Circumambulating Seattle 6: The NW Segment

“The last few miles were like a bad dream, but I’d reached a state where somehow, perversely, it was harder to stop than to carry on.”
— Nick Hunt, Walking the Woods and the Water

I’d reached the point in my encircling walk of Seattle where I was ready for it to end.  I suppose we encounter this type of mental hinderance many times in our lives, when tasks have lost their sense of newness or joy or wonder.  Perhaps my energy was flagging a bit because, unlike my other segments which I started bright and early in the morning, I hit the sidewalks this day after working four hours at my job.  It was past mid-day when I resumed my walk at the Ballard Locks.

The walk started pleasantly enough with a trek past Shilshole Marina to Golden Gardens.  This is another of Seattle’s popular beaches for summer recreation on the Sound.

From Golden Gardens, I tried to stay relatively close to the waters’ edge as I walked north, but I found this difficult.  First I had to climb up several sets of very steep stairs up from Golden Gardens to the bluff above.  I was back in a residential area with labyrinthine streets, no sidewalks, and ravines that resulted in plenty of dead ends.

One of the stairways up from Golden Gardens

After walking in what seemed like loops, I finally hit NW 100th Street and decided to follow its straight path to 15th and then 3rd Avenue NW.  The walk became a slog.  There were no long views across the Sound as I was now heading back inland.  I perked up when I saw Swansons Nursery — suddenly I knew exactly where I was.  I put one foot in front of the other, watching the street signs go up incrementally to 145th Street NW, which was the northern city limit.  There I turned west for my final few blocks to Aurora Avenue North, back where I started my journey.

Walking in NW Seattle

Swansons Nursery

Back where I started, 145th and Aurora Ave N

Estimated walking distance: about 7-1/2 miles

I’d accomplished my goal — walking the boundaries of my city, about 70+ miles.  There were some exceptionally lovely parts, but even the uninteresting, normal, or ugly parts were worth it because they took me to areas of the city that I had not seen before or that I would have bypassed in a car without a thought.

I learned that Seattle is larger than I knew, and yet, walking revealed a series of neighborhoods that were knowable on a smaller scale.

“How excellent it is to see the world reveal itself to one who goes afoot — and how much larger it is.”
— William Least Heat Moon, Here, There, Elsewhere:  Stories from the Road

It felt good to be an explorer in my own backyard:

“On occasion, . . . I go out into my home territory and try to travel it as if a stranger so that I can see familiarities in a different light and from a new angle, commonplaces viewed freshly and examined closely.  The point is as much discovery as rediscovery.”
— William Least Heat Moon, Here, There, Elsewhere: Stories from the Road

Now I will have to plan for new activities and explorations.  I have at least three things I want to return to — walking Seward Park’s loop trail and using the Elliott Bay Water taxi to get to West Seattle. I’ve fallen in love with Seattle’s RapidLine transit routes, and want to catch the RapidLine C back to West Seattle someday for breakfast (I saw many good looking bakeries and coffeeshops).The summer is still young!

 

 

Circumambulating Seattle 5: Downtown to the Ballard Locks

“The simplicity of walking — the essential humanness of putting one foot in front of the other — made a deep kind of sense.”
— Nick Hunt, Walking the Woods and the Water

Ferry arriving at the downtown terminal, Seattle

This segment of my Seattle periphery walk would make a perfect day hike for tourists because it bypasses some of the city’s most iconic spots.  I resumed my trek at the downtown ferry terminal.  Commuters were already making ready for their day’s work.

Then I detoured up two streets to the Pike Place Market, where fish, food, and flower vendors were just setting up their stalls.  I dropped by the historic first Starbucks store for a cup of coffee.

Seattle’s Big Wheel

I returned to the waterfront and headed north to my next destination, the outdoor Olympic Sculpture Park, which is open from dawn to dusk.  Admission is free.  The views and art are priceless.

The Elliott Bay trail, a multi-purpose biking and pedestrian path, follows the shores of Puget Sound toward the Magnolia neighborhood.  I stopped to look at the amazing Amgen Helix Bridge, a pedestrian bridge to the Amgen campus.

