Plan B

Ferries suck. I can't imagine having to rely on them on a daily basis. I guess that means I will never live on an island. (Hawaii excluded, of course ;)) I already had one hike almost ruined because of how unpredictable ferry travel can be, (Mount Constitution) and I was pretty proud of how we "improvised" and worked around the four hour ferry wait. (NOT in the plans) But when your plan is to take a 7:30pm ferry to Port Townsend to spend the night so you can get up at 6:00am to drive 3 hours to the coast on a rare day the tides are favorable and do a 9 mile hike before it gets dark...and the ferry shuts down...well, that pretty much means you don't have a plan anymore.

I won't lie, I was really bummed. I had been planning this trip for weeks, and my daughter and her best friend had adjusted their schedules to be able to come with me. It didn't matter that the weather was going to be horrible--that just added to the sense of adventure! I bought a new raincoat, and special traction devices for our feet; it was going to be a do or die operation. So when we pulled up to the little ticket booth with my prepaid reservation in hand, my mind was not prepared to comprehend the teller's not so friendly greeting of "We're done". 

"But, I have a reservation...you were going to email me if there was a change in the schedule." (Can you hear the desperation in my voice? Yes, I was pathetic.) "The winds are too high. We are done for the night." (Can you hear the "If I have to explain this to one more person, I'm going to bang my head against this window" annoyance in her voice?) When your plans have been crushed, I guess you hope to be treated more gently--but who can blame her. It was a sucky night for everybody. 

On the day we would have been coming home and heading back through Anacortes, I had planned on meeting up with someone selling a computer on Craigslist who lived in the area. Now that I had to make a special trip to Anacortes to do this, I decided I would do a different (though far less epic) hike. The weather was still quite sour, but at least I would have a chance to try out my new raincoat.

Picture complete darkness to you left

On my first hike of this year, I explained how Anacortes gets 6 inches less rainfall per year, and this day was no exception. On the drive over I took this picture out my window, although it doesn't really capture how drastically different the skies over each area were. I guess my raincoat test would have to wait.

I was glad to have my raincoat with me though, because the daypack full of extra clothes and water and luminary devises I had so carefully packed was left sitting by my front door. (Seriously, Kelly?--smack head) It's a good thing I had my Santa hat on, because it was also all I had.

I knew I didn't have to worry too much about being so ill prepared--this hike is never more than a quarter mile away from hwy 20. (Not exactly your wilderness adventure.) Plus it had such helpful and informative signage.

Can I just say, "No shit?"

If your considering doing the "Deception Pass Headlands - Rosario Head - Lighthouse Point" hike, let me try to explain it clearly, because the descriptions I found were a bit confusing. These are two separate hikes that go in opposite directions. Neither hike is very long; the WTA page says 5 miles, but I'm assuming that includes doing one and then hiking back to do the other. I picked Lighthouse Point (no lighthouse, btw) because I was running out of daylight and didn't have time for both. (Due to the fact that after I bought the computer I left without the powercord and had to go back. Do you see a pattern here?)

I was being sarcastic about the signs; (in case you didn't catch that ;)) they are pretty confusing and I ended up on a lot of rabbit paths. (I wonder if the 5 miles includes them as well?) I plan on going back in the summer to do Rosario Head and some other hikes in the area. I took several pictures of the giant map in the parking lot so hopefully next time I'll know what I'm doing. (Maybe I'll even remember my backpack?)

I haven't given up hope on my original plan; (it's the Ozette Triangle, if your wondering) in fact there is a couple weekends next month that look promising. Hopefully the ferry gods will be smiling. :)