I woke up with a cold today and considered spending the day watching movies. My son told me to go hike it off. Wiser words were never spoken by a 16 year old. I wanted a kind and gentle trail and Ebey's Landing was perfect. I took the Pratt Loop then Bluff Trail. The forecast for 30% chance of showers meant that I only got rained on 1/3 of the time. It started out WINDY with sunshine when I got to the end of the bluff the rain started. It didn't take away from the beauty of this incredible place. Today I hiked with a bald eagle who flew above me and below me. I watched him soar high, suspended in mid air, then fold his wings and dive down to the water. He was with me the whole time I walked along the bluff, there and back. Way better than watching movies!

This hike made it into the new Classic Hikes book by Craig Romano and a well deserved addition it is too! The is one of my favorite winter hikes! The views are grand, no matter what the weather and you can get a modest workout. There has been considerable work done on this area and the trails since I hiked it a few years ago. Now you do not take off down the road from the cemetary, there is parking there and new signage at the overlook, but the trail is gone. Instead, there is more parking and a new TH behind the cemetary. There is now a small office in one of the old cabins and a portapotty (not in the best of shape) as the new trail takes off behind the old blockhouse and heads out to the bluff. There is some nice new signage there also showing the trail at theTH kiosk and directing you down the new trail. It is much better than the old roadwalk! We chose to hike to the beach first, then up the bluff. The tide was coming in so it was hard walking on the loose round pebbles. You can also walk on the other side of the driftwood by the marshy lagoon. The lagoon was really brown and muddy today, not so pretty. The bluff trail has also been worked on, it is now well defined and it looks like another switchback has been added at the bottom. The old eroded path has been blocked off by driftwood, pls don't make it worse by cutting! The other cool thing that has been added is a new trail, called the Pratt Loop. Find the sign for it, at a break in the fence at the top of the bluff. The trail leads thru the woods, skirting the field and adds another mile and some more interest to the hike. There are some old farm buildings in the woods along the route. The added mileage made it about 6.4 miles according to the TH sign. We saw some wildlife, lots of little birds, a northern harrier,juvenile eagle, grebes and bufflehead ducks.

With an unsure weather forecast, I sought out one of those rainshadow locales, where the sun will be out, if it is out anywhere. The trail was dry. The tide was fairly high when I dropped down to the beach, and occasional driftwood jumping was required. A little busy, though not as busy as it is on a warm spring day. w

WTA superstar trip reporters Bob and Barb were camping up north in our hood, and when they invited us to share a hiking day with them, my buddy Russ and I were all in. We picked the gorgeous Ebey's Landing, but when we got there, Bob opened the car door, assessed the gusting winds, and closed the door again. Eventually we got out of the car anyway and gave it a good try, but when we got to the corner heading up onto the bluff, the wind was so ridiculous we had to laugh at even being out there and agreed that the conditions might warrant an alternate destination. We returned by way of the new Pratt Loop through the woods which was a nice trail and welcome break from the wind. Back in Anacortes, the woods of Little Cranberry Lake are always beautiful, but today all the nicer for the wind shelter. We took a pleasant loop around the Beaver Lakes, watched Bob and Barb id ducks across the lake (possibly by first names), and felt like we'd gotten away with something when the rain just began to drizzle toward the end of our hike. A day on the trails with kindred spirits is always good, but hiking with Bob and Barb feels like a privilege. Few people know the trails of Washington (and beyond) like them or are as familiar with the resident flora and fauna. That their passion for the outdoors has them out so often at an age when most would be taking it easier gives the rest of us hope. But mostly they're just good people and a lot of fun to walk around with in the woods. We're grateful to have gotten to, happy to have skirted a minor hurricane, and looking forward to hiking with them again soon.

Anya (Girl and Dog) has written an excellent report of our day together so I will share some of our pictures with very little written details. We began our hike at the Little Cranberry Lake area at the 37th Street parking area. We walked a loop around Big Beaver Pond. We enjoyed our day with our friends, Anya and Russ, and their dogs, Loki and Shelby. We look forward to more fun times together.