Goose Rock hike and more

Today's hikers

Just to show you can never tell what a day will bring, today we gathered at the Senior Center, 14 of us, for a hike in the Deception Pass area. The plan was to hike up to Goose Rock from West Beacvh, a favorite hike of ours over the years. We had three newbies, Patrick, Mark, and Jeannie. We decided to add the short (around a mile round trip) Interpretive Loop to make it a little longer. Within a few short steps, I took quite a spill, twisting my ankle and writhing on the ground for a few minutes, trying to decide how badly I was hurt.

Me, up on my feet again

Melanie took this picture of me right after I got up, and I thought I might be able to go on the hike after all. But no, every time I tried to put weight on my right ankle, it complained. I got them all to go ahead and hike up Goose Rock, while I would stay behind and spend my day on the beach.

West Beach

With the help of my trekking poles and being careful, I could walk around without too much pain. But I have to admit I am injured, and I won't be pushing things too much until it gets better. But, as I've said before, it's not my first rodeo. It WILL get better.

Deception Pass bridge

As you can see, it was cloudy and cool as I walked down to the beach to get a shot of the bridge, which is still being worked on, as you can see here. The bridge is wearing a coat of sorts. I think the last time I was here, more than a year ago, they had begun the work, and it's still going on.

View from Goose Rock

Melanie sent me this picture taken from the top of Goose Rock, where they had lunch. I spent my time carefully walking along the beach and enjoying the views. The skies had begun to clear a little by midday.

Could I make it to the beach?

I wanted to get down to the water, so I could stick my feet in and hopefully treat the ankle to some cold water, but in order to do that, I had to climb over those logs, no matter where I looked. I spent a good deal of time trying to find the best way to get there, and finally I did.

Down by the water

Yes, it was lovely to feel the cold water coming in on my feet. I had removed my boots and rolled up my pants legs so I could just stand in the surf and let it flow over me. The tide was on the way in, I noticed.

Sandy toes and a swollen right ankle

It felt so good to spend quite a bit of time out there as I watched the tide come in and enjoyed the heightened sense of time I had to spend doing absolutely nothing. Finally I had to make my way back to the parking lot and clean off my feet before putting the boots back on. It was painful only now and then, but now that I'm home, I've got the old RICE setup: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. How long before I'll be able to walk normally again? I'm hoping not too long if I follow the rules.

In any event, we had a good day today, and the gang returned rather early in the afternoon. By that time the skies were almost completely clear. But still, it was cool enough to enjoy the amazing beach and climb to Goose Rock (for them, that is). Next time I'll be joining them!

:-)