Hike Coordinator: John Malone
Narration by Lane Harris
The club has been to Tahkenitch Dunes many times, but on this trip, John decided that we needed to hike it a bit differently than normal. The usual loop through the forest, out to the beach, and then some moderate sand-walking was apparently not satisfying enough. The solid path through the forest was not on today’s agenda, but in its place was, you guessed it, more sand!
The trek out to the beach was quite pleasant, and we all enjoyed the pleasant weather that was bestowed upon us. After collecting sand dollars and gazing over purple starfish in the sand, we headed inland towards Threemile Lake for lunch.
After gnawing on our sandwiches and meat sticks, the drudgery through the thick, soft sand leading back to the trailhead lay before us. Legs and calves burned as each hiker more or less hiked at his or her own pace. This created a good separation between those out front and the rest of us in the rear. This portion of the hike was an opportunity for each of us to be alone in our own Zenlike trance, questioning the great mysteries of life. Like: Why are we doing this??
As much as I don’t care for hiking in LOTS of sand, this is still a great trail that deserves repeat visits. However, I would suggest to forego the torturous sand route and take the forested loop route instead. There is still plenty of sand left on this hike to satisfy anyone with a voracious craving for the soft spongy stuff.
Read about this hike on Richard O’Neill’s Blog
More pictures on Richard O’Neill’s Flick page and Lane Harris’ Flickr page
Pictures below by Richard O’Neill and Lane Harris
