Hike Coordinator – Richard O’Neill
Oh, I had such ambitious plans for this hike. Several years ago, I had cobbled an improvised route that followed faint game trails through Alder Dunes and dense forest. While challenging, the route did include a beach walk before the bushwack back along slow-moving Sutton Creek. Oh, but the best laid plans of mice and men and all that….
Fortunately, I had the wisdom and foresight to reacquaint myself with the route and “Yikes!” is all I have to say about that. Over the intervening years, the vegetation had robustly reclaimed the open areas in the dunes and I don’t think even deer try to walk through the coastal forest on the north side of Sutton Creek. Plus, there was about ¾ mile of knee deep water to wade through.
So, my day-of decision was to see who showed up for this hike and make an assessment as to whether the madding crowd would be up for a Richard Hike of epic proportions. But, actually it was a fairly large group, considering, and not all hikers appreciate a good bushwhack like I do so, the relatively tame and civilized Sutton Creek Trail it was.
Spring was in full song with pink and red Rhododendrons blooming next to trail along with yellow Scotch Broom. One odd botanical specimen was Vancouver Ground Cone, a saprophytic burgundy colored plant that was quite common but growing well out of its advertised range.
We turned around at the Holman Viewpoint, which served up a nice panorama of Sutton Creek and the beach foredunes. While being a pleasant walk along languid Sutton Creek, it was pretty short for a Richard Hike. However, it sure beat the alternative bushwhack route!
Pictures by Richard O’Neill
