Meadowdale Beach Park

Carkeek Park: A Must-See for Seattleites

Ah, Carkeek Park, next to the Carkeek Creek (actually named Piper's Creek, but that doesn't sound as cool), home to one of Seattle's more popular parks and trail systems. On one fine and sunny morning, TrailsBro and Co. headed here to pick up the trash that we all believed would be strewn along the trails. However, much to our surprise and pleasure, the amount of trash that we collected was limited to only two bags. It seems to be that Seattleites are more conscientious of their impact on the environment, or perhaps the higher population meant that there were already people that had collected garbage prior to us. How to Deal with Needles One discarded item that some of our members found and that we are cautioning people to look out for is used needles. Seattle has a large homeless population and some of those people are known for being drug addicts. When you spot an unsheathed needle, never touch it, even if it is interfering the aesthetics of the surrounding nature. Handl...

In for a Loop: McCollum Park Forest Loop

When we first arrived at McCollum Park, the northern terminus of the North Creek Trail, we were greeted by a pleasant sunny day with clear, open fields full of green grass. However, things started to look a lot more gloomy when we approached the trailhead. One of the first objects we found was a syringe lying on the grass, an ominous sign for what was to come. Then, we entered the first wooded section, and the amount of trash we uncovered grew exponentially. There were dozens of assorted bottles and bags in a very small section where the trailhead was still visible. Our endeavor was not assisted by the dense brush with thorns that we had to venture through to pick up the litter. And of course, there were a multitude of dog bags that added a distinct scent to our adventure. Bad Omen Our greatest find of this trash cleanup was an old Forever 21 bag that contained the materials necessary to grill. This peculiar discovery demotivated us even more, for the people who frequented this trail h...

On Human Consumption and Forest Litter: A Walk in the Meadowdale Beach Park

When we first arrived at the scene, we did not expect to find nearly as much litter strewn about the trailhead as we had originally believed. Though, to be fair, this was also our first excursion, and thus we did not really know what to expect in the first place. Yet, in spite of our naiveté, we marched onwards down the length of the trail—trash bags and grabbers in hand—hoping to restore order and cleanliness to the woods that had since been tainted by human corruption. Thus, when the minute hand struck half-past nine, we embarked on our valiant journey through the local trail: the Meadowdale Beach Park. Of course, this is merely an embellishment of our activities. At the core of our efforts, we were simply picking up trash along and around the trail and maintaining elevated heart rates. However, we were truly shocked by the amount of litter, both human and animal, that we were able to gather during our hike. I myself remember encountering so many empty plastic water bottles along the...

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