Anacortes Internship Special! Part 4 - Sharpe Park/Montgomery-Duban Headlands

My internship in Anacortes is sadly nearing a close. There will only be one more internship special after this! At least for Anacortes; I still have three more internships to go, and who knows where they'll be?

I found this hike listed as "Sares Head" through Washington Trails Association. However, no one in Anacortes knows "Sares Head". They do know "Sharpe Park", though, which takes you to the Sares Head viewpoint. So if you're asking for directions, ask for "Sharpe Park" and someone will tell you how to get there.

The park is not far from Deception Pass State Park. From Highway 20, you can head East on Rosario Road just before Deception Pass and follow it until you get to the trailhead. The little gravel turnout is "Parkview Road", and there's a nice big sign out front to let you know you've arrived.

Signage

Note on the official map that north is to the right. That just bugs me, when north isn't up...

Sharpe Park/Montgomery-Duban Headlands

Skagit County Parks & Recreation

Parking Permit: none needed

Distance: 2.2 mile loop

Elevation: 400' difference

There are lots of shortcuts. I decided to make a loop around the perimeter of the park. Including the jaunt out to Sares Head, it would be 2.2 miles.

There's a plaque and some signage at the trailhead....

More signage!

I had packed hiking boots, but had neglected to pack a change of pants. So I set out in dress slacks for this hike!

Impeccable fashion sense!

You start out passing some nice wetlands. There were lots of birds. There's a trail that goes off to a "wetland view", but it was somewhat overgrown and I still had delusions of sparing my dress slacks at that point, so I stuck to the main trail. It still had decent marsh views.

Marsh!

More marsh!

Pretty soon, you reach the first major junction and are faced with a choice:

The Choice

I knew I wanted to make it out to Sare's Head, but "Rocky Bluffs" was tempting, so I went right and began a large counter-clockwise loop around the park.

Not long after, I had another choice for "Upper Loop" or "Lower Loop". I took the upper loop, because why the hell not?

Quickly, the nice level gravel path turns into something a bit more rugged...

Rugged trail

It's not a large park, but it makes up for its lack of size with some rather ankle-twisty trails with plenty of rocks and tree roots jutting out.

I liked how the trees were curving over the trail in this shot:

Framed in green!

There are also a lot of madrona trees in the park, of which I took great pleasure in photographing.

Madrona!

More Madrona!

The "Upper Trail" takes you up a big rock, but there's not much to see. I didn't even take a pic from the top. It's just a big hill to give you some extra elevation gain for you hike.

I did take a picture from the bottom of the rock, though.

I wondered...was this sign bluffing? Hmm?

Thank you, I'll be here all night.

As I descended down the trail, I started noticing odd light-colored spots on the hill.

Nope

I took a closer look and....

Nope

The hillside was covered in spiderwebs. The entire hill. The sign was bluffing!

Nope nope nope nope nope.

I had recently met a gentleman who had gotten bitten by a brown recluse on this very island, while he was sleeping in bed, so I was not feeling very amicable toward spiders.

I also found this ominous piece of graffiti on a tree.

Good advice on a spiderweb-coated hill.

Oh look, more madrona trees! Yes, trees, lalala....

Madrona!

Madrona grove!

Is that water down there? Are we almost out of the spider-infested woods?

Madroooooona....

Phew, finally the woods opened up and I made it to the Montgomery-Duban bluffs.

Bluffs!

More bluffs!

There are lots of sharp rocks at the bottom, so don't fall!

I can't actually advocate that you stand this close to the edge.

Despite the gray skies, plenty of boaters were out doing their boater things.

They're on a boat!

I tried to capture all the bluffs on both sides of me, first by taking a pic out toward the water...

Water!

Then I turned around and took a pic of the land...

Rocks!

Then I gave up and took individual pics of each side for you:

More rocks!

Even more rocks!

I found some shrubs that I don't think I've ever come across before. I haven't been able to identify it. Anyone know what it is?

Red and green leaves

As the trail bends away from the shore, it's sufficiently steep and rocky.

Steep stuff!

We follow the trail, and....

....bluffing?

Wait a minute...

Intended route...

Hold on....check the map again....

Oh, shit.

Somehow I ended up taking the Starbucks Connector back to Bluff Trail. I made a loop, but it was not the loop I intended!

Apparently, when you want to head south along the Starbucks Connector to head out toward Sares Head, it's not obvious. Here is the junction, with the path I needed to take breaking off to the right:

It's hiding in plain view.

I had to step up on a rock to get that pic. From the trail down on the left, you barely notice it! So fair warning, it's almost immediately after the steep stuff that you need to find this junction. A simple trail marker would go a long way here!

Back on the trail, I found where the Bluff Shortcut meets up with the Starbucks Connector.

And there's a bench, too.

More madronas!

Madronas!

This boardwalk has seen better days.

It's about function, not form!