The trail continued past the Pier 89 grain elevators.  Looking back toward downtown, Mount Rainier shone brightly on the horizon.

Now the path took me through another industrial area. Decoupling trains clanked in the railroad yard.  Rather than cross into Magnolia on the Magnolia Bridge, I decided to continue up and around on the trail to Smith Cove.  I thought I would find a way to walk up from the marina there to the Magnolia bluff, but I discovered this was a dead end.  I had to backtrack and get on the Magnolia Bridge after all.

Elliott Bay trail toward Magnolia and Ballard

Smith Cove marina

Walking on the Magnolia Bridge

View from the bridge

Once I reached the Magnolia neighborhood, I followed Magnolia Boulevard toward Discovery Park.  Although I was walking through a residential area, there were nice sidewalks and public areas on the bluff overlooking the Sound, and the homes were across the street.  This neighborhood did a great job accommodating walkers!

I finally reached Discovery Park and entered on 43rd Avenue West.  This Seattle park is still relatively untamed, with dense trees, ravines, and a shoreline, all cut with steep trails.  I followed the loop trail to the West Point lighthouse and then to the north parking lot.

Exiting the north parking lot, I made a short left on 40th Avenue West and then a right on West Commodore Way.  This street took me to the Ballard Locks, where I was able to cross the Ship Canal.  The fish ladders, which are ludicrously active during salmon spawning season, were empty of fish this time of year.  The locks were busy as usual, with boaters navigating from the salt waters of Puget Sound to the fresh waters of Lake Union and Lake Washington.

Boats waiting to enter the locks

Spillway

I ended my walk at the Ballard Locks and caught the Number 44 bus back home.

Estimated walking distance:  11-1/2 miles

 

Circumambulating Seattle 4: West Seattle to Downtown

“But most of these far walks have been taken just for the joy of walking in the free air.”
— John Finley, “Traveling Afoot,” from The Joys of Walking, ed. Edwin Valentine

“Increasingly, walking itself became a source of happiness, something to be enjoyed in its own right, bringing an intensity of experience and a sensual awareness of surroundings that grew more addictive by the miles.”
— Nick Hunt, Walking the Woods and the Water

View of downtown Seattle skyline from Alki

At this point in my multi-day project of encircling the periphery of Seattle, I no longer questioned why I was walking these segments.  I simply enjoyed the journey.  I was especially looking forward to this day’s walk because I knew I would have Puget Sound in sight almost the entire day.  I was reminded of how beautiful Seattle’s location is, with distant mountains to the west (the Olympics) and to the east (the Cascades) and the gentle waves of Puget Sound lapping its shores.

I started my walk from the Barton Street Pea Patch at the intersection of Barton Street SW and 35th Avenue SW.

Sunflower

Barton Street community garden

I followed Barton Street west and downhill to the sound.  The Fauntleroy ferry was disgorging cars and passengers.  It would have been a lovely day for a ferry ride to Vashon Island, but I stuck with my plan to walk.

Ferry to Vashon Island

Disembarking

I followed Fauntleroy Avenue SW to Lincoln Park, a heavily wooded space with playground, picnic tables, and below the bluff, a beach with paved walking and biking path.  Families, joggers, and dog-watchers enjoyed the beach.

Picnic table under the trees, Lincoln Park

 

Beach at Lincoln Park on Puget Sound

Exercising with beach rocks

The Seattle grunge look — starting early

Seattle is a very literary city.

From Lincoln Park I headed north on Beach Drive where I was separated from the beach by a row of waterfront residences.  As I approached Alki Beach, I discovered a set of 27 constellations embedded the sidewalk, West Seattle’s own “Avenue of the Stars.”

Beach Drive turned into Alki Avenue.  The point here was the original landing spot of the Denny Party, Seattle’s first white settlers, in 1851.  Later they relocated across the Sound to establish Seattle on the shores of Elliott Bay.  Today the beach is one of the city’s favorite recreation spots, especially on summer days.

Blue bottle house

Alki Beach

Alki has its own miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty, which commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Boy Scouts.

