Guest Post: Keeping the Light On

A driftwood sign at the end of the beach trail has an arrow pointing back towards the mainland: “Reality, 5 miles.” After hiking two and a half hours to the tip of the longest natural sand spit in the United States, you do feel removed from the rest of the world. For the general public, the spit and its historic lighthouse are only accessible by foot. For the lighthouse keepers, who man the light station in one week tours of duty, the assertion that reality is five miles away is especially poignant.

Approximately 70 miles northwest of Seattle, the Dungeness Spit stretches into the Straits of Juan De Fuca. Geologist define a spit as narrow, finger-like coastal land formation that is tied to the coast at one end. The Dungeness Spit extends more than 5 miles into the Straits of Juan De Fuca.

Since 1857 ships have navigated safely around the long, narrow sliver of sand guided by a lighthouse near the tip of the spit: the New Dungeness Light Station. In 1994 the New Dungeness Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society assumed responsibility for staffing and maintaining the Station under license from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Anyone can join the Association and register for a tour of duty as a lighthouse keeper. As a member, you are eligible for one tour of duty every two years. Working as a lighthouse keeper involves both adventure and relaxation. It is a vacation punctuated by the occasion obligation.

At low tide on the first day of your tour of duty, your group and supplies are delivered to the Light Station by large, four wheel drive trucks–the only vehicles allowed to drive on the beach. When they drop you off, they pick up the outgoing group. It is a fast-paced and well-orchestrated exchange that happens once a week. Timing and expedience are critical as the beach is only passable during low tide. When the truck disappears down the beach, you are isolated from reality. In cases of extreme emergency, helicopter transportation is available.

The Dungeness Spit is part of the larger Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. Day hikers are welcome to walk along the spit’s western beach from the mainland to the light station, but that is all. The lighthouse is open for public tours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Spending more than a few hours on the spit is a privilege reserved for the Association’s lighthouse keepers.

As a keeper one of your primary duties is to greet the public and show them around the lighthouse. Among the people I met during my time at the light station were visitors from Colorado, Indiana, Ireland and Japan.

The New Dungeness Light Station includes a four-bedroom, craftsman-style home built in 1905. This will be your home during your tour of duty. It is not open to the public. The Keepers Quarters is quaint and charming and very well appointed. In addition to all the creature comforts, you’ll enjoy WiFi access, satellite television, and satisfactory cell phone reception. The spit itself is the only thing separating you from reality.

The number of people visiting the Light Station varies wildly depending on the time of year and the weather. In the summer, as many as 150 people visit the lighthouse in a single day. During October, a busy day might only see eight or ten visitors.  Most of the hikers that make the trek out the beach eagerly climb the spiralling 72 steps to the top of the 155 year-old lighthouse and witness the breathtaking view. To the south, Sequim Bay and the majestic Olympic Mountains. The San Juan Islands haunt the northeastern view, backed by Mount Baker in the distance on a clear day. Directly north, the Harrow Straits stretch to Alaska. To the northwest Victoria, British Columbia. To the West, the open waters of the Straits of Juan De Fuca and the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean.

In addition to acting as a tour guide, the lawn must be watered daily and mowed weekly, the sump pumps must be checked regularly, and a few other chores will occupy some of your time. You are performing a duty, and a certain amount of respect for that duty is required, but there is plenty of time for long walks on the beach, bird watching, and other forms of relaxation.

It is a rare treat to spend a week at the Light Station, one that is reserved for just 52 groups per year. Luckily, the New Dungeness Light Station Association is always looking for new members and new volunteers to man the station.