easy walking

Super quick walk along the Lake Hills Greenbelt and Phantom lake loop trails Sunday morning in the sprinkles.  Parked at the Larson Lake lot and did a messy out and back around Phantom Lake and back.  Parking is free and relatively plentiful at both Larson and Phantom lake lots.  Full restrooms were open at both lots as well.  No blocking issues - all the recent tree damage is cleaned up and while there are a few squishy/muddy spots none cause any problems with the best news being Larson Lake is not flooding any of the trail currently as it can in winter.  

Quite a bit of wildlife out, several different ducks, (mallard, shoveler, gadwall, bufflehead, etc) plus a couple hawks of some kind (couldn’t tell), one big juvenile bald eagle in a tree by Phantom lake and then a pair of adults seemingly playing with each other way up in the sky circling and darting this way and that.  Views of the lakes are quite nice now with the bright red dogwood and bright yellow willow tree bark being quite vibrant.  The trail to Phantom Lake runs right past the Bellevue Urban Garden,  https://tbuggarden.com/ and looked like a group was already starting their 2025 plans this morning.  A neat little leg stretch if you are in the area. 

I explored the Lake Hills Green Belt area with Northshore hiking friends. They stared at Weona Park and I started from Lake Hills Community Park. It was 45 degree with a slight drizzle the whole time we were out. All the trails were saturated soil and pavement. Going around Larsen Lake had a couple spots with water covering the entire path. The trails were relatively clear of tree debris except small needle fronds and branches. I was expecting to see downed trees after the bomb cyclone, if there were any they had already been cleared. Trail traffic was super light except neighborhood dog walkers and runners. Ducks, geese and a stork were hanging out in the lack. House sparrows, juncos, chickadees and towhees were in the brush along the trail. This trail system is a great urban oasis connecting  neighborhoods following natural streams and marshy areas. We popped into Kizuki Ramen and Greek Express off Main Street for a lunch break. The whole mall area was super busy. Our out and back loop hike was 5 miles. Another fantastic day out in nature with friends.

Some leaves on the ground as expected. Lake is not flooded and calm so the gravel is easy to walk on.

Ducks are on vacation.

#Gratitude

Hit a run on my lunch today. Lo' and behold, I came across a crawdad! Or is it a crayfish? This guy was on a dryish section of trail adjacent to the lake and was in no mood to tango. Hopefully other walkers let him be.

Either way, I crawdid a quick run on the Lake to Lake trail through Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm and Lake Hills Greenbelt to embrace the fall rain and smells and everything was in tip-top shape.

I also spotted a few ducks and squirrels along the way, but sadly no owls. Keep an eye out for red leaves on deciduous trees all throughout Bellevue over the next few weeks.