Hiking in a Rain forest

South Whidbey State Park is unfortunately no longer a place where you can go camping in the forest by the beach. Storm damage and budget cuts put an end to that. It is now a day use only park, but it still has a two mile trail through the woods where you can visit majestic old trees and be swallowed up by the biodiversity of a Pacific Northwest coastal rain forest. 

 Trees like this are quite common in the rain forest. It grew over a nurse log or stump that has since rotted away, leaving the trunk up in the air. 

 Growth is everywhere in a rain forest. The biodiversity includes tall trees, shorter shrubs, and herbaceous ground covers, all jumbled together.  

 Trees fall and feed the new growth.  

 Star flower is delicate and lovely. 

 Sword ferns drape over everything. 

 We come to an area that, after being logged off, regrew as an alder stand. These deciduous trees let in more light before they fully leaf out. It was also much wetter here, the muddy trails just becoming dry enough to be passable. 

 Then there was a long traverse on what must have once been a road way. 

 Some of the Douglas Fir trees here are gigantic. 

 This huge tree succumbed to age and storms, and where it once blocked out the light, now a new crop of trees has sprung up.  

 A patch of skunk cabbage in a wet area. 

 Moss coats everything here. 

 An old Sitka spruce was felled by wind. 

 Spruce bark has scales.

 Hemlock bark has scaly vertical plates. 

 Douglas Fir has deep grooves.

 And old Big Leaf Maple reaches for the light. 

 Western red cedar is here too. This one is over 500 years old. 

 The exit to the trail is dramatic. 

 This old protrusion on this log looks so much like a bear's head that someone added rock eyes. 

 Across the highway, a huge, gnarled maple still holds its own. 

 And in a low spot, and eruption of green. 

What with the ups and downs of the trail and carefully picking my way over roots, two miles was plenty for me. We were tired and hungry, and so we drove up island to Coupeville for lunch on Front Street.

Dating from the 1850's, Coupeville has the charm that comes with an old sea coast village. 

 Mount Baker can be seen across the sound. 

 Our lunch spot. 

 Followed by dessert. This shop offers up to three flavors as part of a single serving, making it much easier to choose from all of the yummy flavors. All ice cream shops should do that!