Over the coming months, I will be writing a series of stories henceforth referred to as “Transmissions from the Trail.” These columns will be educational features with experts on trail-relevant topics. Said experts will walk me through their special knowledge about plants, animals, local-history, land management, foraging and exercise. My goal with the series is to cultivate interesting and in-depth conversations with people who are topically “in the weeds.”

For my first outing, I decided I would provide a point of reference for future transmissions by going out alone, as a bumbling know-nothing fool.

Sequim Gazette photo by Elijah Sussman / A recent gnome and fairy development off of the trail.

I leave the Sequim Gazette office in downtown Sequim at 10 a.m. Whoops! My shoes aren’t good for hiking. A first lesson, preparation is always important when venturing into the woods. So, I drive 10 minutes to my house and pick-up a pair of Chacos (sandals) and a water bottle. Pulling back onto Washington Street, I notice that my tank is nearing empty, so I stop at the Co-Op gas station for some fuel. I head vaguely to the Miller Peninsula, which I’ve looked at only briefly on a map, and which I visited once with a friend the previous summer. Ignorance is the idea, remember?

My editor jokes about me getting lost and being eaten by a cougar on my way out the door.

I drive east on U.S. Highway 101 for 15 minutes and take a left down Diamond Point Road. Another seven minutes and I have arrived in Miller Peninsula State Park’s main parking lot. The first thing that I see is a sign requiring a discovery pass, which of course, I do not have, nor do I have the $10 cash required for a day pass.

I decide to call my friend friend for the location of the trailhead that we had accessed the previous summer. He drops a pin on the map, texts it to my phone and I am pulling in to the alternate access point in another five minutes.

Sequim Gazette photo by Elijah Sussman / Local hiker Dan O’Connel and his dog Ruth “Ruthie” Bader Ginsburg on May 8.

The trail’s name is Discovery Bay Trail, and though I was unable to complete it, I would later learn that it is three and a half miles round-trip. It is rated as easy at online hiking site AllTrails.com. It is dog-friendly, and does require a Discovery Pass.

On the trail

I pass through the gate and walk by a Washington State Park informational sign. A breath of calm comes over me, I am in the woods. The air is cool but not frigid, splashes of golden light interlace the understory, salal and … what else? For me, plant knowledge is much like the waves on the shore: it ebbs and it flows.

Each time I learn the most basic tree name, it just as soon recedes into the great Pacific. Perhaps this series “Transmissions from the Trail,” this exercise in repetition, putting these names into words and print will help me to remember.

I think this to myself as I trip over a root. I like to think of myself as a fairly sure-footed person, but there is a whole different buzz of mental life coming into this walk. The camera, the conceptualization, the clock-ticking before my next interview in town, all of this contributes to the newness that I bring to this project, the know-nothingness. Another lesson presents itself; when traversing dynamic terrain in remote locations, one must always prioritize a focus on one’s body and immediate environment.

Sequim Gazette photo by Elijah Sussman / A viewpoint off of Discovery Bay Trail in Miller Peninsula State Park on May 8.

Five minutes into the trail and I see a sign indicating a viewpoint down a side-trail to the left. I turn left, of course. Not 20 feet down this side-trail, I come across an interesting discovery! A small gnome and fairy village development spans the space between the bases of a couple of trees. Local hikers will later tell me that it has been growing over the past two years. These same hikers stated for the reader that this hike is great for wind protection, but that they do not recommend it after heavy downpours.

I snap a few photos of the curious off-grid community and continue towards the viewpoint. The viewpoint has a bench, and a pink stripe of warning tape, beyond the tape is a sheer vertical bluff overlooking the inlet towards Discovery Bay. I won’t speculate its height, but let’s just say it’s striking. Snap, snap, and I’m hiking back to the main trail.

When I get back to the Discovery Bay Trail, I make a few quick scheduling calculations. I have a limited timeline today, with an interview at 2 p.m. Timing out getting to the trail, time spent on the trail and your return trip is always a good idea. It is necessary if you’re fitting your adventure into an already busy day, like I am. Ill prepared as I am, I do some rough math and set my timer to 25 minutes. When my alarm goes off, I will return to the car.

Sequim Gazette photo by Elijah Sussman / A shaded stretch of trail on a sunny spring day.

About 10 minutes pass before I run into the next person on the trail. Dan O’Connel is a Diamond Point resident, but he grew up in Minnesota and spent years in Alaska before settling into the Olympic Peninsula. He is accompanied by his dog Ruth “Ruthie” Bader Ginsburg.

I notice the logo on his hat and he beams with excitement to talk about his hometown basketball team – the Minnesota Timberwolves. When he talks about his connection to the area, he is just as excited. O’Connel offers that he thinks the people in the area are very warm and friendly, and that the landscape is incomparable.

I walked a little further down the mostly flat trail until I spotted a patch of grass with a thick blotch of light laying over it. I decided, this being the solo-edition of the trail series, why not take a self-portrait? The heavy contrast of my shadow on the harshly sun-lit grass is a characteristic example of the way that light plays in the woods.

As the light pushes past the many leaves and branches towards the understory, it is divided and softened in many ways, and these patterns change throughout any given day. I am caught in a momentary revelry — and then my alarm is ringing.

Sequim Gazette photo by Elijah Sussman / A Washington State Park sign at the trailhead of The Discovery Bay Trail outlining the area regulations.

I head back the way I came and get to my car with plenty of time to get back to the office. As I drive towards the highway, I cannot remember which way I took to get into the Diamond Point neighborhood development, and realize that my phone service is spotty. I decide to guess and take a left from Rhododendron Drive onto Diamond Point Road.

I drive for a few minutes before spotting a recognizable sign, I am heading in the right direction. About 20 minutes later, I pull into the Sequim Gazette office driveway with a few minutes to spare.

Stay tuned for future “Transmissions from the Trail” when I will be going out on similar adventures, but with people who have some serious knowledge to impart.

Elijah Sussman is a reporter with the Sequim Gazette. Reach him at elijah.sussman@sequimgazette.com.