Hoypus Hill and Ala Spit

Welcome back, Ross

Only six Senior Trailblazers met at the Senior Center to head south into the Deception Pass area, to hike Hoypus Hill starting at Cornet Bay. The day was gloomy to begin with, low clouds and rather chilly, but as we drove the 30-some miles, the clouds began to lift a little. Ross has been gone for several months, but today he joined us, and it was nice to have him back after a family loss and a move of residence.

The many trails are well marked, and I saw fields and fields filled with this little gem, stinging nettles. They are just perfect for harvesting right now, but you can't do it with your bare hands. I was careful not to let them brush against me, because I remember that sting stays with me for awhile. Last year Peggy harvested some and steamed them; she said they were simply delicious.

We left the hill area briefly to walk over to the Ala Spit, a little piece of land that juts out into Skagit Bay. I provided a link to show anyone who might be interested a map and a bit of information about it. It made a nice place for us to have lunch, and by the time we settled in, we had almost full sunshine. The tide was out, as low as I've ever seen it. That green algae in the middle is usually under water.

After lunch we headed back to the Hoypus Hill area and reveled in the brilliant sunshine coming through the trees. The second half of our hike was simply perfect: right temperature, lots of sun, and  magnificent old growth trees. We oooh-d and aaaah-d at many of these giants. They are not easy to capture in a picture, but I gave it a try here.

They just seem to go on and on up into the forest canopy. This beauty was just one among many, and many times we would just stop and gaze upwards. But, finally, we reached Cornet Bay, where we had started our hike. I got this picture of the Deception Pass Bridge peeking at us from amongst the forest trees.

The tide has started to come back in. I didn't know before I moved here that there are tide tables and there are two low tides and two high tides every day, one each for the sun and the moon. Tides are fascinating to me. The currents under the bridge roil and churn constantly, with the tides bringing in or moving out all that water.

Al, me, Rita, Ross, Amy (Mike behind the camera)

Just before we were done, I asked Mike if he would take a picture of us with my camera. This is the third attempt; in the first one Rita closed her eyes, then Amy closed hers in the second. Mike ordered us all to close our eyes when he told us, and then open them on his command. Here is the result! We had covered exactly nine miles and almost 1,000 feet of elevation up and down by this point. It was a perfect day (in case any of our usual hikers are reading this, you missed out!).

Tomorrow I catch a plane (two of them, actually) south to Lake Elsinore for my skydiving adventure, which I will write about here. Three days of wearing myself to a frazzle, but I think I'm ready. After today I should sleep well tonight.
:-)