Foolish Mortal Jumps into a Beaver's Pond

Dear Diary,

I'm very confused.

It's fairly clear that I've written about Beaver Pond Natural Area in your pages twice before, in the obvious places to look, the everything hikes.  In "South to and from Northgate" in May 2020, I wrote "The Natural Area extends northeast of the trail system, but I've found no entrances or maps".  In "A Hike in Northgate, part II" in May 2021, I wrote "And from here I was able to clamber up the embankment to Roosevelt Way NE".

Well, Beaver Pond Natural Area's full extent is from 5th Ave NE to Roosevelt Way NE.  (Also from NE 100th St to the level of NE 108th St.)  And my map dated 2019 shows that full extent.

So the mystery is not, as I'd thought, why I only learnt of this park in bits and pieces.  Rather, it's why I've twice now only remembered bits and pieces, and faulted my past self for knowing less than I actually had known.  And I think maybe it's because this park is being actively worked on.  In 2021 I clearly said I found nothing at the dead end of 9th Ave NE, but that wasn't the case this time at all.  So if I only visit it at long intervals and find everything changed, I'm inclined to blame my past knowledge, rather than assume a park, of all things, has changed while I wasn't looking.

Well, let me write about and show you, dear Diary, photos of the park of 2026, in hopes that next time I'll be kinder to myself.

Beaver Pond Natural Area consists of four city blocks diagonally arranged.  (It doesn't fully occupy most of those blocks, but anyway.)

Here's an OpenStreetMap map, stippled background courtesy of Microsoft Paint.

On August 4th I was proud of myself for quickly finding that there were official trails in those two southwestern blocks, and not just the shorter unofficial trail near the bus stop.

But then I got home, found out about the other two blocks, and promptly and wrongly blamed my past self.

So on August 7th, I went back determined to get to know the northeastern two blocks.  I found no entrance of more than a few feet into the third block, the one OSM puts an actual beaver pond into.

However, that was enough to take one of my most successful photos of water, maybe part of the pond.

Twenty minutes later, I reached the dead end of 9th, and what a difference five years make.

Since this fourth block is the only one fully included in the park, it has the most opportunity for trails and variety, and the Thornton Creek Alliance has delivered.  I wrote about the primaeval in 2021, and felt the same thing this time, because of the giant trees.

The park may not be done changing, since they evidently continue to monitor conditions:

Somehow I ended up finding a map last of all.  It's a bit unclear because the bright colour is the creek, not the trail, but maybe it's good enough.

 

And isn't that just like life, to find the map only when it's all done?  I still hope to write two more pages in you tonight, dear Diary, but we'll see.  Happiness until then, anyway.