Despite the beauty and pristine native plantings of the Soggy Bottom forest, we inherited a junkyard from the previous owners in the Cedar Grove near the property line. Lying among the majestic old growth cedars, the junkyard contained two-and-a-half old junker cars, over 70 tires, and a mound of garbage probably 30 feet long. Last year the Friends of the Trail helped us by removing all 70 tires.
This year King County Parks, King County Solid Waste, and The Friends of the Trail teamed up to help us remove the old junker cars that have been sitting just off the trail for decades. The cars created what Kelly Heintz from King County Parks called an "attractive nuisance."
Photo 1: junker cars by a grandfather cedar tree. Photo 2 from left to right: Jay Mirro, Eric Coynor from King County Parks, Wade Holden from Friends of the Trail, Kelly Heintz from King County Parks, Morgan Johns from King County Solid Waste, and Jeremy Coon from King County Parks meet on December 22, 2021 to discuss the possibility of removing the junker cars.
We met with two divisions of Parks, Solid Waste, and the Friends of the Trail on December 22, 2021, and by February 4, 2022 Friends of the Trail was hauling out the junkers with their trucks.
We appreciate the cooperation and funding from King County in helping us clean up the legacy junkyard in the Soggy Bottom forest. We also appreciate all the good work of the non-profit organization Friends of the Trail. The removal of the cars was something we could not have done on our own.
Friends of the Trail removes the junkers on February 4, 2022
In other news, since the trail began construction this fall, we have seen several walkers begin to use the route. We met the Rain or Shine walking club, and completed a 2.5 mile hike with them last week from the Lake Desire Natural Area through the Soggy Bottom Trail.
We experiencing the benefits of our public trail already, connecting us to our community and to nature.
The grandfather Cedar with no junker cars on February 5, 2022.