The first deep minus tide of the year that falls on a weekend is this coming Saturday -- we will have -2.5 ft at just before 2pm. Let's use this to explore the beach near Edmonds and to the north.
This is "experimental" because we would like to see if we can go under the pier that is about 3.5 miles north of Edmonds, near Haines Wharf Park. If we can, then we can come out via the Lunds Gulch trails. If not, we'll come back the way we came...maybe a bit more quickly, if we get to that point after the low tide time. ;-)
You may know that for some years, starfish in the PNW have been dying off due to starfish wasting disease. A few years ago, one of our group members saw healthy starfish under the Edmonds ferry dock, so we will also check out the marine life there.
Because of the timing of the low tide, at about 2pm, and the fact that we want to get to the pier near Haines Wharf Park at low tide, we don't want to wait til we get to Lunds Gulch to have lunch. Instead, we'll do a bit of preliminary walking around Edmonds, especially the various beaches, a marsh that is a bird haven, and the quaint downtown Edmonds shops, and then have lunch on the beach before we head north when the tide is low enough.
And because getting to Edmonds via bus can be complicated, we'll meet at Northgate Station and ride the buses together. So, here's the plan:
Meet at Northgate Station bay 2 by shortly after 9am. Bay 2 is the northbound stop for the #512 bus. The bus is scheduled to leave at 9:14am, but don't trust this -- it originates here, and may leave early. We'll transfer to the Community Transit #102 in Lynnwood -- this leaves at 9:45am, and gets to the Edmonds ferry dock at 10:10am.
After exploring Edmonds for a while, we'll head to one of the beaches north of the ferry dock, and find a lunch spot. As soon as the tide exposes enough beach -- hopefully by 11:30am -- we'll peek under the ferry dock to look for starfish. We should try to head north on the beach by noon.
We'll aim to cover the 2.5 miles to the mystery pier before 2pm. If we can get under, we'll continue on to Lunds Gulch, which is about another half mile further.
The most direct trail through the Lunds Gulch park area is about 1.5 miles, and a bit more to where we can catch a return bus. We'll aim to be out at this bus stop by a little after 4pm -- if so, we'll be back at Northgate by 5:40pm.
Some folks may instead want to return to Edmonds to get dinner, and then continue back on a later bus, but that isn't an official part of the event. The event end time assumes we go directly back to Northgate.
If we can get through to Lunds Gulch, this will be a bit under 7 miles, not much elevation gain. If we have to scoot back to Edmonds along the beach, it will be a bit more than 7 miles, and likewise not much elevation gain.
Logistics:
Bus riders: Link #1 and many buses go to Northgate Station.
Drivers: Simplest option is to drive to Northgate Station and join us on the bus to Edmonds. There is a parking structure just north of Northgate Station. Note if you drive to Edmonds: If we get through to Lunds Gulch, then we will come out north of Edmonds, and folks parked at Edmonds will need to take buses to get back. It would be another 7 mile walk back from our endpoint.
Folks who are starting from closer to Edmonds, and don't want to go to Northgate: Meet us at the southbound bus stop just south of the ferry dock on Railroad Ave at 10:10am, when our bus arrives. This is near the path into Brackett's Landing South beach.
Bring water, lunch, snacks.
Wear shoes that you don't mind getting wet. Because this is "only" a -2.5 ft tide, not a more extreme -4 ft tide, there might be some puddles. Trekking poles can be useful if there is slippery seaweed or rocks.
Use comments to coordinate.
This is what the pier we're trying to go under looks like:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.8524455,-122.3349963,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1stxKErN2BQmJJ-V70JFaiPQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DtxKErN2BQmJJ-V70JFaiPQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D79.44129%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.8521137,-122.3351248,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sa_l0bVwFhBsgZ40eCkRDRw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu