Dungeness Spit - Olympics, WA
Jan 8, 2010 |
Spokane winters kinda blow. I'm not really into the snow sports and the last snowshoe I went on left my knees screaming for mercy - something to do with the awkward gait. This year, we decided to break up the winter by making a trip over to the Olympic Coast to get in a few hikes. Our first stop was Dungeness Spit in the town of Sequim (pronounced skwim). We left town after work on Thursday and drove as far as North Bend, where we spent the night at the North Bend Hotel. The rooms were pretty old and somewhat slanting but it was comfortable, clean and very quiet.
We awoke early in order to beat the Friday rush hour traffic and catch the 5:40 ferry to Kingston. We passed some colorfully named towns along the way. I always wondered about naming of coastal towns. With "Port Horrible" and "Port Agony" and "Port Turmoil" and other various non-made-up names, seems the founders were either not happy with their living conditions or trying to scare others away. Soon we arrived at our turn off of highway 101 - Kitchen Dick Road. A few turns later and we were at the closed gate to Dungeness Spit Reserve. I didn't realize they kept the place locked down at night but no worries; it was 7:57am; three minutes till opening.
The gate opened automatically and we drove to the parking area at the end of the road where the trailhead awaited.
The trail started out flat and wide, passing two observation platforms on its way to the beach. We stopped and one of them and watched the little flashes from the lighthouse way out at the end of the spit. It looked like a longs ways out there. We made it to the beach within half a mile and began hopping over driftwood and plastic ducks. Having started at high tide, there was no flat sandy beach to speed us along but the slower pace let us do some discovering - we found many tennis balls, plastics of all kinds and lots and lots of birds. Nearer to the lighthouse we spotted a bald eagle perched on a piling. Its white head was muddied and it was soaked and miserable looking. The nearby seagulls looked more regal.
Before heading into the lighthouse, we decided to enjoy lunch from an old wooden bench that overlooked the water. A sign next to the bench read "Welcome to Serenity". The rain started about the time we got the PB&Js out but only lasted long enough for us to get our hard shells on.
I can't remember his name but the very friendly guy who was taking care of the lighthouse came out to greet us and offer a tour, which we gladly accepted. The place is in amazingly good condition. We toured the bottom floor which contained a few rooms with historical information and old pictures. Pretty cool stuff. At the top, we were surprised to see how dimly lit the light was. The views from the top were terrific even for a cloudy day. I would have liked to have heard the fog horn up close but he said it is automated.
The walk back during a lower tide was much nicer. We ran into a few other wanderers (the first of the day. Most seemed content to poke and prod around the driftwood rather than make the walk to the lighthouse.
This was a fun hike - very relaxing. |
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