"Whitbey-Camano" is a set of islands in the Pacific Northwest of America. These are the largest two islands in the Puget Sound, are in close proximity to each other, and often grouped together (along with a half-dozen uninhabited islands) as "Island County." Strange and interesting fact: Camano Island used to be even bigger, but a big chunk of its Southern tip suddenly fell into the ocean in 1825!
The long, thin, Whitbey Island has the distinction of containing a 50km (30 mile) portion of the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT), which runs nearly 2000km (1200 miles) from Montana to the West coast of Washington State. Here's a public domain map of the PNT:
Very few people through-hike the entire length of the PNT (like 10-15 people per year), but many people walk smaller sections, as I hoped to do on this trip.
It was really difficult to use google maps or HERE maps to navigate this trail, since significant portions of it run along beaches and other areas where there is no "trail" or "road" registered on the map. I ended up using a combination of electronic and paper maps, and even then it was a little tricky.
The best way I can give you an overview of the Whidbey Island section of the trail is via the following screenshot from http://www.pnt.org/maps. Their website has an interactive map of the entire trail, as well as downloadable PDFs of each section. You can see on the map below that at Fort Casey (directly below Coupeville), the trail actually leaves Whidbey Island, goes onto a ferry, and picks up again in Port Townsend. I had hoped to complete the entire Whitbey Island section, then do about 15km on the Port Townsend side as well. In the end, I did skip a big "highway" portion in the middle, but think I did the most significant and interesting portions.
It was really difficult to use google maps or HERE maps to navigate this trail, since significant portions of it run along beaches and other areas where there is no "trail" or "road" registered on the map. I ended up using a combination of electronic and paper maps, and even then it was a little tricky.
The best way I can give you an overview of the Whidbey Island section of the trail is via the following screenshot from http://www.pnt.org/maps. Their website has an interactive map of the entire trail, as well as downloadable PDFs of each section. You can see on the map below that at Fort Casey (directly below Coupeville), the trail actually leaves Whidbey Island, goes onto a ferry, and picks up again in Port Townsend. I had hoped to complete the entire Whitbey Island section, then do about 15km on the Port Townsend side as well. In the end, I did skip a big "highway" portion in the middle, but think I did the most significant and interesting portions.
I had originally thought this blog unit would be a more personal tale about the difficulties of an Introvert dealing with being at a family reunion... but it turned out that the best solution to being surrounded by 21 other people, 24/7 for 7 days is: walk it off!!!!! ;) Or maybe I had really integrated a lot more internal stuff than I realized, between my Camino trip and the Cowichan trip. ;)
Over the last six months or so, I had definitely been learning to identify and better assert my personal health needs. A few big ones were: quiet time, alone time, walking time, and nap time. I realized that if I got these daily needs met, I could be 100% more energetic, social, kind, and sane the rest of the time.
The plan on this trip was to do a big chunk of the PNT each day, which would both feed my walking needs, and keep me nice and sane to deal with all the socializing.
Even though it was a bit difficult for me to tell the family that I would be away from the group for so many hours each day, as the assumption for a "reunion" always is that everyone would "want to" (be expected to) do everything together the entire time. But, to my surprise, it turned out to not be so big of a deal. In fact, many others quietly slipped off during the days or evenings, or clustered in small groups, throughout the week. Only the evening meals were crowded and boisterous.
So, without too much introspection or social issues to report, this blog unit will actually be more like my original France blog: focused on the trails more than my inner process. I hope you enjoy your virtual trip through the lush forests and long beaches of the West Coast...
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