With great help from the staff at Kayak Point and Snohomish County Parks and Rec., Glacier Peak Institute was able to take a group of over 20 youth to explore the beauty of Port Susan. The night before, GPI staff went out and dropped 2 crab pots for the participants to bring up the following day.

As we departed from Darrington Ranger Station on Saturday, we had high hopes for the amount of crabs we would get. Sadly, we only managed to get 2 that were the right size and even then we did not have enough time to cook them up and share. With that said, there was no hint of disappointment in anyone.

From the start, we were all excited to be in a new place and on the beach. We spent over 3 hours just adventuring around the beach, getting stuck in the surprisingly soft sand, and taking a dip in the ocean. By mid-day we split into two groups, one went canoeing to collect one crab pot while the other half continued to bathe in the ocean. After an hour, we swapped and the second group took out our last crab pot.

Pulling the grab pot out of the water was harder than expected and a lot of teamwork was needed. With all the effort, we managed to get 3 crabs (1 too small) and a starfish. Luckily for all of us, it was enough to count this day as a great success. Even as we were packing up and getting ready to leave, there were participants that dragged out their time there and continued to swim in the ocean until they were the last to jump in the car. Again, shout out to all who participated in making this day happen. We look forward to another excursion at Kayak Point

-Christina L., GPI Intern