Trip Report
CHS Orientation - Mountaineers Seattle Program Center
Fabulous kick-off to CHS 2026 today, big thanks to Craig and Rachel and all who participated. I grabbed an hour of birding (31 species) between Conditioning and Nutrition and the Gear Demo to explore a very crowded park.
Courtenay Schurman
- Sat, Mar 7, 2026
- CHS Orientation - Mountaineers Seattle Program Center
- Mountaineers Seattle Program Center
- Day Hiking
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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The park had ample parking when I arrived at 7:45 for the CHS 2026 orientation, but by the time I was birding (1035-1135) traffic was pretty much a nightmare. (apologies, not sure why the photo is turned 90 degrees) I was astonished by the crowds (see photo of cars exiting the park below) and had to remind myself "This is a SATURDAY at midday, this is what happens to public greenspaces on weekends." True, there must have been a ton of soccer games going on, but WOWZERS.
The trails were pretty muddy, which made walking in my Xero shoes a bit tentative (left my hikers in the car) but other than backtracking in a few places to keep my shoes from being ruined, not too bad.
Between teaching responsibilities during the Mountaineers' CHS 2026 Orientation, I grabbed an hour to bird in a 3 mile loop that included the very wet wetlands and a dash through the dog park.
Fortunately once I got to the meadows the crowds diminished, leaving dog walkers and birdsong. I saw or heard a whopping 31 species, making the bird-to-hour ratio very respectable. Yellow-rumped warblers, cedar waxwings, a few buffleheads, pied-billed grebe, and a double-crested cormorant fly-by were the most notable, especially given the fact that I didn't make it close enough to Lake Washington to see if there were any coot rafts or other winter birds still hanging out.
I'll stick to early morning weekdays for that park from now on. Although I loved seeing all the dogs enjoying themselves... And it was a wonderful break from speaking and teaching, leaving me ready for more come afternoon.
The class itself went off without a hitch; Craig and Rachel run a well-oiled machine and the enthusiasm was palpable. Nice work to all the volunteers as well. Off to another great start.