Meeresvogel – The Hope Publication by Ben Harthun

Meeresvogel The Hope Publication

Issue No.1 // Seattle, Washington

“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird, T h a t c a n n o t f l y.” – Langston Hughes

© 2014 Meeresvogul Magazine All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying or other electronicor mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the editor, exceptin the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyrightlaw. For permission requests, write to the editor, addressed “Attention: Meeresvogul Permissions,” at the address us@meeresvogul.com www.meeresvogul.com Printed in the United States of America.

Meeresvogel Issue No.1 // Seattle, Washington

Rattle Snake Ridge An Intended Destination Pg. 14-24 Carkeek Park An Aimless Stroll Pg. 25-30 Red Town Trailhead A Sunday Hike Pg. 31-34 Snoqualmie Falls A little too cold to travel Pg. 35-40 Twin Falls A Proper Ending Pg. 41-46

ISSUE ONE

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness. ” –Dr Martin Luther King

Meeresvogul Magazine is a creative project with the idea of involking hopefulness and inspiring individuals to become more creative and active with their surroundings. Helping other reflect and to push through darkness that creeps into the light of our daily lives is what we strive for.

Our goal for each issue is to is to bring that light to the importance of perservence and to feature the benefits of wondering, but most importantly, to share that experience with others. Walking alone is difficult, but walking with someone by your side makes a journey much more of an adventure. – Meeresvogul

Rattle snake ridge North Bend, WA “Even while the earth sleeps we travel. We are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered.” ― Khalil Gibran

The air was cool and brisk yet the trees warmed my surroundings and shielded me from the rain. I have always felt okay out in the wilderness. I have always felt that nature was somewhat of a calling, but never quite called until I returned. There’s a comfort that seeps into my soul when I walk out into nature and I am able to feel far away from all the chaos and unsettledness of the world. Where it’s okay to feel the need not to check your phone or email or text. Infact, just turning off my phone because in reality, the importance of a settled mind, for just two hours out of your week is far more important than a missed called or text for something that can easily wait.

To be connected with all your senses to your surroundings is something that we have lacked for so long. To hear, see, touch, smell nature and actually breath. As I look out between the treelines, I notice so much more without disconnect. I notice patience and time, and centuries and the millions of pine needles to create something that looks intentionally patterened and cohesive as the trees rise against the hill of a mountain. You realize that all those negative and momentary things don’t really matter. And that you’ll be okay today and tomorrow and for a while longer.

It’s hard to find any better of a view this close to the Seattle area. Rattlesnake Ledge is a monolithic block of rock on the eastern end of Rattlesnake Ridge, towering high over the cool waters of Rattlesnake Lake and the Snoqualmie River valley. As you look up near the beginning of your journey on the old gravel road, the site is daunting–the rock face looks sheer and higher than you think your legs can take you. Fortunately, the cliff face isn’t too broad, and the trailheads have been fixed up to create a more enjoyable hike up one-thousand feet, lengthening it .5 miles to make it a more gradual incline. From the parking lot, round the gate and walk the old road 0.25 mile to a grassy swath on the west side of Rattlesnake Lake. A well-signed path leads off to the right. The new hairpin turns add a little distance to the hike, but they also level the trail a tad, making it a bit easier on the thighs. After a seemingly endless upward march, you’ll suddenly burst out of the forest onto the snout of the rock ledge.

Just beforehand though, there’s a beautiful view of it’s own, where you can sit and enjoy your lunch or a snack as you let other hikers enjoy their time at the ledge. There’s something about soaking in a 360 degree view of unbelievable proportions in silence, and in the comfort of people you know. As you hike the final steps towards the ridge, you’ll first be taken back by the view, and next, if you’re afraid of heights, navigating the rocky ledge which is filled with cracks and hungred foot drops. Peer east and you’ll see the peaks leading to Snoqualmie Pass and, of course, massive Mount Si is just across the valley. Overlooking the ledge, you’ll easily spot the gorgeous blue-hued waters of Rattlesnake Lake, and ponder to yourself how you managed to hike up so high in such amount of time. But, soon enough, the aches in your legs will remind you. Difficulty: 6/10

Carkeek park Seattle, WA “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” ― Khalil Gibran

Careek is more or less tucked away onto the western shore of Seattle, 4 miles north of golden gardens.

or have a BBQ with some friends or picknick in the treelines at one of the many park benches in the area.

