(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
The Daily Bucket - winter path to the shore [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2022-12-06
Salal grows high in a dry section of woods
December 5, 2022
Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest
Yesterday afternoon we took a walk on an old favorite path to see the revision that was made earlier this year. It takes you from the road, through wet and dry woods, to a west-facing rocky bluff where swift tidal currents race by. The walk is wholely inside a county park, one of the few places regular people can legally visit the shore, since nearly all waterfront in San Juan county is privately owned by wealthy property owners (the majority absentee except for a few visits in summertime). Needless to say, our house is not waterfront so we really value these access paths over public land.
We almost never take this walk in the summer season because there are so many tourists on the 1-mile path. The park service reports 70-100 people on those days. Because the bluff is so fragile ecologically and the pedestrian traffic so heavy, a path revision was implemented last spring. Rather than walking to the end of the park and returning on the same path, a loop was built that eliminates half the treading on the most fragile section, cutting through the woods on the return leg rather than over the top of the bluff where native prairie wildflowers, mosses and lichens survive the challenging environment.
Before and after maps
Come along with us on our walk.
Note: All my photos are quite dark due to the season. The sun is very low all day in December and it was 3 to 4 pm at the time, shortly before sunset. Add in an overcast sky and we almost had to get out a flashlight :)
Trail starts in a wet section, dominated by alders, deciduous shrubs, ferns, sedges etc. Standing water and mud - hence the boardwalk. The sign warns of mud and widowmaker trees — a lot of alders are aging out and breaking off.
The woods gradually transition to thinner soil and bedrock sloping toward the shore: evergreen salal dominates the understory with Douglas fir, Grand Fir and Western Hemlock the trees. A big fire came through here about a century ago; some snags and even living Doug firs show burn scars
The main reason people walk this path is to see the shoreline. There’s a narrow margin of bluff top between the trees and the water. Lots of trail use wears down the thin soil exposing tree roots. The trees along here are wind-battered, small and twisted, older than they look. Mostly Doug fir and Shore Pine.
At the farthest end of the path there are rocks offshore that provide a great refuge for wildlife and a fishing spot for them.
The two rocks in the distance are Whale Rocks, which we visit in the boat.
Bald eagle perches on the nearby rock
Cattle Point lighthouse on San Juan island is across this narrow 1-mile wide channel. Tidal currents always race through here. Yesterday afternoon was an ebb tide — you can see the water streaming by from right to left in this view, about a 4 knot current.
A sealion and several seals were out fishing in the ebb current, facing upstream. More seals were hauled out on the rocks.
One of two pairs of Black Oystercatchers flying from rock to rock, foraging and calling
Much of the bluff is too rocky and steep for trees. In spring and summer there’s a nice variety of native wildflowers here, like Camas, Shooting Star, Chocolate Lily. But when there are a lot of walkers at once, the traffic tends to encourage braided social trails and erosion.
Rocky outcroppings support fragile mosses and lichens, easily destroyed by footsteps.
The new trail:
Mr O stands at the fork, the new loop trail heads inland here. The trail-builders started this section as close to the end of the original trail as possible; further south there’s steep bedrock.
The new loop looks well-traveled already, after just one tourist season — that’s great!
A big old fallen trunk along the path is a nurse log: new shrubs and hemlocks are growing on it
It was too dark to take photos of birds in the woods but I saw Pacific wrens, Chestnutbacked chickadees, Spotted towhees, Darkeyed juncos, Northern flicker. Heard woodpeckers, ravens, nuthatches, kinglets. The wildlife in the woods is more subtle than who you see at the shore, but there’s lots going on in the thickets and trees.
The fork at the northern end of the loop. We’ll take a right here.
The new loop ends just before the wet section, which was a wise decision. No need to duplicate boardwalks. This section of boardwalk is new this year.
Back at the parking lot, a celebratory photo: we’re the only ones here today. In summer the lot is packed.
For anyone interested in learning more about how and why the new trail was built, and who the trail builders were, check out this video:
🫧
THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS. WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND HISTORY OF THE DAILY BUCKET FEATURE, CHECK OUT THIS DIARY: DAILY BUCKET PHENOLOGY: 11 YEARS OF RECORDING EARTH'S VITAL SIGNS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/6/2140254/-The-Daily-Bucket-winter-path-to-the-shore
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
