February in Bellingham
A fine time for a walk in the woods
Cool, damp days and gray skies in February, in Bellingham. Who loves that? I could pretend I do and sound like a hard-nosed Nor’wester, but I’d be lying through my teeth. I suffer through as many do. Forty degrees with a spitting dribble outside requires a strategy. For some, just slam the drapes, boil some tea (maybe a spiked cocoa), pick out a good movie, and push on through. Some head to Mount Baker and ski. Others sell the house and move to Palm Springs.
For the rest of us, the outdoor types, there’s still hope. The days are getting noticeably longer, and the daffodils are just now poking their skinny green fingers into the light. Further encouragement comes from the calendar, which states with some authority that winter is technically over in a matter or weeks, even if the furry guy in Punxsutawney last week suggested otherwise.
February means spring is truly on the way, and it gets me giddy with anticipation. My main problem is the forty-degree thing. Run it up to forty-five and pause the dribble for an hour and I can just muster the courage to lace up my boots and head out the door for a hike. Much colder than that and I’m as limp as a wimp. If I see forty-five at the thermometer outside the kitchen window, I’m good. Experience knows I’ll soon warm up, especially if I can stagger up a hill at the start. And look out, because once I’m out there, it takes a pretty good hook to drag me back in.
Which is how I get through February in the Great Northwet.
Skittishness aside, February is a fine time to partake in some of the better woods walks around Bellingham. We have some outstanding parks and a lot of trails. In fact, Bellinghampsters are so in love with our trails, we have continually voted to tax ourselves for more trails (via the “greenways levy”) since 1990, with a fourth extension of the program anticipated later this year.
Even before “Greenways,” the city had developed a respectable trails sytem, especially within the larger, forested parks and along several old railroad grades. It may sound blasphemous to communities who favor asphalt trails, but nearly all our trails are surfaced in native soil or packed gravel, well graded, and easy to negotiate on skinny tires or small feet. Since gravel paths are far easier and cheaper to maintain than asphalt, which is often prone to cracking and buckling from tree roots, we can boast of a pretty big bang for the buck overall.
Most of our trails are multi-use, as in boots and bikes, although some paths may favor one group over the other. (An example is the major concentration of nationally recognized mountain bike trails on Galbraith Mountain.) The grand vision is wide connectivity for all, both within and among the neighborhoods, with trail links to parks, schools, downtown, employment centers, the waterfront, and the rest.
If you’re reading this from somewhere other than Bellingham, I’m guessing you might enjoy a few tips on where to check out our visitor-worthy local trails when you happen to visit. My first suggestion is to do a quick online search for “Bellingham Trail Guide,” which will take you to a nice collection of snazzy trail maps covering most of the city. Then, for starters, zero in on Whatcom Falls, Lake Padden, and Sehome Hill. Navigation and parking at each location are fairly straightforward. Just wander at will and the beauty will materialize. Use a trail-based GPS app on your smartphone to keep track of your location, or ask a friendly face on the trail which way is what. People here are nearly always happy to help.
For more easy strolling, find your way to Squalicum Harbor where great paths hug the water and boat marina for quite a distance, easily worth an hour of sauntering. Or head to Boulevard Park and walk a scenic mile south to old Fairhaven by way of the over-water pier and Taylor Dock—a sunset favorite. Both the downtown area and Fairhaven offer oddles of eats, countless coffee shops, hip microbrews, and fine dining, plus a host of small shops to carouse. And don’t forget to include way-scenic Chuckanut Drive and Larrabee State Park in your travel itinerary, whether coming or going.
There’s plenty more to love about Bellingham, of course, and you can even wander quite enjoyably in months not named February. I’ll have more to say about those other fine months later. For now, though, I think I’ll reheat that teapot.