After winding through a tunneling road of trees, you’ll come across a parking lot that overlooks the water. There’s a piano crossing walk and a gated bridge where trains can whisp underneath your feet and you feel like you’re a kid again as you watch it approach. When the wheels brake and sound a little bit too similar to a ringwrath from Lord of the Rings but isn’t too loud.

In this instance, it was about 5pm and the sun was beginning to descend, but not quite low enough to get the colorful hues. I sat and let the sound of the water fill my ears and my heart and watched the birds float effortlessly infront of the sunspotted sky. Before leaving, we stood and watched these birds flying across the skyline, and let the warmth of the sun hug our skin, and let the wind lift our spirits. You can find happiness or beauty or something positive wherever you go, some places just make it a little easier.

If you just walk down the stairs, there’s a really large beach front and you can flip some rocks and check for little crabs. The waterfront houses some great scenery to sit and watch a sunset,

Difficulty: 1

Red Town Trailhead Newcastle, WA “Not until we are lost, do we begin to understand ourselves” – Henry David Thoreau

This trail is tucked away somewhere between the humble and the humbly-rich off a road called Newcastle Golf Course Rd. On occasion my family and I would go for hikes here, maybe only a handful of times, but that was many years ago. Typically we would find ourselves up the road near Cougar Mountain, hiking the clay pits a few miles down the road, and what seems like an endless journey through evergreen trees and neighborhoods. For a nice Spring afternoon picknick idea, check out the “Former Nike

Missle Base” trailheads and you’ll have everything from a large area for having lunch, playing with a pet or flying a kite. For the historically-interested, this area is scattered with war relics from 1957. But for those who enjoy an easy-going, more laid back hike with a waterfall view at the end, Red Town Trailhead is the way to go. It offers fairly minimal inclines, yet gives you a great comfort of feeling far away from city life. It’s a very pet friendly, all-age hike with beautiful scenery. Difficulty: 2

Snoqualmie falls Snoqualmie, WA “Not until we are lost, do we begin to understand ourselves” – Henry David Thoreau

Today we set out on a random drive out on a drizzly Spring afternoon. It’s just as easy to sit inside and avoid the weather and your surroundings when it’s wet and raining and not that warm out, but there’s all the time in the world to just sit indoors. The number of things you might be missing is infinitely more important than the comfort of being inside and under covers or watching an endless netflix queue. Traveling i-90 we headed westbound towards the little town of Snoqualmie. It was seemingly pretty crumby outside but seemed to clear up towards the mountain-range. Once we exited of the freeway, the skyline became increasingly foggy. I always found comfort in the fog, for some reason. It reminded me of those still evenings after a snowfall, where no one was on the road and everyone wanted to be inside in the neighborhood, but I would find my young-adventurous self wandering into the night to the nearby park to take photos. We stopped by a forested area to our left of endless, patterned birch trees to

explore and to photograph. I think it’s important to give yourself things to be excited about or small journeys inbetween journeys that can easily liven up your mood. Just something simple like stopping on the side of the road to see something or buy fruit from a farmer or an old, quant coffee shop. You never know what kind of conversation could spark or person you’d meet that might never-have. After this sort intermission, we continued our travel towards the falls. It was fairly rainy and the mist from the waterfall made it even more-so, but the journey and the small stops between made it all worth it. If you decide to visit in the Spring or Summer, you can take a longer, more steep hike down to the falls from the lookout. I’d suggest (though you didn’t hear it from me) to take a risk and jump over the fence to your left at the bottom, and get a much better, breathtaking view from the falls. Only if no one is looking, of course. 36

Twin Falls North Bend, WA “You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.” – Helen Keller

Off exit 34 on i-90, you can follow road signs for Twin Falls. Be aware that this area does require a parking pass at $15 or you can purchase a day-pass for $10. We lucked out and managed to go on a “Free Day”, which I’m assuming is every Sunday. Or they just happened to feel nice that day. Either one is okay with us! This hike offers a fairly easy-going hike with plenty of beautiful scenery as it trails alongside South Fork Snoqualmie River. At this moment, the falls are unreachable from this location since the trailhead is closed at about .75 miles in. But,

hikers who wish to visit Twin Falls can access the east end of the Twin Falls Trail from the Homestead Valley Trailhead located off of I-90 Exit 38. I’d suggest going in the early to later afternoon once the sun has warmed up the forested area since it can become a little brisk from the water and shelted treeline. The hike offers a great, quick escape from citylife and is located just about 30 minutes east of Issaquah and the Eastside. Difficulty: 2