Summer Hike #4 Guillemot Cove Nature Preserve

I can't believe I only did 4 hikes this summer! I had much higher expectations for myself. The truth is it was sometimes pretty hard to get the boys out of the house with me (and I'm including Steve in "the boys"). Today Steve was back to work, so I thought we better try to get at least one more hike in before school starts. I looked on the Kitsap County's website and found a hike at Guillemot Cove, way out at the end of Stavis Bay Road.

Length: 2.5 to 3 miles
Elevation Gain: all downhill on the way to the beach and all uphill on the way back.
Views: forest, beach
Wildlife: bugs, deer
Kids: generally happy, with a little whining on the uphill climb.

This is a very unique place. I tried to find some history on it, but failed. The hike is mostly wooded and is pretty typical for the Pacific Northwest--lots of trees, ferns, and other low shrubby bushes. It was downhill and quite steep in spots. When we got to the bottom of the hill, we came across an old house. It was kind of creepy (especially since we seemed to be the only people around), not boarded up at all, but definitely abandoned.
Not sure why they left the beds, but that really upped the creep factor.
There was another house down at the beach, this time all boarded up. The boys stopped for some lunch, then went out to look under rocks and climb on an old tree trunk in the water. They got their feet all wet, of course, which probably made the hike back to the car less comfortable.
The Kitsap website said that this park had restrooms. Obviously Kitsap County and I have a different definition of what constitutes a restroom as this is the only thing we found that remotely resembled restrooms.
The boys chose to pee on the trail as we were the only ones there. I waited until we got to Target. Simon let me take a few pictures of him while we were at the beach house; Torsten did not.
We explored a little more, found an old barn, then headed back to the car via the access road.
Simon trailed a little behind Torsten and me and whined that his legs hurt and we were going too fast.
Later we found out that we missed seeing the stump house, a house that is made out of a huge tree stump and apparently was once used as a hideout for a criminal. I'm kind of bummed. I guess we might have to go back some time.