Madronas!

Yay!

The trail out to Sares Head is well-traveled and better maintained than other trails in the park. There's been some recent trail clearing and leveling work through here that still appears to be ongoing.

Seems legit.

One final climb, and when you get to Sares Head, it's absolutely fantastic.

View!

So much view!

VIEW!

Sares Head is a big, moss-covered rock. There's a well-graffitied bench to sit at, though I think I'd just bring a blanket and spread out on the rock itself.

Rock!

To the north you can see Anacortes and to the south, a bit of Oak Harbor is visible. The tiny speck in the clouds about 1/3 in from the right was a jet on a landing approach at the naval air base; they were doing training and had been noisily flying over Anacortes all day.

You can't quite see Deception Pass, but it would be just up that channel to the left.

More view!

This park is small, but it would be very easy to combine it with some hiking in Deception Pass State Park. It would make a great add-on to the Deception Pass Headlands on the Fidalgo side of the park since it's literally just up the road, so I think I will return again. It was fantastic on a cloudy day, so I expect that it's truly spectacular when it's sunny and clear!

Next week: Part 5, the final part of the Anacortes Internship Special: Return to Guemes Channel!

Anacortes Internship Special! Part 3 - Tommy Thompson Trail

Around the east end of town is the Tommy Thompson Trail, connecting the Anacortes Marina to the nearby refineries that are a fundamental economic core to the community. It's a flat, level, mostly paved trail that follows an old railroad bed.

The trailhead is conveniently a mere block away from where I am interning, too! Parking is near 21st St and R Ave (just south of the roundabout), and I also strongly suggest visiting Penguin Coffee nearby at 22nd and Commercial either before or after you enjoy the walk.

Tommy Thompson Trail

City of Anacortes

Parking Permit: none needed

Distance: 6.6 miles round-trip for total trail

Distance I did: 5.8 miles round-trip

Elevation gain: none

The trail officially begins at 11th and Q street by the marina, but after heading from the parking to the refineries and back I was running late because I took too long taking too many pictures.

Trail is anti-horse, but apparently quite dog friendly.

From the parking I headed south past a skate park and boat storage.

From a distance, the seagulls on the path just look like patches of seagull poop. Then you get closer and realize they are painted birds, and then you're like "Oh. Ohhhhhhh!"

"If you need me, I'll be in the office..."

There's a mural project to prettify the backs of some of the industrial buildings the trail passes by and to give them some color:

I figure the reddish boat in the foreground is likely the sort of yacht that might be in my price range!

You, too, can have a yacht!

There are a few signs at some of the street crossings that hint to the trail's history of a railroad, but for the most part you only learn of it through the trailside signage.

There's an old plywood mill that's currently undergoing environmental clean-up.

All along the trail you can find hints of former industry in addition to what's currently there.

Re-bar filled concrete along the beach.

There's also more art! Anacortes is a small city, but it has a strong and vibrant art scene!

"Ska-atl the Otter"

Once you pass the plywood mill, you get to actually enjoy some coast and some cool woods for a bit.

You'll come out of the woods past a fancy house, and some fancy apartments. The undoubtedly uber-expensive apartments overlook an RV park, which just seems like an interesting dynamic to me.

"Look at those beautiful views of the bay?"
"But...is that a trailer park?"
"Ignore it. Look at the water. LOOK AT THE WATER!"

The park stays classy with an old-school totem pole.

Fun fact: on many poles, the most important figures were actually carved at the base to be at eye level, so if you were at the "top of the totem pole", you were least important.

Interestingly, the RV park has road names in both English and Salish. So it really does try to stay classy I guess.

Past the RV park, you start approaching the trestle area and pass some more of Anacortes' vibrant art scene.

"Let's take a bunch of driftwood and nets and hammer it to a board, and call it art! We'll put it right in front of a port-a-potty to make it extra-classy!"

My cell phone camera is not nearly close enough to capture the wildlife, but there are just so many birds here. I saw a female blackbird get assaulted by a male blackbird, and I saw a female chickadee get gang-raped by two male chickadees. Nature....nature can be kind of awful sometimes.

As you begin to cross the bay you also notice lots of broken shells. The paved path is perfect for birds to drop shellfish against to crack open. This is not a good path for barefoot runners.

As you get to the trestle, the refineries remind you they are serious about their security.

Big Brother is watching...

More art as you get to the trestle, with a gate that says "We" in many different languages.

I was told the trestle is a popular place to view sea lions, and that I should bring anchovies to feed them. I did not bring anchovies, nor did I see any sea lions. Would there have been some if I had brought food? Maybe?

Lots of water. No marine mammals.

At the end of the trestle is the end of the trail. I had no reason to continue so I turned around here.

Not before noting a pink house, some cows, and a train near the refinery though:

Back across the trestle!

Next week: get lost at Sharpe Park/Montgomery-Duban Headlands!