I decided to post these PNT blogs in the geographical order I walked them along the trail, rather than in chronological order, to make it easier for people who wanted to use these as an informational resource walking the trail. While I know it would probably make more sense to post them from North to South (ie East to West), since that is the direction that most people walk the trail, I realized that I actually walked from South to North in each section, so I'll start in Fort Casey and go North through Whidbey Island from there. Then post my adventures in Port Townsend last, since the ferry makes for a natural break in the narrative, and things didn't go exactly as planned once I got off Whidbey. Fortunately, getting "off course" can sometimes lead to unexpected greatness, and that is what happened in my case. But more on that later...
My first section of the PNT was from the Fort Casey Ferry to the Fort Casey Inn. And yes, the trail goes right through the Fort! It was not a long section, but there was a LOT to see in it, so I thought it deserved its own post. If I had just walked the trail straight through, it would only be 2.5-3 km. However, as you will see, touring the whole Fort really builds up the mileage. Since it took me 2.5 hours, and I am a fast walker, but also paused to look at things and take photos, I would estimate the full tour to be a good 10km. (It was really hard to get the "trail" on the map to follow the route I took on my full tour below, since the paths on the Fort are not official "roads").
First things first: The family reunion was being held at the Fort Casey Inn, which was actually right on the 467-acre Fort Casey property.
The Inn consisted of a row of what was originally the Officer's Houses. The ca. 1909 houses had all been restored to adhere very closely to the original style, while still containing modern amenities, like electrical appliances. They sat overlooking Crockett Lake, which was the big body of water on the top right side of the image above.
Our group rented all of the Officers' Houses, plus the Doctor's House, and the Garrison Hall, which had another small suite (the Eagle's Nest), a large kitchen, and a big enough mess hall for everyone to eat together. Here's a map of the Inn's layout and a photo of the mess hall.
We were in House #6. Here are a few of the inside rooms. You can see the furniture consists mostly of period pieces.
In its military capacity, Fort Casey was one corner of the "triangle of fire" that guarded Puget Sound. The other two forts in the "triangle" were Fort Worden and Fort Flagler. All ships wanting to pass into Puget Sound had to pass through this triangle in Admiralty Inlet. The Fort itself was first built for the Spanish-American War in 1898. Three large "disappearing guns" and several smaller guns were mounted in a sophisticated system of pulleys and counterweights, so that they would sit below the bluff, hidden from passing ships until needed, at which point they would swing up, fire, and swing back down from view. A brilliant mechanism, except for the invention of airplanes in 1903, which, with their birds-eye view, quickly made the entire system obsolete.
In truth, Fort Casey never saw battle. In 1956 it was bought by a private owner, who restored all the houses, and in 2001 it was transferred to Seattle Pacific University, which currently ran the park and Conference Centre.
On the morning of my planned walk through Fort Casey, Colin's relatives Mark and Taffy in House #5 offered us the use of their shower, since our cabin only had a soaker tub. (Lovely as it was for baths, it was very awkward for showers. See tub below and figure out shower difficulties for yourself...) I gratefully accepted.
Afterwards, we chatted a little, and they mentioned that they were also planning on visiting the Fort that day. When I returned to my own cabin, Colin said he was too tired to go to the Fort. He was going to stay in bed and read, instead.
Colin and I had actually already wandered down to the Fort once, on a previous evening. We had first headed toward the Admiralty Head Lighthouse, which stood just about 1.2 km from the Inn, and then had made it to Battery Trevor, close to the ferry, before the fading light made us turn back and retrace our steps. In all, about 5 km round trip, mostly flat.
We had walked across the sports field towards the Fort proper, as the sun set over the ocean. The light was fading so quickly that we could barely make out the row of barracks along the far end of the field. In the past, these houses would have been for the enlisted men, but they were currently housing a youth soccer team, whom we often saw practicing on the field.
