2013-07-14 47 -122

Location

Deep in the undergrowth near I-5 and S. 272nd in Kent

Participants

OtherJack

Plans

I'd originally planned to get this at 4pm, but got distracted by something on the internet and didn't set out until around 3:40. I highly doubt I missed anyone though...

Expedition

Made it about 6:40pm, after some rather arduous bushwacking! More details and photos (including proof of course) when I'm in more of a writeup mood... -- OtherJack (talk) 03:41, 15 July 2013 (EDT)

... and here is the writeup mood. Better two months+ late than never, I guess. Anyway, I took the bus downtown to the light rail to SeaTac - first ever light rail geohash for me, I think. It was a clear sunny day, 80F (27C) or so, typical Northwest summer, and the views of Mt. Rainier from the high rail viaduct down by Southcenter were amazing. Forgot to take pictures though. Got an express bus from SeaTac down to "Star Lake Freeway Station" which turned out to just be a tiny bus shelter on the S. 272nd St offramp of I-5. From there it was a very convenient and short walk across the park n ride lot to the driveway of the property where I first hoped to gain access.

However, though I could see the house right there, there was a scary looking gate in the way with security equipment and signs, and no people around, so I walked around through the little subdivision to the other approach into the woods. I checked out the path south of the pond, but it only led to that same property. So the only remaining choice was to enter north of the pond and walk through the woods. (The cleared pond area itself was fenced off and signed.) I put on my heavy cotton shirt and work gloves and plunged in.

Now, since this was the Northwest, these woods were not flat. At all. In fact, the overgrown, loose terrain fell very steeply down from the sidewalk, reeking of garbage the whole way. I was heading west, but knew I eventually needed to go south (along-slope) to get behind the pond. At a slightly less steep spot I came to one of those orange floppy plastic fences (pictured) that was completely knocked over and obviously hadn't been maintained for a while. I figured whoever owned or managed this didn't care much about the property line, so I decided to step over.

The way south was agonizingly slow: find a way with the least amount of overgrowing nettles, thorns, woody brambles, vines, and saplings, manhandle the stuff out of the way in front of me for about ten or twenty paces, stop and check the gps, realize it hadn't updated because of the forest, turn it off, turn it on again, find that I was still several dozen meters away, crane neck around for any sign of the pond fence to orient myself, and repeat, all while trying not to slip further down the slope away from the hashpoint. After interminable loud, sweaty rounds of this I realized the hash was probably back uphill somewhere, and so I scramble/climbed southeast into...

... a magical, flat clearing! For about a twenty meter radius around me there was just new dirt. Someone must be improving the area. Relieved, I ran to the south end, which my calculations indicated should have been very near the hashpoint. GPS off, GPS on... but still about thirty feet southwest into the forest beyond. OK, can't be that bad, right?

But this part turned out to be even denser and steeper, with big piles of fallen rotting logs resting among even more living young conifer trees, all overgrown with more nettles and brambles and velociraptors. I went far more than thirty feet, though it may not have been southwest (I was guessing directions based on the sun), and was promptly directed back southeast and then northeast. This probably took about ~~ten minutes~~ twenty minutes according to the timestamps on my photos, though I covered perhaps thirty meters. I think this is also when I started hearing (far-off) rifle shots. It occurred to me that I wasn't sure whether or not I was on that original, scarily fenced property I'd seen from the road at the beginning.

But finally, though, the gps decided I was within the circle of error. Relieved and surprised, I took a few pictures and then ran for the clearing (which, of course, was very close by to the north), across it, and from there bushwacked directly north through more vines towards my forest access point. This was along an even steeper slope, but I knew where I was going this time, and made it there faster than feared. I crossed the downed plastic fence and hauled myself up and out of the gully, back onto the sidewalk. Everything was normal suburban America. No one was outside to see me emerge.

Soaked with sweat, I removed the heavy flannel, confirmed that this was raptor habitat, documented the neighborhood a bit and then strolled back to the park n ride, across the lot and under I-5 to the return bus stop. 15 minute wait meant a polish and a hot link for $2 at the gas station, and then I was on my way home.