Our latest version of the Discovery Trail entailed riding east from Sequim through Jamestown S’Kalallum Tribal land to Discovery Bay and back.
In 1855, the S’Klallam leaders signed a treaty with the Federal government with the understanding that they would always be able to hunt, fish and gather in their “usual and accustomed” grounds. As increasing numbers of non-Indian settlers began to arrive in the area desiring the same abundant lands and waters that were so important to the S’Klallam people, the S’Klallam people living in the Dungeness area decided that in order to survive, they had to adopt a new value system that included property ownership.
In 1874, under the leadership of Tribal citizen Lord James Balch, they pooled $500 in gold coins and purchased the 210-acres along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, now called Jamestown. This provided a geographical center for group identity and independence, and was the start of the Jamestown S’Klallam community.
We rode through Jamestown and continued on a nice wildflower and field lined path. Here is where I saw a godetia flower for the first time ever. They are so vibrant and striking. The path winds a bit through some small roads by Gardiner to get to Discovery Bay.
After gazing at the waters of Discovery Bay and taking a break we hopped back on the bikes to start back. This wasn’t an out and back ride exactly, more of a pork chop ride. We rode up through some quant houses and came across something totally unexpected. Troll Haven! Troll Haven is a private property that’s available for rental and events and is quite the visual overload. You can see it all in the pics below.
After poking around to see all the stuff at Troll Haven we continued on through Miller Peninsula State Park where we rode a series of gravel roads to get back to the Discovery Trail. I’d recommend this ride to anyone up for a little adventure of paved path, small roads, and gravel.
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