The lighthouse was naturally closed at that hour, but I posed for a photo in front of it, on Battery Reuben Turman. (I know it looks like full daylight in the photo, but it was not-- that's a trick of the camera.)
It had felt very "X-Files," as we wandered around through the tunnels underneath the battery in the near-pitch-black. My cell phone's flashlight was bright enough to let us see inside the tunnels, but I wanted to use my phone's camera to take photos, and I couldn't use both at once. We quickly discovered that Colin's cell phone flashlight was insufficient to light our way, and without any cell phone flashlights at all, we could not see one foot in front of our faces. So I often used my camera's flash to light our way inside. (e.g. Hmmm... what's in here? Point the camera in that direction, take a flash photo, and we'll see!) We definitely could have used a real flashlight, but it all added to the "mystery" of climbing down random ladders into the inky darkness. Here's an example:
Colin and I had contrasted this night-time access to Canada, where none these ladders and tunnels would have been open after dusk. In Canada, they would have surely been cordoned off, and the entire facility closed.
We set off down the road from the Officer's Houses towards the sea, past the Alumni House, the Faculty Staff House, to the Colonel's House at the end.
From the bluff trail, I looked back to take in the path we had just walked, and got a good preview of where the PNT would take me over the next few days... all the way along the shore to the point on the far left of the photo, which is Fort Ebey... and beyond.
The bluff trail eventually joined up with the more direct and established trail that began next to the barracks.
While Mark and Taffy went straight into the main museum area, I decided to first go up the Lighthouse tower. I paused to take a photo of the curling staircase when I got a little surprise...
Unbeknownst to me, Matt had gone up the tower ahead of me! Popping his head out into the staircase in the very moment I took the photo, he gave me quite a start, and was subsequently very amused. We took in the view of the rest of the Fort from the top of the tower, then headed back down.
The main floor of the Lighthouse held many relics of the Lighthouse's use, including these two gigantic lamps, and an adorable cross-stitch quilt showing the days of the week and which chores were meant to be done each day (click the photo to enlarge and see detail). The guide inside the lighthouse told us that every lighthouse had its own unique lamp, so that ships could tell which lighthouse they were approaching, by the way it "blinked." It was interesting to learn that the Lighthouse actually predated the Fort, although its current location was not its original location, which was right down at the point.
After the Lighthouse, we headed over to the rest of the Fort, starting with Battery Worth, whose 10-inch "disappearing gun" #1 was left in the "visible" position. We could see it from quite a distance.
Battery Worth's Gun #2 (also 10-inches) was left in the "hidden" position. I thought it was great that they did this, to show both positions in contrast. Based on my examination of the hinges, I decided that my ca. 1980 photo was probably taken inside Gun #2. Hard to believe I was that small! I could not replicate the photo, but I did pose beside the opening of Gun #1 the evening I went with Colin. ;) I should have retaken this photo with Gun #2 in the daylight, but well... it didn't happen. lol.
Ladders led from the roof to the main level which held the guns, and down again to tunnels in the basement. The tunnels beneath Battery Worth unfortunately smelled like urine. Perhaps it was because they were the closest ones to the parking lot, that they saw more use than the others, or, since they were unlocked at night, were perhaps used by vagrants as a place to sleep. In that moment, I was so happy I did not run into any vagrants hiding in the depths of the tunnels that night I visited with Colin!
One exit from the tunnels led to the front of the battery at ground level. Another led to the guns on the first floor. The hooks on the walls on this exit were meant to be used to hold ammunition for manual loading of the gun, if the corresponding ammunition elevator broke.
Since I had already looked at the guns, I took the ground level exit, and headed up to the lookout tower of Battery Moore, where a very cocky crow gave me the eye and reluctantly let me pass.
Mark and Matt weaved in and out of the batteries together, while Taffy and I did the same. We kept crossing paths and were mostly in sight of each other. The tunnels under the other batteries smelled much cleaner than the first set.