Picnic on the beach

Flowered house on Alki Avenue

Alki Avenue turned into Harbor Avenue SW and now the views over the water took in the Seattle skyline.

Recreation and industry on Elliott Bay near downtown Seattle

The next stretch of my walk took me away from the relaxing beachfront and back into the city’s industrial area.  Pedestrians are prohibited on the West Seattle Bridge, but I had access to a nice bike trail across Harbor Island on an older, lower bridge.  I passed over the Duwamish River, and Mount Rainier gleamed hugely and whitely on the horizon.

Bike path along the lower bridge

Under the West Seattle Bridge

Duwamish River with Mount Rainier

Duwamish River looking toward downtown Seattle

My final trek was along East Marginal Way South past the shipping docks.  The Starbucks headquarters punctuated the skyline in the SODO (south of Downtown) neighborhood.  I passed an historical marker near 2225 E marginal Way S on the spot of the world’s very first gasoline service station (1907).  Who knew that Seattle played a role in this part of our country’s driving history!

Loading docks and shipyards

Starbucks headquarters

East Marginal Way South

Bike path into downtown Seattle

Ferry coming into the downtown terminal

I ended my walk at the downtown ferry terminal.

Total walking distance:  about 12 miles

 

 

 

Circumambulating Seattle 3: The Southern Boundary

“A pedestrian is a man in danger of his life.  A walker is a man in possession of his soul.”
— David McCord

I admit I was a bit apprehensive about this third leg of my circumambulation of Seattle because the southern perimeter zigs and zags across industrial areas. It’s not a straightforward boundary line because Boeing Field interrupts the trek east to west. I would be leaving the flat, scenic shoreline of Lake Washington and heading toward Puget Sound. I’m not familiar with south Seattle, as I live and work in a northern neighborhood, so I didn’t know what to expect.

My husband came along to keep me company for the first part of the day’s walk. We started at South Kenyon Street and walked to the lakeshore. We walked south along Lake Washington to Thayer Street, not quite to the Renton border. At Thayer, we headed uphill to begin our walk west. This was the first of several uphill stretches on our journey.

Steep stairway up Thayer St

Rather than follow each zig and zag along the city’s south boundary line, we fudged a bit to take in some more natural pathways. Our first destination was the Kubota Garden. We found the southernmost entrance by Mapes Creek overgrown with blackberry brambles. So we continued on to the main entrance on S 55^th Street. The Japanese garden was a tranquil place early in the morning and we were its only visitors. It was an in-between time in terms of color. The rhododendron bloom was past its peak. But the curved paths took us past thoughtfully landscaped ponds and lawns, so it was a lovely meander.

We did not attempt to walk through this overgrown, brambly path, but instead chose a different entrance to the Kubota Gardens

Gated entrance

Rabbit in the gardens

The tranquility of a Japanese garden

We exited the Kubota Garden on Renton Avenue and headed west toward the Rainier Beach light rail stop. There we intercepted the Chief Sealth trail, a bike and pedestrian trail along a green belt. The paved trail wove up and down in a grassy meadow landscape.

Chief Sealth trail

At Kenyon Street we headed west to Beacon Avenue, followed it until it turned into Swift Avenue, and continued north along I-5. We were under the noisy flight path of planes destined for Seatac Airport and Boeing Field.

We crossed I-5 at Albro Street and rested for a few minutes at Ruby Chow Park. Then George caught a bus back to his truck, and I continued on my way west. I walked to S Eddy Street in the Georgetown neighborhood and followed it to Michigan Street. I continued on Michigan to the First South Bridge, whose Duwamish bike trail provided pedestrian access across the Duwamish River. Now I was in the heart of the industrial area of Seattle – barges, concrete, traffic, storage lots for all sorts of industrial materials.

The Duwamish River

View looking back toward downtown Seattle from the First South Bridge

I followed the zig-zag bike path to the South Park neighborhood. The library there provided a clean and quiet space for a break before I headed up the hill on Cloverdale, over Hwy 509, and up into West Seattle.

