Hoypus Hill and Ala Spit 2018

Melanie, Frank, Kirk, Richard, Al, Chris, Diane (and me)

Only eight of us showed up on a brilliantly sunny day today for a drive down to Deception Pass State Park, our annual trip to enjoy this relatively easy hike from Cornet Bay on Whidbey Island just across the Deception Pass bridge. You can tell from this picture how cold it was when we got started, with everybody bundled up nice and warm. It was around -3°C (25°F) when we drove the 45 miles south to our starting point. It snowed a little bit last night, as you can see in the picture, and that made the roads icy and a little scary early.

Our trail was beautiful

By the time we arrived at Cornet Bay, most of the roads had cleared and only the areas in complete shadow were icy, so we drove carefully. We were not in a hurry anyway to leave our warm cars to get outside in the cold. But it was so breathtakingly beautiful with the fresh snow and early morning light showing through the trees that we were happy to get out and get moving.

Melanie took this one

We wandered around on the forest trails, making our way around several very boggy areas and decided, not long after this picture, to go ahead and make our way to Ala Spit, a peninsula not far from the trails, adding maybe another mile to the day, and have lunch there.

Sitting on the Spit, so to speak

We found some driftwood to block the breeze, and if you were able to find a place out of the wind, it was incredibly pleasant. In this picture you can see a few birds in the foreground, I hoped to get close enough to show them, but you will have to take my word that there are a couple of oystercatchers in this picture.

Kirk, Diane and Chris bundled up for lunch

Although we had shed quite a few clothes as we hiked, by the time we got to the exposed Spit, we put everything we had back on while we enjoyed a break from hiking. And then it was time to head back the way we had come. We do make a short loop around the East Hoypus Point so we can see the Old Growth trees. I always enjoy this part, and this year I captured this picture of one of the Ancient Ones.

Looking up, up, up

There is no way that I have found to take a picture that shows the incredible beauty of these old trees, but I continue to try. These trees are hundreds of years old, and sometimes I try to imagine what the world was like when it was a tiny seedling. I hope the magnificent tree lives for many hundreds of years to come.

We had a great day and made it back home with the skies still sunny and the temperature not that much warmer. It rose to just above freezing, and tonight the snow is supposed to return. In any event, we had nine miles of hiking on a gorgeous day today! I am so grateful for having had the experience.
:-)