christopher575

I didn't mention it yesterday, but right before I came off the trail by the ball fields, I stepped on a rock incorrectly and managed to aggravate that shin injury I got on the wet grass in my back yard a while back. I figured it'd be smart to take it easier today, so I headed for the Lowell riverfront trail. It's really flat, the main path's paved, and even the paths that aren't paved are almost perfectly flat. The gates were locked at both entrances, though. I briefly considered parking at Lowell Park and crossing the tracks near there, but a train was parked and there wouldn't be a way around it.

Like the last time I was locked out there, I decided to head over to Port Gardner, the main Everett waterfront.

Today's awesome walk, 5.75 miles in 1:52, 12,373 steps, 132ft gain

5.75 miles in 1:52, 12,373 steps, 132ft gain

I did that again today, but picked a better place to park this time, in the marina visitor area. There's a cool path there that goes around the outer edge of the pier that leads past all of the businesses down there, plus the area where the farmers' market is held. There are lots of restrooms on the path I took today, which makes sense because a lot of people are staying on the boats.

I like this kind of tree. They always look like giant terriers and sheep dogs to me.

The Everett Yacht Club. Not nearly as pretty as the Seattle Yacht Club.

One thing I really noticed today for the first time was the way Jetty Island always looms in the distance as you walk the waterfront. It's longer than the waterfront itself, and I only recently learned that it's man-made. Part of me would really like to explore it, but you can only get there using a seasonal shuttle boat. Here's a little boat-shaped bench with information about the island, presumably for people to use while they wait for their boat.

The Equator Schooner.

Here's a small beach I never noticed before, which is right at the 4 mile mark on the map above. It doesn't show up on Google maps.

That's a nice find. Considering how much water surrounds Everett, there aren't really that many public beaches. Plus the biggest and best one is closed for at least a year while they upgrade the bridge that leads to it. There were a couple of creepy-looking paths leading up into the trees, but I was too nervous to check them out. I walked all the way around on the beach, though. It was nice even though it didn't smell great.

I just liked the contrast here.