I found what I assumed to be a communication panel or an electricity panel. It was in one of the lower tunnels. I had heard somewhere that all these tunnels and batteries were well-connected with communications. However, Battery Moore also held the main power station, so this could have been it. In many tunnels and storerooms, there were remnants of light bulbs in the ceilings. I suppose that back in the day, these were all fully lit up on the inside.
I became quite fascinated with the ammunition elevator systems that were in various state of disrepair and disassembly. Standing at the bottom of one, I could clearly hear Matt's voice above me, and called up to him. This time, I got to catch him by surprise! ;) Sorry the photos below are not more clear, but I had a distinct lack of light, even with the extra aid of my flashlight to assist my camera flash.
Here is the same part of the elevator from above:
I soon realized that walking the batteries turned every metre of fort into at least three, as the ladders led to the tops and the bottoms, and the tunnels twisted and turned underneath the battlements I had just walked.
I managed to capture some images of a particularly daunting set of stairs leading down from the roof of Battery Kingsbury, that Colin and I had explored at night. It required a leap of over a metre, and then proceeding down several stairwells into the pitch dark. Colin had jumped down first, and called out just as I followed, "No wait--!" It had just occurred to him that it might be difficult to get out again, if the stairs led to a locked door... Fortunately, they led to an open passage and the outdoors on the lower level. As we went down in the dark, I remember thinking, "down down to goblin town..." However, in the daytime, it was not very scary at all.
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There were several features in the tunnels that stumped me as to their function. One was a stairway that led nowhere. I could only guess that perhaps the pipe at the top of the photo was for communication, but why this was a good spot for that, I had no idea.
Another was these teeny rooms... perhaps they were showers or toilets??
After examining Battery Valleau, whose guns had been removed and whose doorways led only to storage rooms, I saw Matt over at the green buildings of Fire Control Hill, and started to follow him over there. Then I got slightly delayed by a cute bunny on my path, and by the time I arrived the little green buildings on the hill, Matt had disappeared.
I decided to explore inside the Fire Control bunkers on my own, and looked out the viewport to see a huge section of the Fort in panorama view. These stations were not, as you might suspect, about putting out potential fires in the Fort, but rather they provided guidance to the batteries about where to aim and fire their guns!
After exiting the Fire Control buildings, I followed the road behind the hill, but it led to some houses. I wasn't sure what they were, but there were several people and vehicles there, so I figured I had made a wrong turn.
I retraced my steps and turned South to investigate Battery Trevor, just as the ferry to Port Townsend left its berth at Fort Casey. I never did find my companions. Battery Trevor had two 3-inch guns that were in very good condition. The doors at ground level led only to storage rooms, and not tunnels. These small guns were all loaded by hand, so there were also no elevators.
It was after this point that things took a turn... I scared myself quite a bit while exploring the other half of the Fort. The Telegraph Room was found just past Battery Trevor, along the road that led through the woods. The entrance, embedded into the side of the embankment, was clearly marked "1918 Switchboard." A long pitch black corridor led inside. Fortunately, I had my ultra-bright flashlight, so I used it to see as I walked in. Note these photos were all taken with a flash, and they still turned out fairly dark.
The corridor led to a wood-framed door, which opened to a decent-sized room. To the left and right of the doorway were extremely narrow windowless hallways, barely wider than my shoulders. They, too, receded into blackness, giving no indication where they led. I sucked up my courage and walked into the hallway. There were no doors or windows the entire length. The flash of my camera lit up the hallway better than my flashlight, which only gave me a pool of light around me. My heart was really racing by the time I exited... on the opposite side of the same wooden-framed door where I started. The tunnel went the complete outer perimeter of the room! Since the only entrance/exit/access was at the same doorway, I had no idea what purpose it served.
Inside the room, there were two more doors, leading to two tiny rooms no bigger than closets, plus a couple of items attached to the floor that I could not readily identify (table? bench?), but over which I certainly would have stumbled, had I not swept the room with my flashlight.
