Why create a walking tour for Boren
Park, you ask? I am a student at the University
of Washington pursuing an Environmental Studies degree. My area of focus is environmental education
and outreach. I plan to use the
experience of creating this walking tour to help me be a more effective
educator of environmental issues. As
part of an environmental history course I have been documenting the phenology
of Boren Park in the form of a blog.
Check out my other posts on this site to track the parks phenology from
September to December of 2015. The final
blog post for my project is this walking tour.
I have spent a great deal of time at Boren Park over the last few months
and I feel that I have begun to know it fairly intimately. Using the observations I have made throughout
the quarter I will guide you through each station in order to give you a fuller
understanding of the park.
Each station will highlight one or
more biotic and/or abiotic features with a detailed explanation of what you are
looking at. I have numbered the stations
on the trail map below. Appearing in
order, the stations you are about to experience are:
1.
Best Bird Watching
2.
An Example of Species Interaction (Snag)
3.
The Plants of Boren Park
4.
The Fungus Among Us
5. Invertebrates of the Park
6.
Ecological Disturbance
7.
Park Geomorphology/Geology
8.
Example of Land-Use
9. Animal Behavior
10.
Louisa Boren Lookout
Before we
begin the tour, I feel it is important to know a little of the history of this
park. According to the Seattle Park’s website
and dedication stone you see at the beginning of the trail, the park received
its name in honor of one of the original settlers of the state of Washington
and member of one of the founding families of the city of Seattle, Louisa Boren
Denny. The park was created in 1913 and
received this dedication stone in 1914 from Washington Women’s Pioneer
Auxiliary. Boren Park is park of
Seattle’s greater parks and boulevard system created by the Olmstead Brothers
of New York’s Central Park fame. Tucked
inside the beautiful and undulating Interlaken Park, it is quite easy to miss Boren
Park completely.
Now that I
have properly introduced you to Boren Park I want to provide a warning about
this place. You will notice the trail closed signs. Do not be discourage by the signs but know
they are in place because the park has certain hazards. Proper attire is essential for an enjoyable
hike. Boren Park trail is muddy and slippery in
places most if not all of the year so it is best to have good sturdy water
proof shoes and long pants when making the fairly easy fifteen minute hike. You do not want to ruin a good pair of
running shoes in here. In addition this park is notorious for falling
trees. Until as recently as Thanksgiving
2015 you had to climb over at least five trees that had fallen on the
trail. They have since been removed but
it should serve as a caution not only for what is laying on the ground but what
is lurking high above. Historically the
northeast slopes of Capitol Hill are prone to landslides and Boren Park is no
exception. It is advisable to avoid the
park for several days after heavy rainstorms to allow it to drain and dry out a
bit, making a more enjoyable hike. Basically,
use the same precautions you would as if you were going on a wilderness
hike.
Let us begin.
Station 1.) Best Bird Watching
The best place I found to observe
birds is at the beginning of the walking tour right next to the Boren Park
dedication stone on Interlaken Boulevard.
This area lies at the bottom of the ravine that makes up the park. Here Interlaken Boulevard winds its way in
front of you. On either side of the
roadway are thickets of Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), Trailing Blackberry
(Rubus ursinus) and Salal (Gaultheria shallon) that attract a wide variety of
birds. Frequent visitors of the park are American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos),
which can be easily identified by their medium size and characteristic jet
black feathers. Usually I hear them
mobbing somewhere nearby. They may have small
local roost somewhere in the vicinity of Interlaken Park on the other side of
the road. At this location I have also been able to spot and identify Black-Capped
Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla), Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis),
Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa), and a Brown Creeper (Certhia Americana). If you stand still long enough you are bound
to have a bird come within at least 50 feet.
However, as the old saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. The best time for sighting the most birds is
about 9am in the morning.
Station 2.) Species Interaction
From
the first station/starting point head up the Boren Park trail to station number
two. You will know you have reach station two when you see your first
tall snag on your left side right before the trail makes a sharp right.
Here we see a good example of species interaction where a plant species, in the
form of a dead tree interacts with invertebrates, birds, fungi, lichens and
squirrels. This snag, at one time was a Big Leaf Maple tree (Acer
macrophyllum) that is now host to entire communities of invertebrates such as
termites, centipedes and millipedes. The
snag also provides a great place for lichen and fungi because its stays moist
most of the year. Aside from providing a
place for tiny organisms to thrive the snag also serves larger animals. Birds use the snag as a perch or as source of
food (invertebrates eaten by birds) and squirrels have been seen storing nuts
in the nooks and crannies of this life giving stump.
