Thursday, March 17, 2011

Goose Rock

Twelve Senior Trailblazers drove south of Bellingham to Deception Pass on Whidbey Island for our Thursday excursion. We hiked up to the top of Goose Rock... twice. We parked in the Deception Pass State Park area, about a mile away from the trailhead, in order to make this hike a little bit longer. We are accustomed to putting in somewhere around eight miles or so, and this hike is pretty short. We could have done it in four miles round trip, but we didn't. As you can see, it wasn't exactly a clear day, but after so many days of rain and wind, it felt wonderful, although it was still a little cool and breezy. No rain, not one drop.

The trail is well maintained and receives heavy use year round. Many trails go through the park, and there are several different trails going up to Goose Rock itself. Deception Pass is named because of the incredible currents and eddies that pass under the Deception Pass bridge. From that Wikipedia link:
Deception Pass is a dramatic seascape where the tidal flow and whirlpools beneath the twin bridges connecting Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island move quickly. During low tides, the swift current can lead to standing waves, large whirlpools, and roiling eddies. This swift current phenomenon can be viewed from the twin bridges' pedestrian walkways or from the trail leading below the larger south bridge from the parking lot on the Whidbey Island side. Boats can be seen waiting on either side of the pass for the current to stop or change direction before going through. Thrill-seeking kayakers go there during large tide changes to surf the standing waves and brave the class 2 and 3 rapid conditions.
 We hiked to the top of Goose Rock and found it was breezy and a little too early to stop for lunch, so we hiked back down to the beach. We saw these whirlpools that had picked up in intensity from our earlier view.
The water looks turbulent right in the middle of the picture, and I can imagine how difficult it would be to navigate a boat through those waters. Fortunately, all you need to do is wait awhile and the currents will change and boats can travel through. In the picture below, you can see the beach where we had lunch, with Amy in the foreground showing off her green jacket, worn just for today (St. Patrick's Day). The double bridge is in the background.
Since we had only hiked about four miles by the time we stopped for lunch, Al asked if we wanted to explore some of the other trails going up to Goose Rock, and we readily agreed. However, once we got close to the summit, he asked if we wanted to "pop up" to the top again. This brought out some grumbles from some of us, since there had been no mention of going all the way back to the top. Well, I didn't ever feel that I "popped up" there, but I made my way with the others to the summit... again. We did see signs of spring on the way, with green leaves sprouting all over, and even some pretty pink flowers.
The sunshine and lack of rain made it a wonderful day, and of course I always love to tell stories and laugh with my good buddies. By the time we reached the cars again, we had traveled around eight and a half miles with about 1,800 feet of elevation gain and loss. I'm tired, but nothing like I was after last week's hike. I was actually pleased to find I wasn't the only one sore and tired last Thursday after almost 13 miles and all that elevation. Today we were all smiles as we headed back to the Senior Center.

(News flash: We thought we heard some shouts and saw an orange Coast Guard helicopter overhead several times. It turns out they were rescuing two kayakers who overturned in that turbulent water. Story on the Whidbey News Times here.)
:-)

25 comments:

  1. oh the place you'll go...neat adventure djan...great view...and happy st pats!

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  2. I enjoy all your hikes and it takes very little effort!
    Lived on an arctic coast for two years. Really learned about tides and currents. There was a 12 mph current in and out of the bay so lots of interesting current.

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  3. First up....I like your new header picture. Glad to see you're hiking and thanks for the positive signs of spring.

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  4. After the hikes you take, I think the name of your center needs to be renamed. I hardly think of you as seniors.The photos are beautiful. This sounds like a very interesting place.

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  5. This must have been a nice change; it looks like pretty different terrain than your usual hikes. It has to be rejuvenating to see those first blooms of spring!

    I hope you had a happy St. Patrick's Day:)

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  6. The one last week seemed a little too much. Glad you enjoyed this shorter one. Linda Reeder should enjoy this post.

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  7. How lovely it is to spend time with friends in a beautiful environment. I am glad you had a good day, DJan.

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  8. I am living through you vicariously, just seeing something green popping up from the ground is beautiful to me.
    Love that you enjoyed your hike with your friends today and wasn't too sore and tired when you returned home...:-)Hugs

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  9. I have stood on those bridges, enjoying the view, and I've been on that beach, but we've never really spent much time in the park. We're usually traveling from the tulips in the Skaget valley to our cabin on South Whidbey Island.
    I must say your hike today sounds more plesant than that slog of last week.

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  10. I was so excited to see this! We were there last year. What a beautiful place.

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  11. Just look at all that sunshine, we had a little today on this side of the Cascades too. It's nice to see those little touches of green, maybe there will be more soon.

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  12. How nice that you got to eat your lunch on the beach. I loved to see the water and the turbulence. I miss the sea here, coming from an Island race as I do. It was good to see it again.

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  13. Goose rock is an interesting name. Wonder why it is named that. As always, I enjoyed the virtual hike along the trail with you.

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  14. That first picture of yours is very pretty – I like the branches in the front, it gives it perspective. I also like the second one with the beautiful and soft pink cloud formation. You walk in such lovely landscape DJan – it is always a thrill to see where you are going next – you have the legs of a teenager- I don’t believe you are a senior!

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  15. What an incredibly fine day! And those photos illustrate it perfectly.

    I need to get my butt in gear.

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  16. It sounds like great fun...:-)

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  17. Love these hikes! The photos are always beautiful. You all are definitely not my idea of a senior group!

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  18. Those kayakers were really lucky..one was from the Midwest..dumb $%#@
    I was trying to figure out what that blooming pink things were..must be a relative of the Double Flowering Plum..or Flowering Almond..they get flowers before their leaves are unfurled.
    Another great hike! Thanks for the trip:)

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  19. A very interesting and fabulous place!

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  20. You and your friends are so inspiring. And you have such beautiful areas to hike. And lucky us, that you share it all.

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  21. It looks like you spent the day in paradise. Lucky you.
    Cheers, jj

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  22. You got some neat names for those places. I suspect some came from Native Americans that I used to commonly call, Indians.

    I got some Indian blood in my veins so I should be able to call them Indians.

    Anyway, I am thinking or trying to imagine myself walking from the house to the end of the street two houses away. It will be a struggle but I want to try. I need to move more but it is a bitch dragging a bottle of oxygen along.

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  23. What beautiful, turbulent tidal waters you can appreciate on your hikes.

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  24. I'm impressed with so many miles this early in the season. Such a beautiful area, and the perfect day for a spring hike.

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  25. Going up to the top twice? Now there's motivation! ;o)

    The hiking group is one of the things I miss the most from Belgium now that I'm back in Alicante. I haven't been able to find something quite similar here... And I need to do so quickly before I completely lose the shape I gained in Belgium and New Zealand! :s

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