The Secret Cushman Trail-reposted and updated

There is a paved biking trail that runs through Gig Harbor.  In my view, it is an undesirable trail either for walking or biking because it is too noisy and too dangerous.  It is noisy because it is close to the freeway and it is dangerous because it crosses many busy intersections.   However, if you start at the official trailhead on 14^th Street and turn southeast away from the asphalt, you will see a dirt path that goes under the power lines.  Walk down this path and you will eventually pass a big power tower, as the Cushman Trail/path continues through a fine forest and wends its way down and down toward Point Evans and Puget Sound.   After about half a mile in the forest, you will find yourself standing on the edge of a cliff.  For the faint of heart, there is no way down.  But for those with a little daring, there are many ways down.  There used to be a rope at one spot, to help people get down to the beach, but for some reason, it has disappeared.  Never fear, there are several paths that zigzag their way down to the beach.  Oh, by the way, there is no beach, unless there is a low tide, but if the tide is less than four feet, then find the least scary way to get down from the cliff, and voila, you have a beautiful, undeveloped beach.

My husband and I have been walking along this beach for the last six years, and we have never been disappointed.  We have seen all manner of wildlife:  baby harbor seals sunbathing, otters following us up or down the beach, great blue herons sounding like the dinosaurs that they are, bald eagles and osprey soaring overhead, and seagulls, mergansers, and goldeneyes cruising along with the tide.  On a couple of occasions, making sure we had a good low tide, we walked all the way from the Point Evans marker to Gig Harbor itself.  We felt privileged to be able to do this.   However, as we follow the beach in this direction, we are always stunned to see that the cliff is markedly eroding every year.  We can look up and see mudslides, fallen trees, and piles of fresh sand on the beach, sand that used to be part of the cliff wall itself.  We can also see debris from the back yards of people who live on the top of the cliff:  patio furniture, landscaping plants, paving stones, fencing.  People who live up there are losing pieces of their back yards.  We are sure that it is just a matter of time until some of those houses themselves end up on the beach, perhaps in a decade or so. 

In the meantime, like other locals, we hope to be able to continue enjoying our walks on the secret Cushman Trail.

Revisiting this lovely trail two years after the original post above

The forested part of the trail

Approaching the Sound

Fallen trees on the beach

Crumbling cliff

Beautiful beach

More obstacles just to keep it interesting

Looking across the water to Point Defiance

Another crumbling cliff

Then, back to our starting point.