Station 3.) Plants of Boren Park
To find the station three
continue up Boren Park trail until you reach a stone in the path. This stone marks station three and the exact
observation site for my quarter long project to document the phenology of the
park. Looking around you will notice
that the forest is well maintained. This
particular area underwent some environmental restoration in the last year or
so. In doing so the restoration opened
up the forest floor thus creating this open space overlain by the tall tree
canopy some 50 to 100 feet above. This
open view allows you to get the best view of the most species of plants in the
entire park. From this vantage point you
can see a variety of shrubs such as Tall Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquafolium),
Dull Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa, Sword Fern (Polysticum munitum). The trees that are easily identifiable from
this vantage point are the Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), Red Alder (Alnus
rubra), Black Cottonwood (Populus tricocarpa), Western Hemlock (Tsuga
heterophylla) and Douglas fir (Pseudo Tsuga Menziesii). From this vantage point you can also see all
of the trees with licorice ferns (Polypodium glycyrrhiza) clinging from high
places.
Station 4.)The Fungus among Us +
Lichen.
The next station is very easy to
find. Continue a short way up the Boren
Park trail until you come to a pair of fallen trees on the left side. I believe the trees fell sometime within the
last year because the tree throw (the bottom of the tree, including roots, dirt
and everything else) is relatively intact.
These upturned trees created a really cool spot to observe gilled
mushrooms of the Mycenacea family. When
these trees fell they created a set of cavities that were fairly well sheltered
and very damp, the perfect place for mushrooms to grow. When I took these pictures there was a
standing pool of water at the bottom of the earthen hole and there seemed to be
a miniature swarm of tiny flying insets buzzing around the mushroom cavity. They must have been attracted to the slightly
funky smell produced by what I assume was the fungal colony. Coincidentally,
I found Rag Bag Lichen (Platismatia glauca) growing on one of the fallen
trees. At one time this colony of lichen
was probably about 40 feet in the canopy before it was brought down by high
winds. The park abounds with many other
lichen which is a sign of good air quality.
Although very hardy organism lichen are very sensitive to air
pollution. It is good to know that this
forest in the middle of the city has air quality clean enough for these
varieties of lichen to thrive.
Station 5.) Invertebrates of Boren Park
Continue past the fallen trees and
follow the trail as it begins to bank of to the south. Here you will notice several railroad ties on
the side trail that are being used to mark out the path. Carefully lift up the ties to reveal some of the
parks tiniest inhabitants. As you can
see there is a plethora of bugs. More
specifically you are looking at Millipedes (Diplopoda), Centipedes (Polypoda)
and very likely a lot of slugs (order: Stylommatophora) and earthworms (order:
Lumbriculida). Be sure to carefully
replace the railroad tie once you are done.
You can also find even more invertebrates if you know where to look. Move some leaves aside or better yet dig into
the compost piles left behind by environmental restoration. Here are likely to find a lot of beetles (order:
Coleoptera) and Yellow-spotted Millipedes (order: Diplopoda). Before
you leave make you put back any leaf litter or compost back to where you found
it. There is no sense in destroying
these invertebrate habitats. You are a
guest here and should leave no mark other than footprints when coming
through.
Station 6.)Ecological
Disturbance
Continuing past the railroad
ties you will see a set of stairs made of wood. Proceed up to stairs and stop
when you get to the recently moved fallen tree.
I chose this site as my next station because Boren Park has so many
fallen trees that it was a perfect representation of ecological disturbances. Plus this ecological disturbance has a human
twist. First and foremost you will
notice that a tree once blocked this path. Judging by the tree throw this
particular Douglas fir tree (Pseudo Tsuga Menziesii) fell no more than a year or
so ago. Although the ravine that is the
park is protected by the bluffs, it nonetheless experiences a considerable number
of fallen trees due to wind. However, because
the park is water logged most of the year the soil is highly unstable which may
be the reason why the trees fall so easily here. Not to mention this tree once stood on a
steep slope which no doubt made the tree’s original location a precarious
one. I also feel that by cutting the
trail below this tree it ultimately contributed to its falling down. The human component of this station you will
notice immediately. Here the tree was
cut and portions were allowed to roll down into the ravine and the smaller
branches of the tree were put to good use.
