Guemes Island is just across the channel from Anacortes, so we look over at it often. Our previous two trip reports are dated September 4, 2018, and July 21, 2021. Today we resolved to revisit the island.
The Guemes Island Ferry Terminal is at 500 I Ave, several blocks east of the big docks used by the Washington State Ferries.
My hiking buddy Marin and I joined the short queue for the Guemes Island Ferry just 20 minutes before its departure from Anacortes, and we had no problem getting on board (Charge cards only. No cash fares. Masks optional. Remain in car. The attendant will come around to process your card.)
The day promised to be super with temperatures in the low 70s, and a slight breeze. But air quality was not the best. Some forest fire smoke was drifting in so distant views were not as clear as on our previous trips, and we detected an occasional whiff of smoke odor.
Once across Guemes Channel we headed north on Guemes Island Road for 1.5 miles, turned right onto Edens Road, crossed the one-lane bridge, and in another 1.5 miles or so looked for the trailhead on the left. There was one other vehicle parked there. Two other hikers arrived by bicycle while we were changing footgear.
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, and some of the interesting features and the elevations along the way.
The best part of the forest is the section at the beginning that hasn't been logged for many years. There are a lot of tall trees and some ferns and moss. The trail itself, today, was very dry but not dusty.
Because of the continuing dry spell, maple leaves have changed color early again this year and a lot of them already are down on the trail.
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. We did note some colorful fungi (photo.)
As in 2021, a lot of the bushy sea foam blossoms were roasted in the summer heat. They never fully matured, and now are showing various shades of tan.
At the broad Guemes Island summit 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 at anchor, as well as small craft. In the years since our previous visits small trees have continued to grow, and views of Samish Island are even more obscured than before.
We had the summit area mostly to ourselves (three other hikers) for a leisurely viewing, although we did encounter a few more hikers on the other trails. Some of them were locals who do this hike often.
We saw no large critters today. Only a squirrel, a downy woodpecker, and a flicker. And there were a few swallows swooping around the summit.
On our return to the ferry landing we found a bit of a queue, but it was not a problem and we managed to board on the very next sailing for our return trip to Anacortes.
It was a very enjoyable day to be out. We should do this trip more often.
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