I hiked a great park just across the river in Vancouver (WA). Adjacent to a managed wildlife area. A cool day for sure when heading out. A view from the car while it warmed up:
The whole area is nice. I’d biked up here before, but hadn’t been north of the park facilities. It’s a quiet trail sort of hugging the west shore of the lake. Wetland trees and other vegetation keep the water just intermittently visible. You can get a little closer to the water, but the trail just gets soggier, stopping the approach at least during winter:
Going west instead, I reached a foot bridge with steps down to the slough water:
A view from the bridge before crossing a road to enter a managed wildlife area. A very nice, sunny break from the overcast weather and the light rain. I really don’t mind the low temps when the tradeoff is sunshine. Sounds of birds:
Crossing the road. It’s quite a road. Its dead end is brought further south by barricades. A city or county road. It appears like a former landing strip used by planes with white and yellow tires. But my guess is that the road department tested its traffic line painters on this upper/north stretch of road that dead ended further north before the barriers pulled its access south. The footprint of a burned tent is on the left, by the trash:
This road is like a crime corridor separating the City park, trails and slough from managed wildlife area. You have to cross it to get to the wildlife area. There’s a sign at this corridor warning that crime has been escalating here. They use the word “crime”, which it smells like; a crime corridor. But that would also be a commerce corridor. It appears to be a corridor of street retail pharmaceuticals (opioids). Cars and SUVs with dark, tinted windows and thumping stereo bass, parked in slots cut into the overgrown blackberry. Similar vehicles are perusing, making tentative turns and intermittently braking, and floundering in a way akin to a drunken — or even jacked up — gait. A closer view of the corridor’s dead end:
And then once crossing the street/commerce corridor, you find yourself in the managed wildlife area. A normal looking guy is in there with his bird dogs, letting them get some exercise under sunny skies. When at work, he probably participates in regulated commerce instead of street commerce. A beautiful spot though, this wetland wildlife area:
A few miles north of here is a wildlife refuge, well past the end of the commerce corridor’s pavement. I know a fellow hiker up there, and must visit it soon.
Thoughts on Trails 