Hikes: Naked in the Rain
Celebrating our arrival at the viewpoint above Naked Man Valley

Hikes: Naked in the Rain

Back in the Seventies, the Love Israel family of western Washington fame had a party in this neck of the woods just north of Pass Lake. One morning back then, a resident at the end of Ginnett Road, which sits above this park valley, heard a knock on his door. Standing there was a man who was lost, needing directions, and also needing all his clothing.

In the Nineties, a park planner was developing management plans for this area and talked to interested neighbors. During a break, the Ginnett Road resident shared this story with him. As the plans became finalized, the planner realized he needed a name for the so-far unnamed valley to identify it in the plan. He called it “Naked Man Valley” as a placeholder, chuckling again at the story.

I became the park manager a few years later. Reading the management plan for the park, which still used Naked Man to refer to this valley, I assumed that was its official name. When I made a map to sell at the park, that’s what I called it.

Months later, when the park planner visited again and looked at the new map, he saw the name and burst out laughing!

“That was just a joke, a placeholder name,” he said.

“Well, it’s official now!” I replied sheepishly.

And it has indeed stuck. It brings a smile to visitors and more than an occasional query about its origin.

Kath and I chose to hike to Naked Man on a day that the weather service promised would be mostly sunny in the afternoon, with almost no chance of rain. Good for sunny pictures of our hike, I figured.

We began at the Pass Lake parking lot under threatening skies. The highway noise made conversation difficult, but as we rounded the first corner of the trail, the noise began to fade a little.

The trail climbs a slight hill, then drops back down to follow the north shore of the lake for half a mile. Passing through the huge old-growth trees along the lake always makes me feel small and humble.

As we climbed up the ridge away from the lake, I said to Kath, “This is my favorite part of the hike, the next hundred yards.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Listen.”

We crossed the ridge and began dropping down into Naked Man Valley. The highway noise quickly faded, faded --- and then disappeared entirely, replaced by a frog’s lone croaking, a nuthatch’s plaintive note, and a raven’s wings flapping high above us. The valley floor was ours alone. Not a breath stirred, not a sound was heard. We had entered the depths of the valley.

The morning’s rain dripped from the ferns and firs. Mud on the trail squished underfoot. Moss glistened bright green. Runoff gurgled under a short bridge, one of the only two waterfalls I know of in the park.

We ascended to the viewpoint above the north end of the valley and looked across the treetops back to Pass Lake. Blue skies sparkled tantalizingly over Whidbey, but clouds were gathering to our west. Thick clouds, heavy clouds. After a bite of chocolate, we turned back, down into the valley, where we were still the only humans, but fully dressed for the rain that now began to fall, falling gently on the treetops, gently on the salal leaves, gently on the mushrooms and fallen trees, gently on the trail, gently on the lake as we arrived back at the trailhead.

And the peace and quiet of Naked Man Valley stayed gentle on our minds as we returned home.

The name Naked Man Valley gets your attention. Its quiet beauty will hold your attention long after.

Crossing a bridge over untroubled water

Directions

Current Trail Conditions: Considering it had been a cold, wet week, we found the trails to be in decent condition with some exceptions. There were a couple of trees across the trail in one place, but they were easily stepped over. There was a large mud hole near the intersection of the Pass Lake Loop and the Tursi Trail. The hillside going down into Naked Man Valley is steep, and we skidded several inches more than once. A rivulet runs down the trail near the viewpoint overlooking the valley, but you can step on rocks to get past it. Otherwise, it is a typical December trail in the Pacific Northwest: wet needles, wet gravel, few visitors (we saw only one, near the trailhead), and quiet woods.

Directions: The Pass Lake trailhead is a half-mile north of the Deception Pass bridge, at the intersection of Highway 20 and Rosario Road.

By Bus: The nearest bus stop is for Island Transit at the north end of Whidbey Island, a mile and a half from Pass Lake.

By Bike: Rosario Road is winds and dances among the hills leading to the lake, with very little shoulder and limited traffic. Highway 20 also has narrow shoulders around here, with high speeds and heavy traffic.

Mobility: the beginning of the trail is sloped but firm. It eventually becomes strewn with roots, rocks, occasional mud patches, and occasional bridges, and much steeper in places.

Republished by permission. Read the original article.