Island Center Forest — Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016

Puget Sound and Islands > Seattle-Tacoma Area

This is a beautiful forest for a winter hike, with tall Douglas firs and in some places stands of red alder. The undergrowth was rich and green even in winter, with salal, ferns and abundant bushes of evergreen huckleberry that must be several decades old judged by their size. I’ve never seen so many huge evergreen huckleberry bushes. In some places there were stands of salmonberry bushes with their yellow stems. The trail goes up and down a bit, just enough to add interest to the views and keep you warm. We saw a large flock of junkos, several vociferously calling pileated woodpeckers and ravens, and one falcon. Mukai pond was frozen and we enjoyed the patterns on the ice. An especially interesting feature around Mukai pond was the clear horizontal line visible across the vegetation there, suggesting that there can be flooding there several feet deep. My impression was that lichen could only grow above the line, and that created the visual effect. Several signs explained interesting aspects about forest management. King County has a project to thin the red alder stands and plantation rows of Douglas fir in several places and replace it with more natural stands of native mixed forest including Western red cedars. There was a plaque indicating that this forest has FSC certification for sustainable management. We started from the trailhead on SW 188th St. close to the town of Vashon. We had printed out the map from the link in the hike description, as recommended. We hiked one of the largest possible clockwise loops: south on the Fir Hill Trail, then across on Grinder, north on Dump Run, southeast on Middle Fork, northeast on Techmo, around Mukai pond, and back on the Landtrust trail. The trails are wide and well-maintained and it took a bit under 2 hr. Although not every junction was signposted, enough of them were, so that between the map we brought and the signposts we found the way easily. There were also maps at the trailhead, but they had almost run out so it is best to bring your own. The picnic shelter and wetland observation deck at the trailhead are only a few years old and beautifully constructed. A large group with children was having a picnic at the shelter. Two people brought horse-trailers and set off on a ride with their horses looking cozy and warm in their fuzzy wintercoats. On our walk, we met only a handful of people and it was very peaceful in the forest. The ferry ride was also a treat, with views of towering Mt Rainier to the south and the snowy Olympics on the other side.