Spencer Island

We decided to sleep in and to have a day close in. Spencer Island seemed to fit the bill. It has been several years when we last did the loop, so we thought we would do it counterclockwise. The osprey was in the nest along the Snohomish River, and the rowers were out. Lots of birds at the island (swallows, waxwings, eagles, gold finches,...). It is quite amazing to see the changes in vegetation since the dikes have been breached. Heading up to the north end of the island turned out to be problematic/impossible. We ended up in stinging nettle 7-ft high! (It is still burning as I write this!) Needless to say we turned around and headed around the other way (clockwise). We discovered that the trail no longer goes around the island but ends at a dike breach. (So that is why the trail has disappeared.) Thank goodness we turned around! Still it was a good hike (8.2 miles) with lots of birds! Next week we head to the Olympics!

Spike & J