Hiked this trail on a cold, clear day with our 7 and 10 year old boys and 7 month old pup. A great trail for the pup’s first hike! A bit muddy in spots with patches of snow that required some careful steps, but otherwise great conditions and a nice way to burn off some energy after the long drive from Seattle. Lovely views at the top made the short, uphill trek worth it!

This  was a great hike to stretch the legs before getting in the car for the long drive home. The trail was wet, but the trees provided nice shelter from the drizzly rain. The views from the top were great even on a cloudy day.

I started this hike by walking onto the ferry to Guemes Island in Anacortes. It’s the cutest little ferry & it’s only a 5 minute ride across the channel. Once off the ferry, I started the walk to the Trailhead by taking a right onto S. Shore Road. The road borders the Sound with great views, but there is no shoulder to walk on, you literally walk the road. There was hardly any traffic though & the drivers I did encounter were very courteous, all of them slowing, moving over & offering a friendly wave & a smile. I enjoyed the stroll on S. Shore Road for a little over 2 miles before finding the Trailhead on the right side of the road. Glad I walked as there are only a few parking spaces, but the trail was well marked. It starts off in the forest curving & climbing with intermittent benches to rest on before climbing again. The views from the top were beautiful! There’s a short trail circling the top that offers great views in different directions. Very enjoyable hike. In all with the road walk, I covered a little over 7 miles.
Happy Hiking!

Has it really been three years? I would have guessed only two. But my previous trip report is dated September 4, 2018, so apparently is has been that long.

Guemes Island is just across the channel from Anacortes, and we have looked over at it often enough. Today we resolved to revisit it.

My hiking buddy Marin and I joined the short queue for the Guemes Island Ferry about 40 minutes before departure from Anacortes, and we had no problem getting on board (Charge cards only. No cash fares. Masks required. Remain in car.)

The day promised to be super. Temperatures in the low 70s, a slight breeze and very clear air. Forest fire smoke has remained east of the Cascades.

Once across, we headed directly north on Guemes Island Road for 1.5 miles, turned right onto Edens Road, and in another 1.5 miles or so looked for the trailhead on the left. There were 3 vehicles parked there already, but room for one more.

We enjoyed seeing again the artistically-done signboard at the trailhead (See photo in my 2018 trip report.) It shows the general outline of the route, some of the interesting features, and the elevations along the way.

The best part of the forest is the section at the beginning where it hasn't been logged for many years. There are a lot of tall trees, some ferns and moss. But the trail itself, today, was very dry. In a few places it has been resurfaced, if that is the word, with a mix of grit and fine soil that seems to have a slightly different hue than the original grade. The footing was so dry today that the upper layer was dusty.

There wasn't much to see in the way of wildflowers: An occasional aster or agoseris, a bit of miner's lettuce and thistle, and some larger clumps of pearly everlasting. A lot of the bushy sea foam blossoms were roasted in the late-June heat wave. They never fully matured, and now are showing various shades of tan.

Also because of the dry spell, a few maple leaves are beginning to change color early.

At the broad Guemes Island summit we had great views. We took the short "Mountain Top Loop Trail" that leads around the summit area, and we included the side trail at the north end that leads to the north-facing bench.

We could see distant islands and some large container ships, as well as small craft. Since our 2018 visit small trees have continued to grow, and views of Samish Island now are partly obscured.

We had the summit area all to ourselves for a leisurely viewing, although we did encounter a few hikers on the other trails.

We saw no large critters today. Marin did catch a quick view of an eagle soaring past, and there were a few swallows swooping around.

On our return to the ferry landing we found the return queue very long. It took almost three hours to get on board for our return to Anacortes. Apart from that long wait, it was a very enjoyable day to be out.

A fun hike with our preteen granddaughters.  The trail is nice and easy with great views at the top.  Not much parking at the trailhead and we had to park a little ways down the road.  Beautiful views.