The trail to the iconic peak of Pyramid Mountain is open after an Olympic National Park trail crew and volunteers from the Washington Trail Association re-routed a section of the 3½-mile-long trail. Safety concerns over slide-damaged areas led to the trail’s closure last August.
The trail follows the western side of Pyramid Mountain on the north shore of Lake Crescent. It’s mostly easy for the first half before angling into a moderately strenuous hike with a 2,400-foot elevation gain.
As the trail rises to the 3,089-foot-elevation peak, see Lake Crescent, Mount Storm King, Vancouver Island, Mount Baker and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. World War II spotters searched for enemy planes from a small lookout, which is still there.
To reach the trailhead, drive 27 miles on Highway 101 west from Port Angeles to Farholm on the western end of Lake Crescent. Turn right on Camp David Jr. Road (North Shore Road) and follow the gravel to a pullout adjacent to the North Shore picnic area. The trailhead is across the road.
Pilchuck Audubon Society: Volunteers lead birdwatching trips in March to Birch Bay (Blaine), Samish Flats, Larabee State Park, Point No Point, and Smith and Spencer islands. Information: www.pilchuckaudubon.org.
Indoor option: Western bluebirds have returned to the San Juan Islands after being missing for almost 40 years. Kathleen Foley of the San Juan Preservation Trust will tell the story of the reintroduction of the once-common bluebird to the Garry oak ecosystem in the islands at 7 p.m. March 12 at the Seattle Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle.$5.
Sightings: Face it, most birds don’t visit your feeder, so take your binoculars and wander about. A Port Townsend man recently wandered in Skagit County and the Stanwood area and found short-earred owls, northern shrikes, rough-legged hawks, northern harriers, eagles, red-tailed hawks, snow geese and trumpeters.
Wilson’s snipes have favored the Edmonds Marsh more often than in the past. One birder found four snipes, another five. Birds seen in Edmonds include wood ducks, American kestrel, Western meadowlark, peregrine falcon, Eurasian collared dove, barred owl and Virginia rail.
On the bookshelf: Lia Dutton has sailed the equivalent of four laps around the globe and rowed across the Atlantic. And she’s only 33.
But don’t be intimidated by her book “50 Water Adventures to Do Before You Die.”
You’ll find a water-related outing to fit your needs, including a cruise on a houseboat in Kerala, India; flyboarding in Miami, paddleboard yoga in a geothermal crater in Utah and nightime scuba diving in the Red Sea.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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