Mt. Erie: The Other Views

While the view from the top of the mountain is great, there are other views too. They can be accessed by short walks from a small parking lot on the west side of the road near the top. 

Preparing to Soar

The view from the top of Mt. Erie on Fidalgo Island from a recent visit.

Guemes Mountain Summit Views

The summit, at about 660 feet elevation, offers partial views from the northeast to the southwest. We spotted several of the San Juan Islands and parts of Fidalgo Island.

Mt. Erie

Low clouds nearly hide Mt. Erie in this fall view.

Pass Lake, Deception Pass State Park

A quiet morning at the lake, earlier this month.

Kiket Trail, Swinomish Reservation

The Kiket Trail is on Kiket Island, off Snee Oosh Road. It is a joint venture of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Washington State Parks. After crossing the isthmus, I took the North Trail to the western point of the island. It offered the above view of Deception Pass Bridge. This trail had a bit of elevation gain.

I took the South Trail back to the parking lot. This trail was almost level. There is also a gravel road that goes down the center of the island.

 The view from the isthmus of Similk Bay and Mt. Erie.

Kiket Lagoon is part of a wildlife sanctuary near the beginning of the trail.

Bowman Bay, Deception Pass State Park

Also on Fidalgo Island, this bay is a great place for kayaks and model sailboats. There are great places for picnics and lots of trails for hiking, a few of which have views of Deception Pass Bridge.

Rosario Beach, Deception Pass State Park

Rosario Beach, on Fidalgo Island, is another beautiful part of Deception Pass State Park. In the distance are the San Juan Islands.

March Point, Fidalgo Island

The view of the refineries on March Point after sunset on Christmas Day. The steam released seems to create cloud patterns.

This was the view earlier in the day. I was near Bayview State Park in Skagit County.

Mt. Baker from Guemes Channel Trail

The southern foothills of Mt. Baker caught the afternoon sun as I was on the Guemes Channel Trail on Fidalgo Island. The weather was not the best that day so I definitely plan to go on that trail again.

Hyak from Guemes Channel Trail

I was on Fidalgo Island recently and decided to check out the Guemes Channel Trail, just east of the Anacortes ferry dock.

It's a very nice trail and I'll be returning on a sunny day as there are beautiful views of the ferry and Mt. Baker.

Fidalgo Island Fata Morgana

This photo was taken at Libbey Beach, an Island County park on the west side of Whidbey Island. This view to the north shows the Canadian Cascades and the houses above Flounder Bay on Fidalgo Island. The conditions were right for a Fata Morgana.

Solitude

An angler enjoys solitude on Pass Lake.

Little Cranberry Lake Hike, Fidalgo Island

The third and last lake hike I took on Fidalgo Island was Little Cranberry. It was probably my least favorite. The trail on the east side is quite nice while the trail on the west side required some delicate stepping to avoid sliding into the lake. You would want to take your hiking stick along on this one for stability. I took a little side trip to this "mine."
There was no wind that day and the lake was calm.

Olympic Mountains from Deception Pass

The Olympic Mountains managed to peek over the fog the other day in this view from the Deception Pass view point on Fidalgo Island.

Whistle Lake Hike, Fidalgo Island

Some of the hike follows the lake shore.

At other times the hike is up in the woods.

A view of Mt. Erie.

It is a peaceful hike.

Black Mushrooms

As I was nearing the end of my hike around Heart Lake I came upon these black mushrooms. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life and never seen black mushrooms. I did an Internet search to make sure I wasn't seeing things. I think these are sarcosoma mexicana, found in old growth conifer forests, especially around rotting wood.

Swans at Heart Lake, Fidalgo Island

I think these are swans. We have lots of snow geese that winter over too.

Heart Lake Hike, Fidalgo Island

Earlier this week I hiked around Heart Lake on Fidalgo Island. Heart Lake is the largest one in the Anacortes Community Forest Lands. The hike is an easy one of three miles with an elevation gain of 150 feet. It's a forest hike with just a few glimpses of the lake. You will see lots of trees, mosses and ferns.
You can see (and download) a map of the hike here.

Whidbey Fidalgo Ferry Route

Before the Deception Pass Bridge was built, a small ferry went from Hoypus Point (on the right) on Whidbey Island to Yokeko Point (on the left) on Fidalgo Island.

Although that was before my time, I remember my parents reminiscing about the ferry rides. Mt. Baker is in the distance.