Today Ben and I went for a day hike. He wanted a beach hike, so I decided to try the picturesque Dungeness Spit, part of the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

The hike is rated as both easy and picturesque, winding down through a half mile of cedar rainforest then along the long, long narrow spit to the lighthouse at the end – five miles, one way. And then back. Hiking guidebooks recommend doing this hike at low tide; I second that! As the tide rises, there’s an awful lot of scrambling through driftwood and deep sand required.

The wildlife refuge exists to protect native colonies of Brant geese and other birds; we saw cranes, murres, murrelets and finches. I didn’t even try to get pictures, still, it was fun trying to spot them.

I’d never done a day hike this long before, but figured it would be flat and easy, why not try? And I did it. Still, with the shifting sand and beach pebbles and the driftwood scrambling, I’m definitely going to feel it tomorrow.