Lonely, wandering clouds of Wordsworth’s fame, step aside. You’ve got meatloaf-shaped competition—and I can’t unsee it. I’m only wandering lonely as a meatloaf from now on.
On a rare, sunny day, Nate, Alex, and I took the ferry to Whidbey Island, walked along the beach, and found this loaf-like shape in the rocky sand—and it appeared to have sponge-like gill things deep inside. Was it actually alive? Maybe. At least, it once was.
The “wandering meatloaf” is a kind of mollusk, specifically the “gumboot chiton,” and it looks like a large loaf of ground meat, lovingly plopped straight from the pan. Sometimes, one will wash up on shore. They move slowly, looking for algae, according to the Northcoast Environmental Center blog—and they have eight hard interlocking plates that make up their shell. Also, this species of chiton has teeth, with a rare iron mineral inside.
But does it move fast? As you would expect, a meatloaf, even if it does wander, is kind of loaf-ish. The North Coast Journal reports that one wandered only twenty meters in two years.
To travel far quickly, they must be washed up on shore, which is where we found our lovely, lonely meatloaf.
Can you eat it? Turn it into meatloaf for real? Apparently, you can eat it, but the flesh is super tough and has to be boiled for hours. Also, that’s how you remove the skin, shells, and guts. This Instagram reel by jepeatsbc in Victoria, BC shows a recipe for Gumboot Chiton Jook, which looks pretty flavorful, but at the end, he only rates it a 7.5 out of 10.
So, I think I’ll probably admire my wandering meatloaf from afar. Or, I might take it to the following exciting places:
- An algae convention
- The world’s largest bread loaf pan (Urbana, Ohio)
- The world’s most iconic meatball statue, outside Pasghetti’s Italian Restaurant in Branson, Missouri
- The massive McDonald’s Quarter Pounder statue in Rapid City, North Dakota
- A rock concert featuring Meatloaf
Your Turn: What’s the most unusual thing you’ve encountered on a walk?
Fixin' Leaks and Leeks 
I remember once walking around Lake Ginninderra when I lived in Canberra, coming across a small tortoise. It was only about three centimetres across its carapace. I picked it up off the footpath and carefully placed it closer to the water.
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Wow. It does look like a meatloaf but a really ugly one. I’ve never heard of the gumboot chiton before but it looks like it might be about as tasty as a gumboot. I’ve seen some unusual things while out walking but nothing like your find unless I count the alien I saw once. He was lost and trying to phone home. 😉
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