Shaded street in South Park neighborhood

As I crossed Hwy 509, I looked down onto this street light, a resting spot for a pigeon

Once again I fudged a bit on my periphery route, bypassing the point at Arbor Heights in favor of a more direct walk west. I took Roxbury to 8^th Avenue SW, then 8^th to Henderson St, and Henderson to Barton St and 35^th Avenue SW.

I marveled at the beautiful flowers and landscaping I saw along the residential streets, but the highlight was the Barton Street Pea Patch on 35^th Avenue SW. Everything looked so healthy and full of life. The colorful poppies and pink peonies were eye catching. The prolific pea plants gave special meaning to the concept of a “pea patch” garden. If I lived in this neighborhood, I would definitely get on the waiting list for a spot in this community garden.

From a yard along SW Henderson St

The perfect rose

Sunflower in the pea patch

Poppies

Peas in the pea patch

Visitors in the pea patch

I took a short two-block detour on 35^th to the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library for a needed break before catching the Rapid Line C back to downtown Seattle.

Walking distance: about 13 miles

Circumambulating Seattle 2: Eastern Boundary Along Lake Washington

Walking along Lake Washington Blvd, Seattle

I continued my long walk around the periphery of Seattle with another segment on the eastern border of the city.  Most of this day’s walk was along the shores of Lake Washington on good sidewalks in dappled shade.  My husband dropped me off in the Laurelhurst neighborhood at 42nd N.E. and I hiked south from there.

Blackberry blossoms

You really can’t go far in Seattle without seeing blackberry bushes growing wild.  They were in full blossom.

Center for Urban Horticulture

I soon arrived at the Center for Urban Horticulture where I wandered around the flower beds and botanic gardens.  There is always something delightful growing and blooming here.

At the Center for Urban Horticulture

The path through the cultivated gardens leads on into the wild Union Bay Natural Area, where meadows are under restoration to improve the habitat for birds and other small animals.

Path between the Center for Urban Horticulture and the Union Bay Natural Area

Union Bay Natural Area

The trail continued onto the University of Washington athletic complex, past soccer and track fields, tennis courts, the boathouse, and Husky Stadium.  I walked across the Montlake Bridge over the Ship Canal, which links Lake Washington and Lake Union, and from there headed to the Washington Park Arboretum.

Montlake Bridge over the Ship Canal

I passed an old totem pole carved by Haida Chief John Dewey Wallace from Waterfall, Alaska in 1937.  I intended to follow the Arboretum trail across Foster Island, but parts of the trail were under water.

Haida totem pole

Instead I entered the Arboretum near E Miller Street in the Montlake neighborhood.  Once in the Arboretum, I headed toward its eastern boundary and followed it south.  I was still separated from Lake Washington by the Broadmoor Golf Course and its gated community.  I hadn’t walked this part of the Arboretum before and the path took me past magnificent tree specimens and a garden showcasing plants from the Pacific Rim.

Path in Washington Park Arboretum

Tulip poplar tree

Looking up

Eucalyptus branch, Pacific Connections Garden

Calla lily at south entrance to Arboretum

Upon exiting the Arboretum, I walked to Madison Avenue and followed it all the way to the shores of Lake Washington.  The rest of my long walk followed the lakeshore through these Seattle neighborhoods:  Madison Park, Madrona, Leschi, Mount Baker, Lakewood/Seward Park and Rainier Beach. As you can imagine, the residential areas were lined with beautiful homes with lovely landscaping.  Lake Washington Boulevard attracts bikers and joggers, and the lake itself is a recreation spot for swimmers, picnickers and boaters.

Rooftop garden on home in Madison Park

I was amazed by all the different colors on this hydrangea bush

Window on home along Lake Washington Blvd

I walked past the I-90 floating bridge across Lake Washington

Rowers on Lake Washington

I walked as far as Rainier Beach and then headed to the Light Rail Station to catch a ride back home.

