Whitbey Camano PNT: Fort Casey to Ebey's Landing (Admiralty Inlet Preserve)

The next section of the PNT went along the beach to Fort Ebey.  This was the stretch I had previously photographed from Fort Casey.  Just for variety, here is a view of that path from the beach at Fort Casey.  Fort Ebey is at the far left tip.

I had read that one could exit the beach just after Fort Ebey, at Libbey Beach Park.  It would be about 13km, but Colin said he would pick me up at the other end, and we could explore Fort Ebey together.  I was raring to go, as this was the section with the lagoon that I had been itching to see.  However, I ran into one little snag:  the tide.

Despite its scenic beauty, the ocean there was not suitable for swimming.  High tide could be dangerous, as the beach completely disappeared in some places, which would leave walkers trapped against the bluff with no means of escape.  Fort Casey Inn had kindly provided a tide table, for just such purposes.  I suppose it would not be great for the Inn to lose guests to riptides.  ;p   It turns out that this section of the PNT absolutely needed to be walked at low tide, but the low tides that day were at 7am and 8pm... Sunset was also 8pm.  Um... no to both.  What to do?   Alternate route to the rescue!  I actually thought this would be a great route to publish for hikers who could not afford to wait a few days for the tides to line up in their favor.

I could cut through Admiralty Inlet Preserve, walk on the road a bit, and get as far as Peregos Lagoon at Ebey's Landing. From there, I could ascertain whether it would be possible to connect to Fort Ebey from the bluff, or if the beach was the only option.

Since it was only a 14-15km round trip, I could walk there and then back again, and would not need a ride back.  I figured I would be able to loop around the lagoon and then retrace my steps. The route was mostly flat, except for the last section down to the beach (down 40m in 1km), then the Bluff Trail at the lagoon (up 70m in 1km), and finally the switchbacks at the opposite end of the lagoon drop 60m in 0.5km.  Not serious stuff, but worth noting.

My route began from Fort Casey Inn; however, non-guests of the Inn would have to start from S Engle Rd, perhaps at the Conference Centre where I had exited Fort Casey on my last post, and proceeded to Admiralty Inlet Preserve along the road.

A public trailhead began just past the intersection of S Engle Rd and S Fort Casey Rd, at the entrance to the Fort Casey Inn.  Don't worry, I went that way on my later hike to Coupeville, so I also photographed that route--you'll just have to wait!  In the meantime, here is a photo of the public trailhead.

Due to the difficulty of mapping the trail we *did* take, and the--I hope--helpfulness of pointing out the public trail, I have google mapped the trail from the public access point (click to enlarge).

The Admiralty Park Trail runs through the 79 acre patch of dark green that is visible between the trailhead and the beach on the google map above.  A park trail map can be found at each trailhead. On the map below, you can see the public trail (on the right, next to the road), and the paths we took: running along the bluff on the left (the "Bluff Trail"), as well as the "Loop Trail" in the centre of the park.

We set out from the Officer's cabins towards the beach; however, this time we did not walk all the way to the field. We turned into the campground entrance that lay behind the Alumni House. Staying to the left of the campground (the right-hand fork led into the campground), we joined up with the trail that began beside the Alumni House.

I ran down to get a look at the trailhead.  Arrows marked the way pretty clearly.  

The first thing we encountered on the trail was Battery Thomas Parker.  I had no idea there was more Fort Casey in this direction!  A little secret gem, hidden in the trees.  This battery originally had two 6-inch "disappearing" guns, but they had been removed. The battery grounds also held some unusual wooden auditorium seating.  Perhaps for Park interpretation talks??   

We soon arrived at the Admiralty Inlet Preserve official Trailhead.  It had the map I included above, plus a number of useful signs, including one that described the park, and THIS ONE:

I particularly enjoyed the "no running" sign, but my favorite was THIS one, which was sprinkled liberally throughout the park:

The trail was actually quite beautiful. We decided to take the Loop Trail on our way out, then the Bluff Trail on our way back, so we would actually walk all of the trails in the park. Parts of the trail were green and lush, others were already covered with falling leaves. It reminded us that the summer was almost over. I had a flashback to my last hike in France. 

As the Loop Trail joined the Bluff Trail, we encountered the remains of Fort Casey's Secondary Fire Patrol Stations, with position-finding telescopes and a dorm.  Like the fire stations at Fort Casey itself, this station was not used to put out fires, but rather meant to provide the gunners with the speed, direction, and distance of approaching enemy ships.

