I noted with interest the article a few weeks back that mentioned the idea of building new trails to connect different parks and parcels of land.

Friends and family are avid users of the current dog-friendly trails and would certainly enjoy more trails, but more than that we would like to be able to use the current trails year round.

I am not quite sure why there is a push for more trails when so many of the current trails are unusable for at least three to four months out of the year. A high proportion of the trails at Island Center Forest are so muddy and boggy that you cannot get past them to the disconnected walkable parts without entering mud bogs or small ponds or destroying areas on the sides of the trails. Even less muddy paths can be slippery when walking.

Last year a few spots in Island Center Forest were covered with very coarse crushed rock, but most of the worst areas went untouched. Trails at Agren get so overgrown they are virtually impassable, and the steeper trails there can be muddy and slippery as well. One constantly muddy spot on the upper main trail is easily accessible but has never been fixed.

Because of the composition of the soils on Vashon, even after the rains have stopped it takes months for the trails to dry out. I suggest any available resources be used to attend the current trails instead of building new ones.

— Michelle Harvey