Just down the trail a little way you will notice a muddy patch covered
with branches. The parks service made
this mini bridge to prevent your shoes from sinking in the mud. What a clever way to use the materials in the
forest to maintain the trail. In
addition the log that rolled down the hill will become a nurse log as it
decomposes inviting colonies of organisms to take over.
Station 7.) Geology/Geomorphology of
Boren Park
To reach the next station continue
past the bridge made of branches until you reach the beginning of the Boren
Park trail switchback. You will know you
have reached station seven because the switchback begins at a hairpin curve on
the trail. From this vantage point you
get the best sense of where you are geographically. Station number eight is halfway between the
top of the bluffs and the bottom of the park ravine. I chose this station to represent the geology
and geomorphology of the park because of a particularly unnoticeable water
feature. Here you will notice the sound
of cascading water. If you carefully
look below you on the hillside you will notice a series of small step pools
that are barely visible under the thick layers of leaf litter. This seep, similar to the ones in Ravenna Park, is where water that has infiltrated the
ground at higher elevation in the ravine and is now seeping out of the ground
at a point where a layer of impermeable
clay is exposed by the slope it intersects.
As mentioned at the beginning of the tour the steep northeast slopes of
Capitol Hill are historically known for landslides. The bluffs and hillside that make up Boren
Park are made of layers of Esperance Sand and Lawton clay deposited during the
last ice age. These unstable layers are
why the park’s slopes are prone to failure.
As far as I can tell there has been no noticeable ground movement or
substantial ground creep in recent years.
However, after the record setting rainfall we have had in 2015 that may
change very soon. Remember, avoid the
park after heavy rain events.
Station 8.) Land-Use
Leaving station seven you will begin
to sharply ascend the ravine that is Boren Park by continuing the trail up a
long and wide switchback. Halfway up the
first side of the switchback you will see an example of the parks other land-use. On your right side you will notice an abandoned
homeless encampment. You can reach
station eight by taking the path carved out by foot traffic down to the where
down on their luck people took their nightly refuge. Be careful in the encampment as there is lots
of urban garbage. It looks like whoever was living here, brought down quite a
lot of stuff to try to make the camp more comfortable. Looking around you will quickly realize why
this place was chosen. This spot is
rather secluded, is off the main trail and is covered by thick vegetation in
the spring and summer months. Not to
mention the park is close to downtown Seattle, 15th Avenue and
Broadway where they can obtain necessary services. It would appear that the parks service has
begun to remove the encampments remains.
Nearby is also some interesting graffiti that I found on a tree
stump. It appears to be a colorful
homage to Bonnie.
Station 9.) Animal Behavior
Once you return from station eight
continue up the trail. You have arrived
at station nine once you have reached the end of the switchback. From where you are standing look high up into
the tree to the northwest. That large raggedy
mass of sticks is a nest, but not a bird’s nest. Believe it or not it is a squirrel’s nest
which is why I chose this station for my example of animal behavior in the
park. Hidden most of the year by thick vegetation
it provides a very secure place for squirrels to hang out. I discovered this
nest coming up the trail, but I did not see it at first. I heard the squeaks and chirps of a
non-native Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) that was very annoyed
with my presence. When I located where
it was I tried to take its picture but it began to move. That was when it jumped into the tree with
the nest. It did not use the nest but
went up high into the tree near it which then caught my attention.
Station 10.) Louisa Boren Outlook
To reach the final stop and my favorite
station on the tour you need only follow the trail along the top of the ravine
to where it terminates on the east side of Louisa Boren Outlook Park. Take care walking along this part of the
trail as it is narrow and it’s a long way down the hill. This last station is to give you arguably one
of Lake Washington’s best views. As you
emerge from the trail you will notice a house on your left and the outlook park
on the right. Walk towards the Magnolia tree
that is encircled by a wooden hexagonal retaining wall. Take a seat, a deep breath and relax. This spot is very special to me because it is
where my husband and I were wed on July 3rd, 2014. From this view point you can see across Union
Bay to the University of Washington and Lake Washington off to the right. This outlook is the perfect place to cool off
on a hot summer’s day after a jog or bike ride.
The parks amphitheater type lawn is a great place to lay down and read a
good book in the sun. If you want to
avoid the spring and summer crowds of Volunteer Park you need only walk a block
here, to one of Seattle’s best kept secrets.
Now that the tour has come to an end
I hope that you walk about having learned a few things about nature and Boren
Park. Thank you for taking the tour, it
has been a pleasure guiding you on this short ecological journey.
Special Thank to: Tim Billow and Jorge Tomasevic for teaching
me how to be a naturalist.
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