Urban Hiking

Pressed for time, but aching for a hike between rainstorms, brought me to Indian Trail in Burien.  A Beautiful beach hike.  Loving these waves.  It's a little over a mile long, so 2 miles round trip.  There stand lots of homes just above the beach, but at low tide you can walk right on the beach.  The homeowners I met on my little trek were very friendly and enjoyed talking about their lovely piece of paradise.

The Indian Trail is actually up on the ridge above the beach, and also commands stunning views.  So two miles round trip on the beach + 2 more round trip on the Trail.  It's been named the Indian trail as far back as recorded.  It's thought it was a path that Native Americans followed as a shoreline route around the point.  Artifacts have been unearthed and collected in spots along it.

The views are west over Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountain range, the shipping channels, and Vashon Island.

The beach is definitely off the beaten path, at Three Tree Point which is a secluded waterfront right on the Sound.  There's so many trees along the hill, I'm not sure which are the original Three.  I was told that tree preservation is a high priority of the present day residents.  This beach is a triangle shaped spit that juts into the east side of Puget Sound, about halfway between Seattle and Tacoma.
What great seashells and colored rocks you'll find as you walk along this sandy way.

I was fortunate to be treated to sighting of a loon.  He was very busy examining the waters beneath him and often diving for a minute or so at a time, searching for lunch.  Loons are highly adapted for the water, with solid, heavy bones and legs placed well back on their bodies for diving.  They require long tretches of open water for takeoff.  Most bird have hollow bones.  He's wearing his winter brown wardrobe of feathers right now.  Later in the year he'll change into intricate dark green, almost black.
Residents I talked with on the beach told me amazing stories of seals and sea lions who lay out on the floating decks and feed freely on the fish.  Also the many eagles that swoop down from the tall fir trees to grab fish.  And very exciting tales of orcas.  They warned that next time I need to come early in the morning to see the most wildlife.  Today at noon, other than this loon I saw very tame crows, and heard lots of songbirds singing sweetly.

Besides the wildlife, I discovered that this is also a location favored by scuba divers.  Then as I walked along I found two divers enjoying their day, just as I did on my urban hike.