It was a gulch day! Didn't know what a gulch was until now. Definition: a narrow and steep-sided ravine marking the course of a fast stream.
Was running an errand up in Edmonds and decided to check out the Japanese Gulch, which has been on my list, and added another one, the Big Gulch. I enjoyed the Big Gulch more than the Japanese Gulch because it was short and sweet, it was a deeper gulch so I felt more immersed in the forest, and it felt like a bit of a hidden gem. The Japanese Gulch was a lot longer of a hike, I could hear a chainsaw pretty loudly from the surrounding neighborhood for part of the hike, and the last part of the hike down to the dog park was pretty steep and uninteresting.
It was a bit confusing navigating the beginning of the Big Gulch (hence why I called it a hidden gem), but you essentially follow a short loop away from the playground and through a large gate that says "Big Gulch Trail," go down some steps, and the trail begins there. I was worried the whole trail would be stairs, but once you descend into the gulch it's pretty even. You have the option to return on a different part of the loop which is on the higher rim of the gulch or go back the way you came. I chose to do the different trail and it was not as nice, but still interesting. You will need to go behind the Mukilteo library and hang a right on the trail to get on the higher rim return trail.
I started at the community garden entrance of the Japanese Gulch trail, and saw a lot of bikers there because there are some bike ramps there. The trails here are a bit winding but there are numerous signs along the way (almost too many in my opinion). It was a pretty level trail and not too many interesting sights, but a nice urban trail nonetheless. I was getting tired, but decided to finish the trail and head all the way to the dog park. There is a little man-made waterfall in the creek towards the end there, but nothing spectacular worth checking out in my opinion and I would have rather done the North Loop if I had more time.
All in all, a good day checking out the gulches of Mukilteo.
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