I continued on the forested road, catching glimpses of the RV campsite and the ferry dock on my right.
I ended up behind the unidentified houses I had encountered after the Fire Control Hill. From the rear, I could see a couple of Park signs with a hiker and a battery gun, pointing me onward. I joined the pavement, heading downhill towards the ferry. Despite appearances, this road did not actually lead to the ferry, but was the road to the RV campsite.
A white gate blocked vehicles from a gravel road that diverged to the left of the pavement. This was the path to Battery Seymour and Battery Schenck. The four buildings of these two batteries were all connected by the earth piled on top. In fact, the image below shows the earth-covered battery on the left.
Battery Seymour was first. Each of these heavy-duty batteries each had four mortars that shot 700-lb shells up to 9 miles. All of the guns had since been removed, but the storehouses stood open. I entered the open door on the far left, and walked with my trusty flashlight through various ajar doors all the way around to the door on the near right, which was.... locked. :o Can you tell at which point I was convinced there was some evil ghost in there with me? ;) That got my heart racing pretty hard. I think it was a shadow caused by pointing both my flashlight and camera flash in contrasting directions. Oh man, I had them BOTH out the whole time, and many of these photos had to be taken twice, with me pointing my flashlight as well, to get enough light on the subject. >.<
The end compartment had a "Fallout Shelter" sign, hanging above the ammunition hooks. With the final door locked, I had to retrace my steps all the way back to where I had entered.
While I was proud of myself that I was being such a daredevil that day, I was also pretty glad to be out of that long dark tunnel.
Outside of the batteries, there were several of these tiny green buildings. I looked inside a few of them. One had a wooden panel with letters on it. Another had the remains of what appeared to be a communications or electrical panel, similar to what I had seen in Battery Moore.
Battery Schenck was nearly identical to Battery Seymour, with the difference being dozens of resident sparrows inside! (At least they weren't bats!!) They were certainly not shy. I popped my head through a window of a locked section, and only noticed the sparrow sitting there after I removed my head!
In Battery Schenk, both ends of the tunnel were open, so I walked all the way through. A few sparrows swirled around my head, as others fled to the outdoors. A collection of sparrows sat staring at me as I exited. I tried hard to get a clear photo of them, but there just wasn't enough light.
Battery Schenck also had this neat staircase, which unfortunately only led to a locked door.
I continued on past the batteries to the road and took a shot back, to show how well they were camouflaged by the earth over top.
I followed the road to S Engle Road. This was the public's entrance to the Fort, marked by signage, a Route 6 bus stop, and the conference building sporting a big yellow "CASEY" on its roof. A few of the Officer's cabins could be seen on the hill behind. The signage indicated that the park was open 8am to dusk, and required a Discover Pass (or an access fee of $10/day or $30/year).
I included the posted #6 bus schedule here, in case anyone was interested.
Passing back towards the Officer's Cabins, I got a nice closeup view of the barracks. However, the youth soccer team were out and around, practicing, so I didn't wander through.
I walked beside the field, up S Engle Rd, past the pool and the Inn's office, to the little lane holding the Faculty and Alumni Houses. At that point, I hit a bit of a traffic jam... a mother and baby deer eating apples on the side of the road.
When I got back, it turned out that everyone was a bit concerned. Matt, Taffy, and Mark had stopped touring the Fort after the Fire Control Hill (where I had seen Matt before the bunny caused him to disappear!). They had sat on the grass on the other side of it a while, and then returned to the cabins over an hour earlier. Colin made me a lovely sandwich with avocado and tomato.
Here's a video that gives a decent impression of the Fort, including the tunnels. The Fort portion starts about half way through, at 1min20.
Here are some fantastic 360-degree Virtual tours created by the Fort. They don't work well on handheld devices, but work really great on a computer. You can click on a dot on the map, or click through the list of names, then drag your cursor around to see panoramic views and well-lit insides of various buildings.
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