiked 13 trails out of Hiking Close the Home. Vin told me about their hike at Rhody Park on the perimeter trails. One trail, the Grandpa Trail, was named after him, or so he thought. I saw a mighty big tree on that trail and had a hunch it might have been the namesake, but I said nothing to Vin. Rhododendron Park is flat with pretty uniform 2nd growth trees. But the walk was fun, due to the company and conversation. The first half of our conversation was broken into bits, interrupted every few seconds by a jet taking off at the OLF runway next door. We would plug our ears, look up at the tree tops and wait. After a moment we could share a few more words. But then stop, look up and plug our ears. Vin told me the pilots hate to practice at night but it is required, so they practice when there's a full moon. That explains why I've been hearing them, like distant thunder, as I go to bed these last few nights after watching the moon rise. We emerged from the woods on the far side of the park on Patmore Road. After walking a short ways east, we turned back into the park where there are ballfields, a restroom and a picnic shelter. That’s where we could see the jets and how close they were to the tree tops. A couple pitched a ball and batted to each other, but otherwise the fields were empty. We re-entered the woods where a sign showed all the trails and we decided to continue on the periphery. Finally, our conversation flowed uninterrupted. The jets were gone and the second half of our walk was a pleasant sharing between friends. I could hear chickadees, woodpeckers and ravens. Vin pointed out trip hazards, roots and horse manure, both of which were frequent on some trails. I stopped to take photos of things that caught my eye. When we arrived back at the entrance we decided to go through the middle on the old Rhodie Road. Vin said when he was growing up here, they used to drive through the park on this paved road the night of the prom. The park is thick with native rhododendrons which bloom profusely in the spring, like a florists shop full of corsages. The campground is closed with a gate this summer, but you can take a bike or stroller or wheelchair around it to gain access to the wide, paved, flat road that’s shady and cool on a hot day. Before I caught the bus home, Vin gave me a bag full of corn on the cob, fresh picked on Ebey’s Prairie. The best trail dinner I’ve ever had! PS We started this blog a year ago and what a year it has been. Ya'll have a good Labor Day Weekend. Stay safe, stay strong and stay close to home! Maribeth Directions: From the stoplight in Coupeville at Highway 20 and Main Street, walk or bike 1.5 miles south on the Rhododendron bike path, or drive 1.5 miles on Highway 20 to the Park entrance.
By Bus: Take the Route 1 bus northbound or southbound and ask to be let off at Jacobs Road just south of Coupeville. Then walk the bike path a short distance south to the park entrance.
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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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