Balloon Juice - On The Road - Mike in Oly - Hiking Long Island, WA, Part 1

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Mike in Oly

I was fortunate to end the summer with a rare and special hiking opportunity. The Wings Over Willapa festival was going on and this year they set up a day to ferry folks over to Long Island, which has a few trails and campgrounds, but is only accessible by boat. My husband Skookum in Oly and I had long wanted to explore the trails on this island but had never put in the work to rent kayaks or a boat to get there so we jumped at this chance to see it. There is a grove of ancient 1000+ year old western red cedars there that we wanted to check out.

We arrived with about 50 other people early that Saturday morning. As we got there it started raining. We knew ahead of time it would be wet and brought rain gear, but I was not prepared for it to be gusting as well. As we waited four turn to be ferried over on the small barge we were quickly drenched from head to toe. Once off the boat and into the woodland it was much calmer, altho still soggy. Happily two hours into our day the rain slacked off and we had a drippy but drier trip thru the island.

The cedar grove is a 3 mile hike into the heart of the island. The trail was a former logging road and was well maintained, wide and clear right up to the grove, then it was a narrow walkway around a loop to see the trees. Gentle rolling hills the entire way. Everything was covered in dense, lush undergrowth. Most of the island had been logged over the years and large swaths of the forest was less than 30-40 years old. But still lovely. At one point along the way we could hear flying squirrels calling from the deep woods. Sadly we did not get to see any. We did see a few chipmunks, and heard a few chickadees, jays and kinglets, but there was overall not much wildlife about.

The grove itself was amazing. The trees were massive, with some having an 8-9 foot diameter, and they towered over the forest. Huge ancient stumps were scattered about that had been cut in the early part of the last century and they gave a glimpse into the ancient forest that had once been here.

We had our lunch at the grove (thankfully packed in plastic bags and kept dry) and then made our way back out again. A quick boat ride and we were back to the car. It was a bit more mileage than I am used to – just shy of 8 miles total for the day – and I was exhausted and quite sore and beaten when I made it home.. It was such a treat and even though it was rough and trying, it was also fun, as great company and incredible scenery makes it all better. Photography conditions were not ideal, but here’s what I came home with. Hope you enjoy them.