The mystery of the stinky part of my morning commute along the 101

Submitted by M155F0RTUNE t3_zw0tpq in Washington

Lately, when I pass the part of Oyster Bay that is along the 101 and punctuated by Kennedy Creek Natural Area Preserve, it smells like sewage. Today, I had some time to go googling about these places. I anticipated finding the scientific cause of the odor (probably something to do with oysters?), but there is no mention of stinkiness in the area. If anything, what I found was contradictory to my experiences. (For example, I can't imagine a 5-star hike within 5 miles of this place.) Am I crazy? Has any one else smelled this stench when traversing this small part of the 101? It is probably like a quarter mile long, all of it is parallel to coastline of the Sound. It ends around the Old Olympic Highway exit.

I am new Washington (from Arizona) and it occurred to me that maybe I couldn't find info about the source of the stench because it is common knowledge for locals. Thus, I am opening my query to you lovely folks! Thank you in advance ^-^

​

EDIT: i did not know that low tide was stinky. Thanks all~

22

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

oakleystreetchi t1_j1s7lp8 wrote

Might just be low tide. Also you are close enough to Budd Bay, which is polluted and stinks to high hell at low tide.

20

M155F0RTUNE OP t1_j1skdyc wrote

Maybe? I passed it 2 hours before low tide on the 23rd and 3 hours before on the 25th. Interestingly, I passed it the same time on the 24th as I did on the 23rd, (around 10:45 am) -- but you will see in the tide chart that there is no A.M. Low Tide listed for that day. (All the days I mentioned were stinky btw). Not convinced it is Low Tide..but not NOT convinced. Lol..

https://www.usharbors.com/harbor/washington/arcadia-totten-inlet-wa/tides/

Maybe it has to do with flooding?

2

wanderinglark t1_j1swali wrote

It’s not low tide. It’s the salmon spawning and dying in the creek. Lots of salmon bodies. I was just over there today and lots of decaying fish in the stream. You might want to visit in the fall next year and see them spawning. It’s pretty neat and the trail there has some nice markers explaining the salmon run.

13

freckledtabby t1_j1spela wrote

hahahhaaaaa! I'm from the Seattle area. For a short time, I lived in Arizona. One time during lunch break at the company's cafeteria, a guy, unknowingly, cracked opened a rotten egg. The smell was as horrible as you can imagine. I said "Smells like low tide" --no one got it.

9

PaigeTurner2 t1_j1vgwn1 wrote

Spawning chum. Smells like this around here every year.

7

Perenially_behind t1_j1s8qi9 wrote

Have you checked the tide tables to see if the smell correlates to low tide? In some places exposed tidelands have a definite bouquet at low tide.

Helpful hint: lose the "the" before road numbers. It sounds Californian. Say "101" or "U.S. 101."

4