Took Rapid Ride to Fauntleroy to the WSDOT ferry, then the 119 out to Dockton Forest.
Our group of 4 adults and one 6-year old had the forest to ourselves except for getting passed by a couple of mountain bikers just before we moved out and on to the gravel road that transitions to Maury Island Natural Area. Quite a few mushrooms in the forest — I spotted what I think was a purple web cap and also pantherina. Plus a bunch of more common fungi that I see often but haven’t yet learned the names of.
Once we were out in the sun, just a glorious day to see out over the sound, with the mountain (THE mountain) right there from almost any angle. More company here in the form of many dog walkers and happy dogs. As we headed down to the beach we saw a red-tailed hawk kiting high over the shore, and heard the raft of sea lions sunning themselves on a swimming platform — we didn’t get close enough to see them really well once down on the beach, but these vocalizations were different than the usual sea lions I’ve heard and I’m not sure how to describe them.
Trails aren’t marked well here but we managed a loop using the gravel road to get back up and then back into the forest. One of our party found a large, red amanita on its last legs on the way back up. (Note that even GAIA didn’t seem to have a good grasp on some of the trails here - definitely allow yourself some time to do minor backtracking as needed.)
Our pace with the 6 year old was quite leisurely — just about 3 hours on an approximately 6-mile hike — but we made it back to Dockton to catch our bus back to the ferry with about 20 minutes to spare.
Pro-tip for folks living in central Seattle: if you’ve got weekdays off during the holidays at the end of December, the water taxi to Vashon is running all weekdays except Monday, Dec. 25. Take that to the 119 to Dockton Marina, where you can start your hike in the forest. Just check schedules to be sure you are back to the bus in time. (I may write about this on my blog in more detail, so check that in the coming days.)
Bathrooms at Dockton park/marina were open and in good condition except for lacking hand soap.
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