The relentless sun and steep grade reduce my forward progress to chunks of shade. Step-by-step I climb the trail, pausing in even the tiniest smattering of shade to slow my racing heart, ease my burning calves and bellyache a bit. When at the top of what I’ve been promised is the final switchback I lift my head and see yet another, I whine like a four-year-old in the backseat of the family car. “I swear I’m going to die here! How much farther?”
On Orcas Island, two trails on Turtleback Mountain rise to a dramatic overlook where peaks, islands and sea collide. The journey to the top can take your breath away in more ways than one. The shorter of the two trails near West Sound is wider and offers fairly instant views, but the grade can be challenging to the casual hiker.
Turtleback Mountain borders the northwest shore of Orcas Island and the West Sound inlet. In 2006, a partnership of preservation organizations — with support from Northwest donors — purchased for $18.5 million nearly 1,600 acres of the mountain and 1,000 feet of its shoreline. This noteworthy purchase preserved for public enjoyment land that would otherwise be locked away in private or commercial interests.
Turtleback was considered particularly vulnerable to resort exploitation because it offers dramatic views of the San Juan Islands, Canada’s Gulf Islands and both Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges on the mainland. It also supports a wide variety of native grasslands and forested areas throughout the preserve.
HOW MANY MORE DRIVEWAYS?
S had been to the top of Turtleback once before on a solo photo outing — qualifying her as my resident expert and guide; I expected her to know every turn, grade, ascent and descent. “I think we’ve already done five driveways,” I say, but I can’t be sure. I only know only that my face is bright red, my calves burn and our shade options are dwindling.Where most people measure trail difficulty in elevation gain, terrain type or miles hiked, we calculate it in “driveways.” On our own property in the Orcas Highlands, the drive has a steep grade, which winds uphill to the top through two wide switchbacks. We calculated we gain a foot for every six feet. The heart-pounding climb from the bottom to the top is something we both understand, so we now rate all ascents in these highly quantifiable ways: “How many driveways is it?”
In Moran State Park, for example, Sunrise Rock trail is one driveway plus two switchbacks — tough in spots but certainly doable. In contrast, Turtleback trail is four to five driveways.
On a whim one morning, S and I decided to hike the trail together for a picnic at the top. She promised a challenging hike with fast visual rewards. I’m not the most dedicated hiker so I manage these kinds of challenges by setting goals for myself. In this case, for example, we passed a family of four, including a small boy and his grandmother at an early junction near the trailhead. My personal goal for this hike, therefore, was to reach the top without being passed by the boy and his grandmother, which — when passed by the boy — I changed to “without being passed by the old lady.”
It worked. Despite the grueling sun and steep grades, I reached the top, soaked up the breathtaking view and settled into our picnic spot — just moments ahead of grandma, who by the way didn’t seem the least bit winded.
ON THE WAY DOWN TURTLEBACK MOUNTAIN, A HUNDRED OR SO YARDS FROM THE TRAILHEAD, we pass two young women in flip-flops just beginning their hike. We exchange the traditional “Hey, ” nod and smile. I wonder how they evaluate trail difficulty. If unfamiliar with the “driveway” method, for example, they may opt to use the “other hiker” method. But assuming they are more fit than the red-faced, middle-aged hiker on her descent is a mistake.
I glance down at my hiking boots now covered with dust and shake my head. To paraphrase a line from Kathy Bates in her “Fried Green Tomatoes” role: “I may be older, but I’m better outfitted.”
S and I estimate the hikers will have to turn around after the first switchback. What a shame. The million-dollar view is worth the effort and — I hope S agrees — my whining.
© 2010 Susan Anderson and “Away Here.” Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from the author is strictly prohibited.
Love the imagery!