Latest / Street Smart Naturalist / Paths of Least Resistance

Transcript

Paths of Least Resistance · Street Smart Naturalist

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings,
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Williams and the podcast of my newsletter,
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Street Smart Naturalist,
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind.
• 0:10
  Every week I share my observations and ventures with the human
• 0:13
  and natural world
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: around Seattle,
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode highlights my recent adventures with Gorilla Paths.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: To learn more about my work, please go to my website, geologywriter.com.
• 0:27
  You will also find a link to my Substack newsletter and my
• 0:29
  previous four years of newsletters,
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: as well as images tied to this week's episode.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining me on this adventure,
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: and welcome to Podcast 15 of the Street Smart Naturalists,
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Paths of Least Resistance,
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: March 13,
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: 2025.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Over the weekend,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I went out for a quick walk around our neighborhood,
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: which I have done several thousand times.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it was rather exciting to discover something new.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: In particular, I walked on a path I had never trod, much less seen.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't terribly long, perhaps 50 feet, or challenging or scenic.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Located at the end of a dead-end road,
• 1:08
  The dirt path simply allowed me to cut easily through
• 1:11
  blackberries and down a short
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: slope to the back end of a parking lot.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Still, I felt a frision of excitement.
• 1:19
  Doing so saved me about a quarter mile of walking,
• 1:22
  but that wasn't the point either.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: What I gained was further knowledge of my home place,
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: of the pathways that people and perhaps animals used to navigate.
• 1:32
  Part of my joy was knowing that I was not the first to consider
• 1:35
  this potential
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: linkage of two points.
• 1:37
  I had now joined an anonymous club of those who strayed off the
• 1:40
  main path and found
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: a new way to go.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Plus,
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: it was a route not down on any map,
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: like many another true place,
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: as Mr.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Melville wrote in Moby Dick.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: These unofficial paths come in many guises.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Some are signed.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Others seem homemade, discreetly blending into their surroundings.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: A few are hidden and require probing to find.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And one I know of requires passing under an arch of laurel.
• 2:06
  I've gotten my feet wet crossing one on boards through a
• 2:09
  wetland on another
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: blackberries tore at my jacket.
• 2:13
  But most of these gorilla paths require little more than being
• 2:16
  aware and a
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: willingness to step off the paved path.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: A few of these bypass paths actually show up on maps,
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: which doesn't lessen my joy of taking them.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: They typically are semi-official routes.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: For example,
• 2:30
  linking streets severed by a ridge or valley are deemed too
• 2:33
  steep to climb in a car.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: In many cases,
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: though,
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: no natural feature provides the clue why,
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: and I am left making up a story that explains the disconnection.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: A lover's property dispute.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: A malevolent surveyor.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: An ill-informed cartographer.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Pure, unadulterated greed.
• 2:51
  No matter why,
• 2:52
  I like these paths because they are caltrops in the tires of
• 2:55
  car culture.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Cars and their ilk are not allowed.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Walkers welcome.
• 3:01
  As such,
• 3:02
  these paths are small acts of rebellion against the dominance
• 3:05
  of the car and the grid.
• 3:07
  Another appealing aspect of this type of path is that they
• 3:10
  often reveal unseen or
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: poorly understood relationships of space.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: In our modern society,
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: where so many of one's perceptions are based on roads,
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: we only experience linkages by the routes designed for a car.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: For example,
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: when we were at Deception Pass,
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: we stayed in the campground,
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: which had a one-way road.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: When we explored on foot and found an unofficial path,
• 3:34
  we discovered how the bathroom that seemed so far away was
• 3:38
  actually quite near.
• 3:40
  Linking paths,
• 3:41
  such as the one I first used this weekend,
• 3:43
  are what I call adult paths.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: This doesn't mean that kids weren't the first to make them,
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: but this type of path is about practicality.
• 3:51
  They go directly from point A to point B and are the ones that
• 3:55
  might make it onto maps.
• 3:56
  For instance,
• 3:57
  I know of linking paths that show up on internet-based maps of Seattle.
• 4:01
  Another style of adult path are ones found in parks or other
• 4:05
  public spaces.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Clearly designated and maintained,
• 4:08
  paths such as this are important because they help protect an
• 4:11
  area by keeping most
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: people following the same route.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let me be clear,
• 4:16
  I am no fan of shortcuts on trails or social trails in fragile
• 4:21
  and wilder ecosystems.
• 4:23
  In contrast,
• 4:24
  kid paths don't hew to order and often have no practical destination.
• 4:29
  I think back to my childhood of growing up near what we called
• 4:32
  the ravine.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Seemingly seldom visited by adults,
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: this relatively wild green space was a perfect place for kids to roam.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: The routes we followed reflected what was important to us.
• 4:44
  They might lead to a fort,
• 4:46
  a secret room in the foliage,
• 4:48
  an animal's home.
• 4:49
  They were about discovery and adventure,
• 4:51
  of being outside with few cares except to have fun.
• 4:55
  I still like to follow such paths in Seattle's many green
• 4:58
  spaces for the reasons I
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: did as a kid.
• 5:01
  I further appreciate them because they often take me to the
• 5:04
  unkempt part of a green
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: space where the natural world is most natural in the urban environment.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: No one worries about liability and limbs,
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: foliage,
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: tree trunks,
• 5:14
  and stumps are allowed to molder and decompose naturally
• 5:17
  without concerns that a
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: human visitor will suffer from the disarray.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately,
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: but understandably,
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: natural death such as this is often banished from urban spaces.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: A sense of discovery,
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: getting exercises,
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: seeing decay and decomposition,
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: and you wonder why I am such a fan of getting out and walking.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Once again,
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Williams,
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: author and voice of The Street Smart Naturalist,
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind,
• 5:47
  a weekly newsletter and podcast focusing on the human and
• 5:49
  natural world around Seattle,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like more details about my book,
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Walks and Talks,
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: and a link to sign up for my newsletter and podcast,
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: check out my website,
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: geologywriter.com.
• 6:03
  And don't forget to slow down,
• 6:04
  pay attention,
• 6:05
  and enjoy the world around you.