Next came a gorgeous viewpoint, with its requisite signage. We looked across towards Fort Worden, and down the bluff to the PNT beach trail. We debated whether it was passable at this hour; the strip of sand at the bottom was very narrow.

Actually, the Bluff Trail did not offer many viewpoints.  It was mostly through the forest as well. However, at one point it opened up to a bright wide field. Signage described how: "Settlers in the 1890s marveled at these treeless plains, unaware they were products of intentional management [by First Nations groups] for millennia."  So we stood and "marveled" for a while.  ;)

Just past the field, we saw a hawk circling. I tried to take a photo of it, but my phone camera was just not up to the task.

Almost 1km into the park proper,the Bluff Trail met up with Engle Rd.  Just short of that, the path forked. A sign on the fork leading away from the road said: "Trail Ends 1675ft 510.5m No Outlet." We weren't sure exactly what that meant, but looking on the map, it seemed like the trail might take us to Cathedral Drive, from where we could get to Ebey's Landing. Plus, we just came from an access that didn't show on the map. So we took the risk.  

It got us within one house to the road.  One. House.  We could literally see the road through the house, but four... yes FOUR private property signs, including one describing the various ways trespassers would be prosecuted... convinced us that this person was serious. We know how much Americans like their "castle" laws, and even though it was not legal to shoot a person for mere trespassing, we didn't know if Joe American knew that. Better safe than sorry.  So we backtracked and walked on Engle Rd.

At this point, Colin wanted to just return to the Inn, but I felt let down not to have walked around the Lagoon.  We had also only walked a few kilometers so far, instead of the 15km I was hoping for. Turning back at that point would have resulted in something like a 5km walk.  I started to get upset. As a compromise, I asked if we could at least go as far as Ebey's landing. He consented.

Walking along Engle Rd was actually not too bad.  The weather was good, and there were not many vehicles.  It was actually quite scenic, seeing the fields and houses.  It reminded me of walking in Spain. 

Less than a kilometer later, we turned left onto Hill Rd. On Hill Rd, we stopped to admire a herd of cows gathered for feeding time.

Hill Rd entered a forest, then twisted a turned as it approached the bluffs.  Then it opened up and went parallel to the bluffs all the way down to Ebey's Landing. The lagoon is visible in the second photo below.  (click to enlarge)

We went down and sat and ate our baguette and cheese on the beach, watching a guy practice his kayaking techniques.  The beach here was clearly popular, as many cars lined the road at the bottom. The Bluff Trail over the lagoon was also a popular hike, but I would have to wait for next time to walk it. Looking back towards Fort Casey, it was clear that the beach trail was not passable at this time of day. 

After our snack, we retraced our steps.  Heading into the forest, Colin was sure he saw some kind of wild boar cross the road up ahead. Now, I didn't know whether Washington State had wild boars, but since we DID actually see a wild boar on one of our hikes in the French countryside last summer, I didn't want to assume it WASN'T one... ;)

Once we were at the top of Hill Rd, we paused to stuff our faces with the blackberries lining the road.  They were perfectly ripe: sweet and juicy.

  

The trail entrance off Engle Road was not easy to see at a distance.  The trail was nearly invisible, but the signage was clear.  BTW, this was also a trailhead for the other public trail, which followed the road the entire way. However, we wanted to walk the Bluff Trail the entire way back this time.

For the first time, we noticed that wild apples grew alongside the trail, but we could not reach them.  Many little birds flitted in and out of the bushes alongside the trail.

After once again taking in the view from the viewpoint, we headed back into the forest.  The trees on that section of the Bluff Trail were spectacular!! So much so, that I wrote another blog post focusing on them (see Fort Casey to Coupeville).  So you'll have to wait to see them in all their glory!  ;)   In the mean time, here's a sampling:

We arrived back at the Inn just in time for "cocktail hour."  So we stood out in the "back yard" with Matt, Mark, and Jim, until supper was served. 

For some reason I took no photos of supper that night... maybe I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people and the overall volume of noise. Yet I somehow still felt compelled to record dessert: Jan's amazing cakes.  This lady had also made Colin and my wedding cakes, many moons ago, and I have to admit I had more than my share of the lemon cake that night. Then went to "take a rest" at 8:30pm after dinner, and fell asleep for the night.