Estimated walking distance:  about 14 miles

Circumambulating Seattle 1: NE Segment

“Of such journeys on foot which I recall with greatest pleasure are some that I have made in the encircling of cities.”
— John Finley, “Walking Afoot,” from The Joys of Walking, ed. Edwin Valentine

“One cannot know the intimate charm of the urban penumbra who makes only shuttle journeys by motor or street car.”
— John Finley, “Walking Afoot,” from The Joys of Walking, ed. Edwin Valentine

Looking north to Shoreline on the boundary of Seattle

I realized as I began my goal of walking the boundaries of the city of Seattle that this was an arbitrary undertaking, and like most self-imposed goals, I immediately began questioning why I was doing it.  I like the idea of being an explorer of the world, and I believe that all it takes to live an adventuresome life is to have the right attitude — curiosity, wonder, attentiveness, and ultimately getting off the couch and doing rather than dreaming.  I didn’t need a reason.  I just needed to put one foot in front of the other.  I would be an explorer in my own backyard.

I started the first day’s periphery walk along the northern boundary of Seattle at North 145th Street and Aurora Avenue North.  The first part of the walk was not that pleasant, as N 145th is a busy street with rushing traffic and narrow sidewalks.  I headed east toward Lake Washington, which was about 2.75 miles away.

The campus at Lakeside School

I passed Lakeside School, a private school whose most famous alumni are Bill Gates and Paul Allen, founders of Microsoft.  Years ago, the Seattle Chamber Music Society held summer concerts at Lakeside School and they piped the music to the lawn, where everyone was welcome to bring a blanket and picnic while listening to music under the stars.  My daughter and I often  took advantage of these fun events.

St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery

As I neared the freeway, I noticed a sign for a Carmelite Monastery, so I detoured to investigate.  I wasn’t aware that there were cloistered nuns in my city.  The Carmelites are a contemplative order who spend their days in silence, solitude, and prayer within their little community.  The grounds were inaccessible, set apart by a high fence, but the church was open.  Unfortunately, my arrival did not coincide with their Liturgy of Hours, so I missed the experience of shared prayer.  Still, the church with its stained glass, arched windows was a quiet oasis in the city.

Crossing I-5 as traffic heads south into the city

Crossing over I-5, I thought about how we Americans would find it inconceivable to live without our private automobiles.

“Traffic is the blood in the veins of this city, endlessly flowing, pumping between the parts.”
— Adam Nicolson, from Two Roads to Dodge City

Vehicles speed us to our destinations, but I would be forgoing efficiency for the slow movement of my feet, hoping to discover the “intimate charms” Finley extols in my opening quotes.

Once I reached the shores of Lake Washington on the eastern boundary of Seattle, I was able to walk on the Burke Gilman Trail, a walking/biking paved path set apart from street traffic.  With the lake on my left, I strolled in shady comfort past beautiful lakeside homes.

Burke Gilman Trail

Plants along the trail

Lakeside home

I stopped for a picnic lunch at Mathews Beach Park where families were out enjoying the sunny, warm day.  It felt good to rest.

Resting at Mathews Beach Park on Lake Washington

Mathews Beach Park

I continued south on the Burke Gilman Trail to Magnuson Park, a huge park with its own labyrinthine paths and sports fields. I exited the park and arrived in the Windemere neighborhood, where I walked along Windemere Avenue to Sand Point Way.  After five hours, I was getting footsore, so I ended my day at University Village where I treated myself to a smoothie.  Refreshing!

Total distance: about 11 miles

 

 

To Circumambulate a City

“I have never found a city without its walkers’ rewards.”
— John Finley, “Traveling Afoot,” from The Joys of Walking, edited by Edwin Valentine Mitchell

Library books about inspiring walks

Last year at this time I had just returned from a week-long hike in France.  I am again feeling wanderlust and dream about someday taking a long pilgrimage or walking journey — the 88 temples of Shikoku, El Camino de Santiago, or perhaps the trails along the Cornwall Coast or Monterey Bay.  Any suggestions?

With no vacation plans in my immediate future, I will have to put some thought to a new walking venture at home, what John Finley in “Walking Afoot” calls “near journeys.”  He mentions the pleasures of walking the boundaries of one’s city.  Now that would be an adventure that would likely take me several days.

I’m considering it!