Hike: Camp Long (WA)
By Arlene
*****
What are poor hikers supposed to do when they only have a couple hours available for a weekend hike? Be thankful that they live in Seattle for one thing. We are blessed with some great in-city options for walks through the woods such as the one we chose this weekend. Because of lots of commitments and very little time to hike, we did the West Seattle hike at Camp Long. The loop around the camp is only about a mile, so we added another 4 miles on the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail which took us in and out of the woods (and onto busy Delridge Way, a good place to turn around).
Ducks on Longfellow Creek
Camp Long has a nice trail, and some unusual attractions. There is a great lodge built by the WPA out of old cobblestones from East Madison along with the first manmade climbing rock in the USA.
Arneta on Schurman Rock
We also got to “scramble” on the concrete “glacier” and enjoy the well signed, well maintained trails.
Approaching the concrete glacier
It wasn’t quite the same as being in the back country, and while we had views of a golf course, the Port of Seattle, and houses along the Longfellow Creek trail, we also walked through some nice wooded areas with ferns, blooming salmonberries, and red-flowering currants shocking the green/gray forest with their bright pink blossoms. And after we finished walking, we were back home in 20 minutes. Not bad.
Red-flowering currants