Puget Creek Natural Area — Attraction in Tacoma

I remember as a first grader with friends heading into the "gulch" now referred to a the Puget Creek Natural Area. Sadly with the fancy name come hypodermic needles, fences, and the smell of marijuana burning. No wonder parents feel it's unsafe. Well as a first grader we and friends left our books after school and headed straight to the gulch to discover what was behind that rock or could a camp be built on the side of the side of that cliff or or up in that tree. I think as a good parent today would encourage this same behavior and reward it by telling the kids how proud of them you are. So in second grade we collected insects. I would buy carbontetrachloride at Faulkner's Drug Store up at Proctor and Mr.Faulkner would carefully explain how to put the insects in the jar that contains cotton with a small amount of the carbontetrachloride on it. Further I was warned never to smell it and not to let anyone else. He then very carefully tore off butcher paper and string and began to wrap my purchase. Let me say this was sixty years ago and everyone used bags But when I got home and showed my mom and dad they both chuckled and said you went to Faulkner's What did you buy...stuff to put bugs to sleep. My father said you'll need a jar. Then asked what he sold me I said that I didn't remember so he called Mr. Faulkner's and so as the story goes we put bugs insects butterflies anything we could think of mounting and labeling to turn in to Mrs. Myers our second grade teacher at Nell Hoyt. In third grade it was hide and seek. Fourth grade building trails and camps....A few wars and tearing down others camps and building swings. Can't remember who broke their arm but some father went over board and cut the swing down that his son broke his arm swinging on. A new swing was up later. Fifth, sixth, seventh grades treehouses. Some quite fancy. One built on the edge of the gulch had electricity...a cord from the parent's house. Of course eigth grade brought on an interest in girls and and 'The Gulch' or Puget Creek Natural Area became less interesting. The older kids talked of trapping beaver and musk rat. By the way my son would walk down from the park to the entrance near Ruston Way when he was in second grade twelve years ago And also from the walking bridge down the gulch to Carr park where I would be...

9/15/16 did the walk today - found that the steps going down to the main trail to ruston way was incredibly scary for us - 75 year olds that walk a lot - the drop offs on either side were a bit scary and the slippery steps with leaves and silt made for some dicy walking - at one point a huge step down and really nothing to hang onto -- coming back thought by looking at the map the the trail could come out onto proctor - well a fork in the road said that at one point we had already missed the proctor 'exit' we were hoping for and appeared to end up in people backyards --- this was a lovely walk except for switch back/forth at the starting point in puget park - we are new to the area and would like to limit our driving and still find another route to ruston way other than 30th - we have done that one....we are near proctor and 28th - any ideas of an easier walk...

Great excercise , i see why the benches are placed where they are , lol beautiful . Not all the way finished with the rails and 1 was broken... Be careful with kids or if your not stable in your walking... Steps throw you off at first downhill... Great place to start your excercise matabilism needs redirecting .. step, walk take s break step walk take a break then go back up Hill..... Outta breath.. means we gotta do this some more every couple days rest in between and do it again until your breathing gets better .. gettting that heart in shape, muscles activated, then pretty soon you don't need rest stops.. you'll just be getting back in shape, good luck. We can do it.. we got a couple months...