I can’t honestly say whether I picked this shot because I like the photo or because I love this spot on the trail. It may be a little of each. And at this time of the year I miss that lush green foliage, so there’s probably some winter longing, too.
Category: Trails
Solstice
Today is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year and the official start to winter. We ushered out autumn yesterday with snow down to sea level. Although there has been snow in the hills in recent weeks, this is the first seen by flatlanders in a couple of years. Rain, with more predicted, means it’s not likely to last. So I guess if one dreams of a white Christmas yesterday was an excuse for an early celebration.
It’s the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. Stay warm and dry.
One foot after the other
Sometimes it’s hard to know where the trail is heading. This day, this achingly beautiful sunny day, it felt like walking into a tunnel of forest light. Other days it’s time to pull up the hood and keep on moving. Sometimes you just don’t know ’til you’re there. And always it’s one foot after the other.
I’m heading on a new trail for a little while and taking a break.
Winter light
I may have posted a view of this spot before. It’s part of my regular walking route at Dungeness Recreation Area. It regularly grabs me because it’s so nicely situated to catch slices of light in the late afternoon and early evening. During winter it’s particularly nice to emerge from the nearby forested area and see the light radiating across this part of the trail ahead.
Railroad ties
I almost overlooked these railroad ties that formed the backbone of a mural and sign at the Johnson Creek Trestle, last Saturday’s post. Rough hewn and strong, these ties are nearly 100 years old.
Winter breakthrough
After endless grey days (Yes, I know. I’m exaggerating.) it seems as if the color has drained away from everything. Then the sun breaks through and reminds me the color palette extends beyond grey. This is along one of the marsh areas at Dungeness Recreation Area.
Today is the last day of duck hunting in the Dungeness Recreation Area. And if I’ve got it right, it’s the last day of hunting there for good.
The new trail
A few months ago I posted photos of the bluff trail at Dungeness Recreation Area here under the title “There goes the neighborhood” because it was, quite literally, sliding into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It’s an ongoing challenge to keep access to the bluff trails open because the sandy cliffs are so battered by natural erosion. This is a view of the newly-revised trail at the bluff after it was recently shifted further inland. Although it looks – and is – tidy and clear, this shift required removing at least four or five feet of thick shrubbery that previously edged the trail to allow it to tiptoe back from the ever-creeping ledge. The fence you see in this view is not so far from the previous inland side of the trail.
This view shows some of the erosion that has eaten into what once was the trail.
Trail crews did a beautiful job on this and other parts of the bluff trail. I wish I could applaud and say “Your work is finished!” But I think it’s just another chapter in an ongoing saga. They’ll be back.