I don't do a lot of urban hiking. Mostly because I'm rarely in urban places. When I am, I guess I expect the trails to be as well cared for as those out on the mountains. This was not one of those trails.
I had two hours to kill with the dog. Maps showed a nice loop in a ravine around a creek. Sounds lovely. There was even a dog park at the trailhead. The first part was fine. Lots of lowland vegetation, ferns, deciduous trees. Nice.
As the trail climbed gradually, it became apparent there hasn't been a lot of maintenance here. Bridges were falling down. Mud holes were taking over parts of the trail. Even worse, the creek was littered with garbage.
I'm not talking about an errant candy bar wrapper or even a poop bag. I'm talking about piles of tires in the creek. I'm talking about the wreckage of a car from the 60s. I feared what else might be in the water so Tinkham didn't get to splash around as she usually does. The other side of the creek was a railroad with trash scattered all around.
Needless to say, not my favorite environment. However, it did serve to get us outside and we saw the sun get low in the sky among woodland flowers. It wasn't all bad. But it could be better.
Washington Trails Association has a project called The Trail Next Door. Definitely check it out. They're working to improve access to trails whether you can get to the mountains or not.
📍On the lands of the Coast Salish
