Kath and I had labored hard this busy week. We needed a break and new perspectives. A short hike at Rosario could be the cure.
My son Ben walked with us into its hushed magic. Others had gone home, leaving the beach to the quiet ones, ourselves and two other curious souls lingering behind.
The evening cast its spell upon us.
The tide slowly pulled itself from the shore, as the heat of the summer day ebbed away, too. Blue skies gave way to brewing clouds. The water mirrored the steely gray. Calm waters stirred, disturbed from their rest, alive now with the rising winds. The sea spoke in motion, rhythm, and breath.
What is it about beaches, especially a beach such as Rosario —where the land gives way and the ocean begins—that opens something within us, that stirs echoes of our memories, and breathes longing into our souls?
The water suggests a freedom,
as if the choppy ocean were a highway to the sky.
Tomorrow’s deadlines fade in the face of infinities.
The harbor is quiet, like a restless animal that’s sleeping.
A thousand dreams will be launched, this deep indigo tonight;
some will store in memory’s hold, others will be lost, like shipwrecks.
No line divides where sky and water fold, where endless deeps meet.
For now, we’ll walk the shoreline, our small voices like seagull calls,
enjoying celestial light and the indigo night, out beyond all earthly cares.
Anais Vionet, the indigo night
Rosario can host blazingly gorgeous days and magnificent golden sunsets. But this evening became subdued, reserved, intimate, the reset we hoped for. Our steps became deliberate, our breathing slower. We walked not for destination but for communion. This hike became a meditation to listen to the turning of the tide, to dance to the rhythm of the sea, to stand on the edge of the earth and marvel at the vastness beyond.
We paused at KoKwalAlWoot, remembering this young girl’s bravery in love, becoming a resident of the sea rather than a land dweller like her family, her community, and us. And in so doing, she brought the sea and land together, wave and root, melody and harmony. What part do I play?
Emerging from the woods and following the curve of the trail up the south side, the spacious view unfurled. The vastness of the Salish Sea spread out before us. We stood at the top, then sat in reverence. Our words faded away. Thoughts and dreams took their place.
Behind us, the two young men stood at the cliff’s edge. One leaned outward for a photo, his life held in the grasp of the other. We couldn’t watch.
Back down we went to the north side, through the woods, and back to the isthmus joining the headland to the rest of Fidalgo. The beach beckoned, the sea spoke enticingly. Heeding this siren call to follow the water’s edge, we crunched across soft gravel, dodging waves washing ashore, then sat on driftwood and watched the evening fall.
ever-changing, constant
rhythmic and random
silence, full of sound
like cold water
soothes my soul
gull cry awakens
saline cleanses
and vastness dwarfs
as I sit and breathe
the hearty air
sometimes I talk
and the waves listen
but mostly the waves talk
while I sit still
and listen
Bronagh M. Dunne, Sea
Filled with the salt-tinged taste of Rosario’s soul, we climbed away through the woods, returning to our car, to our lives, to the ticking rhythm of our days. But the voice of the sea had been imprinted, humming within us still.
Directions
Directions: From one quarter mile north of the Deception Pass Bridge, at the Pass Lake intersection, take Rosario Road northwest about three-quarters of a mile, and drop down Cougar Gap Road to Rosario Beach, adjacent to Walla Walla University's Marine Station.
By Bike: Highway 20 is a busy, narrow, high-speed, challenging road. Rosario Road is not nearly as busy, but just as hilly, winding, and narrow.
Mobility: The trail from the parking lot to the Maiden is wide, hard-packed, and relatively gentle in slope. Beyond the Maiden the trails are steep, narrow, and with occasional rocks and roots to navigate. The beach is gravelly.
Trail conditions: Excellent, except for the north side of Rosario Head, which has very difficult roots to navigate in a couple of places.