Duff McDaniel, Mrs. Wright’s next door neighbor, had recently purchased a 4-wheel drive vehicle, and wanted to put it through it’s paces. I couldn’t think of a better way to try it out than to search for a couple of geocaches located up in the hills, so Thursday we decided to go on a hunt.
Our trek took us on several dirt roads around Blanchard Hill. Duff initially missed the the turn-off. He was looking for a canopied lane, but the area had been clear cut. We drove on up to a parking area with a trail head and stopped for a clear view and some photographs of Mt. Baker.
At the first stop there was supposed to be a cache. We searched for some time, but were only able to find some very nasty prickly vines that left spines in my hands. These were to prove painful and annoying for a couple of days.
We gave up, and continued up the hill to our next stop – the hang glider launch. At the top of Blanchard Hill is a cleared area with a spectacular view of the Skagit Valley and San Juan Islands. We enjoyed the view for awhile, then searched for a second cache supposed to be located nearby. This time we were more successful, and located the cache of spotting a taletell UPS (Unnatural Pile of Sticks.)
While checking local caches, I had noticed that Samish Island now has three on the island proper. Friday turned out to be yet another beautiful day (despite another 80% chance of rain) so I went in search of one on the west end of the island. My search took me down several trails and eventually to Point Williams on the very west end of the island. I located the cache with no trouble. Since I had some time, I found a lovely grassy area overlooking the rocky beach and just hung out admiring the view of the islands and channel to the west. I have a fantasy of winning a lottery and buying this entire end of the island, then constructing my own private estate right here.
The point was quite exposed, and soon the whipping wind got to be a bit much. I wandered back among the large evergreens and ferns, then took a quick driving tour around the island.