SEEING IT ALL from a different angle
ISSUE 16 | VOLUME 5
Let's just admit it. COVID sucks. The last twelve months have presented challenges that many of us would never before have imagined in our quiet comfortable lives.
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As spring merges into summer and a light emerges at the end of this dark tunnel – we are dealing with the realization that things may never be what they once were. It's time to see it all from a different angle. Take this background image for example. "Party Rock" or "Big Rock" at Lake Cushman, near the entrance to the Olympic National Park, has increasingly become a point of great contention. With limited public access to Cushman and its popularity for an adrenaline rush from cliff diving, this roadside stop has gained a negative reputation as a popular gathering place for drinking, violence, graffiti, and general disrespect. During 2020 these issues were exacerbated. Cooped-up, frustrated and faced with shuttered businesses and activities, the restless hordes surged to public lands seeking diversion. The road to Lake Cushman became so overcrowded that the vehicles back up spanned as far as Hwy 101. Officials were forced to close access to non-local traffic during the peak tourist season. Infrastructure failed as Washington State Parks reported a 15-45% increase in attendance during 2020 at Hood Canal parks. Yet this image was taken this morning under the rock. If you headed to Big Rock today with the low water level of Lake Cushman, you'd find it hard to imagine anyone would even want to jump off it. Definitely a different angle. Surrounded by ominous points of stumps and "islands," the giant boulder is perched on smaller rocks creating a magical grotto with reflecting pools magnifying the beauty of the snow dusted treed hillsides plunging sharply into Lake Cushman.
COVER PHOTO: Greg Linder Hood Canal from Union following winter snow storm, FEB 2021.
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