Deception Pass Sand Dunes, Seashore Life & Plant Hike with Kim & Chris Chisholm

This is a professionally-guided hike sponsored by the Wolf College, and permissions have been secured from regulating agencies. Our Sunday Afternoon Hikes normally cost $45 per adult, and $35 per accompanied youth, but as part of our Northwest Nature Hikes kick-off, we are offering this hike to everyone at the youth rate, so the total cost is $35 per person for this hike. $15 non-refundable deposits are required to reserve your space, with the balance due before we start the hike. The non-refundable deposit is designed to be high enough to cover our administrative expenses and make sure almost all the people who register do show up, but low enough for you to stomach in case you don't want to attend due to "bad" weather, illness, transportation problems, etc.

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Join us for another great Northwest Nature Hike (http://www.wolfcollege.com/expeditions/northwest-nature-guided-hikes/) into special areas of Deception Pass State Park with your guides Kim & Chris Chisholm (http://www.wolfcollege.com/about/kim-and-chris-chisholm/), specialists in survival, birding, wildlife tracking, wild edible and medicinal plants, and other outdoors skills they've gained from years as volunteers for King County Search & Rescue, as students of various schools and universities, as directors of the Wolf College (http://www.wolfcollege.com/about/kim-and-chris-chisholm/) since 1997. Deception Pass is on the edge of our west-side Rain Shadow, so chances of rain are lower, but winds can be higher, so be sure to prepare for the weather.

Hike Focus: Chris ran his very first plants workshop at Deception Pass in 1998! It's an amazing place to learn about our region's flora as well as coastal geology and intertidal life, and that's exactly what we'll be doing while getting some good exercise.

Hike Description: We'll start with a hike along Puget Sound's only sand dunes, where rare plants meet gnarled, old-grown fir and madrone trees. Then we'll hop back into our vehicles and pop over to Bowman Bay where we'll hike to Rosario Point which is perhaps the best accessible site in Puget Sound to view intertidal creatures like sea aneones, sea urchins, chiton, and other wonders of the ocean. We'll also view one of the most productive bullwhip kelp forests where Chris has touched octopus and other mysteries of the deep.

Difficulty Level: Easy - Should normally be able to walk 2 miles with a day pack.
Prerequisites: None.
Gear: The 10 Essentials (http://www.mountaineers.org/images/tenessentials_web.pdf) are recommended for every hike.
Rules: Registration form with liability waiver must be signed at start of hike. Dogs: Well-behaved dogs are welcome (including our Lily the border collie) but on leash at all times.

Additional Costs: Washington State Discover Pass (http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/) is required on all vehicles and would have to be purchased in advance ($30/annual) or drivers will need to purchase a $10 day pass on site. Otherwise, if you want to carpool with other participants, please give drivers $5-$30 as described below.

Directions & Carpooling Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/cZmZT Either meet at the Deception Pass West Beach parking lot next to the Cranberry Lake Swim Area at 1:00 sharp; or meet our carpool departing the Burlington Holiday Sports on the I-5 Hwy 20 exit at 12:30 with a recommended $5 to drivers; or Everett Denny's Restaurant next to Group Health at 11:45 with a recommended $10 to drivers; or the Taco Del Mar next to Walmart on 164th in Lynnwood at 11:30 with a recommended $15 to drivers; or the Northgate Mall Panera Bread Cafe at 11:10 with a recommended $20 to drivers; or the Seattle Amtrak - King Street Station lower level at 10:45 with a recommended $25 to drivers (but please note that the only parking available there is the Union Station Parking Ramp which costs about $10 for day parking); or the South Bellevue Park & Ride on South Bellevue Way at 10:30 with a recommended $30 to drivers; or the Bahama Breeze Restaurant at Southcenter Mall at 10:15 with a recommended $35 to drivers; or the Panera Bread Cafe on 320th in Federal Way with a recommended $40 to drivers; or the Starbucks next to Fred Meyer in Puyallup with $45 to drivers.