Hidden Trails of Bothell

Let's revisit the "secret" trails around Blyth Park in Bothell, but this time, for a special purpose. This is aimed at folks who are relatively new to hiking, and would like to try out different types of trails, without being out in the middle of nowhere and discovering their boots don't fit right, or their navigation app goes haywire without a cell signal, or they discover maybe they don't enjoy hiking after all... And, folks can find out what type of trails / paths they prefer. If you're an experienced hiker, of course you're welcome!! -- you can offer advice and tips.

Why Bothell? First, because it's a "Wait, who put trails here??" surprise, hidden in between residential areas and groomed parks, that is easily accessible via bus, car, bike, and is close to civilization at all points. And second, because it has some of all sorts of types of trails and features useful for testing preparedness. It has each of...

o Paved paths
o Nicely maintained trails
o Powerline clearances (these are often steep as the electrons don't care about hills)
o Informal / rough trails (and non-trails that people sometimes use anyway)
o Neighborhood streets (including steep ones)
o Lines on a map, that may or may not be actual trails (including one added by insane mountain bikers, with a 10 ft vertical drop in it)
o Assorted junctions with informal trails, or things that look like they might be trails (to practice not getting lost)
o Various hazards (a slippery log bridge, loose wobbly rocks, boardwalks with broken slats, slippery mud)

We'll start out with the paved paths and maintained trails and neighborhood streets. These can benefit from shoes / boots with good traction designed for hiking, but if you don't have those yet, this part of the hike should still be doable. We'll save the steep powerline clearance and the erosion rut that isn't a trail at all til the end, so folks can skip all or part of that.

Things you can test:

o Are you going to get blisters?
o How good is your traction?
o Do trekking poles help?
o Is your map or hiking app easy to use?
o If you set your phone in airplane mode, does the app still work?
o Can you record GPX tracks, and use them to backtrack?
o How is your conditioning? Is there anything you might need to work on?
o Is there anything you discover that you don't have along, but that would be useful?

Some optional things:

o There is a small chance of sprinkles. So you could bring along rain gear.
o If folks want, we could add one up and down on the trails after dark, so folks can test hiking with lights. If you are interested, bring a headlamp and / or flashlight. We can split the group, so folks without lights can head back on the paved path, and folks with lights do the after dark segment.

About navigation apps:

There are many hiking-specific apps. I haven't used these, so if anyone has favorites, please post comments! What I mainly use is OpenStreetMap, because it's crowdsourced, and hikers tend to update it right away when things change, plus it usually has even informal trails. Some of the hiking apps use OpenStreetMap along with their own data. For OpenStreetMap alone, if you have a cell signal, you can use the website, https://openstreetmap.org, but you can't record GPX tracks with that. Or, you can install the OSMAnd app -- the free version is fine. You'll want to download the Washington state map while you have your phone connected to WiFi so you don't use up your data quota.

What to bring:

o Pack. Carrying stuff in your hands gets unpleasant really quickly, and you may need your hands on the non-trails. A bag hung over your shoulder can flop around awkwardly. A pack with a hip belt will be more comfortable and will shift around less.
o Phone. Make sure it's fully charged. Install OSMAnd or a hiking app, if you can.
o Water. Not just one little bottle -- bring extra. This is the one thing you really don't want to run out of.
o Snacks / food you can eat easily. We'll start after lunch, but this is part of Being Prepared.
o Warm clothes, preferably layers that you can shed if you get hot.
o Check the weather -- if it looks like there might be sprinkles, bring a waterproof jacket or poncho. A plastic bag inside your pack can keep your stuff dry, even if you don't have a waterproof pack cover.
o Gloves, for protection against pointy rocks and prickly thorns, and against blisters, if you're using trekking poles. Gardening gloves, with latex or nitrile coating, work well and are inexpensive.
o Hiking boots or hiking shoes or trail running shoes, if you already have them. If you don't, make sure your shoes have good tread, and are not slick. You might get away with ordinary pavement / track running shoes on some trails, but eventually you'll want shoes / boots made for hiking.
o Trekking poles or walking stick, if you have them.
o Headlamp or flashlight or both -- make sure the batteries are fresh / fully charged.

Where / when to meet:

We're starting from The Park at Bothell Landing, because there are major bus routes nearby, parking, and the restroom is open. :D Meet in front of the Bothell HIstorical Museum at 1pm. If your bus will get you there just a bit later, that's ok -- we'll be talking about plans and fussing with phone apps til about 1:10pm.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nuKWpcPFqiSqG2nH7

Bus riders: The #106, #120, #230, #239, #522 have stops nearby -- the #522 coming from Seattle has the closest stop. You can use Google Maps or Metro Tripplanner (https://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov) to plan a route. If you are coming from Seattle, and take the #522, the stop is, confusingly, called "Bothell Way & Bothell Way", because Bothell Way makes a right-angle turn here.

Drivers: There are parking lots at the park, close to the museum.

Cyclists: Google Search says there are bike racks, but I don't know where in the park they are. If you do, please post a comment.

Use comments for questions or to coordinate.