Sunday, March 29, 2020

2020-01-28 - Guemes Island - Washington State Trip - Day 3

Jack and Amy 's Washington State Trip
Day 3 - Tuesday, January 28th, 2020
A day on Guemes Island
Skagit County, WA


 Bald Eagle soaring over the Guemes Island Shoreline


The town of Anacortes, WA where Amy and I were staying for the week has two Ferry terminals offering access to many of the islands of the Pacific Northwest.  The Guemes Island Ferry is only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel and since since Amy had to work the entire day, I decided to take the ferry over and spend the day exploring Guemes Island.


 Taking the Ferry over to Guemes Island

I was the only pedestrian on the first ferry of the day.  I had hoped to catch the sunrise from Guemes Island, but there was absolutely no break in the thick clouds rain persistent rain.  So I decided to start exploring the island by foot.


My plan for the morning was to walk to the Guemes Mountain Trailhead and hike to the top.  Unfortunately, the beavers on Guemes Island were not aware of my plan and I ran into this.



Dam Beavers blocked my route!

There was no way around without getting soaked, so my hike up Guemes Mountain would have to wait until later in the day.  Instead, I backtracked a bit and explored the South-West quadrant of the island.

Typical Guemes Island Scenery


Kelly's Point on the Guemes Island Shoreline


Kelly's Point on the Guemes Island Shoreline 


 Nice trails at the southernmost area of Guemes Island


I met a friend


Cute little houses on Guemes Island


The only store or restaurant on Guemes Island is the Guemes Island General Store.  They have a very limited menu on Tuesdays during the off season, but I was able to get a flight of beer, a bowl of Seafood Bisque, and a Turkey Panini.  All of which were fabulous!

 Flight of Beer and Seafood Bisque at Guemes Island General Store

One of my fondest memories from this trip was being treated to a solo piano performance by Ben Starner.  He just happened pop in to grab a cup of coffee and tickle the ivories on the store's piano while I was having lunch.    Check out this guys piano skills!  

The Guemes Island General Store also offers loaner bicycles.  I borrowed one of those for a little while after lunch.

My ride for the next few hours

I found another route to the Guemes Mountain Trailhead and used the loaner bicycle to pedal there.  It didn't take me long to realize that I much prefer walking to bicycling and was happy to arrive at the trailhead so I could get back to hiking!


Guemes Mountain Trail

The Guemes Mountain Trail is a well designed and constructed 1.2 mile trail (2.4 miles round trip) up to the summit of Guemes Mountain.  It gains elevation gradually up to the 680-foot summit which would normally offer up some spectacular views.

The views were a bit limited today, but I had the mountain to myself and thoroughly enjoyed my time high up on the top of Guemes Mountain.

At the Summit of Guemes Mountain

A little History



Nice benches along the way

The Guemes Mountaintop Loop Trail

 View from Guemes Mountain

View from Guemes Mountain

After my hike up Guemes Mountain I continued exploring the Southeast corner of the island via bicycle.  I set the bike aside for a bit to a break to explore some of the shoreline along the South-East corner of the island..

I took a nice break to share a moment with a Bald Eagle.

 Bald Eagle at Guemes Island

 Guemes Island

view from Guemes Island

I originally planed to stay on the bicycle to explore the Northern end of the island.  However, by the time I got back to the General Store I was done pedaling!  From there I continued exploring via foot. 

Sunset this time of year is at around 5:00pm making it dark by the time I finished up my day of exploring.  I enjoyed a nice cold pint at the General Store while waiting for the next ferry back to Anacortes.



Waiting for the Ferry back to Anacortes


Later that evening after a nice meal, Amy and I took a nice little stroll around the Anacortes Marinia.  Most of these shots were taken by Amy on her new I-Phone.


Anacortes Marina

 Jack and Amy Marinia Selfie

 Anacortes Marinia at Night

Anacortes Marina At Night

Anacortes Marina At Night


My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157713665017853

Monday, March 23, 2020

2020-03-21 Emory Creek Tributary Exploratory Hike / Bushwhack

Team Waterfall Exploratory Hike / Bushwhack
unnamed Tributary of Emory Creek
Pickens County, SC
Saturday, March 23rd, 2020

Group photo at an unnamed waterfall on an unnamed tributary of Emory Creek
L to R:  Kyle, Blizzy, Dillon, Scott (aka The Professor), Me, and Spencer


Originally this weekend was slated to be a big Team Waterfall gathering at my friend Elliot's cabin.  However with the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, Elliott wisely decided to cancel the big gathering/campout.

However, some fresh air in the form of a smaller group dayhike definitely seemed to be in order.

Kyle had a tributary of Emory Creek he wanted to explore, so we gathered a small crew together to bushwhack into the unknown where we would be highly unlikely to encounter any other humans.

Five Went In (Including Blizzy)
L to R: Me, Kyle, Scott, Blizzy, Dillon


While this area is loaded with trails and forest service roads, much of our day was spent was off trail!  The off trail portions of this adventure are extremely difficult and should only be attempted by those experience in off trail navigation, creekwalking, and bushwhacking!

Here are some of the photos from our adventure!

Blizzy Crossing the Creek

 Kyle Crossing the Creek  (I followed Blizzy)

 The Professor pointing out some remains of Camp Adger

 Kyle, Dillon, and Blizzy leading the way upstream

The Professor peaking through

We found Spencer somewhere along the way 

Dillon and Blizzy

Dillon, Kyle, and Blizzy showing off an incredible cave 

 Kyle

Spencer exploring the caves

 Hanging out in the cave

Dillon and Kyle 

Kyle and Spencer 

 Dillon, Kyle, and Spencer

 Kyle, Dillon, and Blizzy leading the way up to the Petroglyphs

 Spencer at Petroglyph Rock

 Heading up the mountain

Blizzy 

Spencer 

One of the few creatures with a better view than us

Dillon 

Devil's Walking Stick 

There's a Big Bird somewhere around here! 

The Professor loving life 

Spencer, Dillon, Scott, Kyle

Five Came Out (Plus Blizzy) 



My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157713600828828


Meet Zoey

 Meet Zoey! Amy and I just adopted this beautiful girl!