Pacific Northwest Trolls Part 2

This ambitious public art project is presented by Scan Design Foundation, whose mission is to support Danish-American relations with a focus on environmental sustainability. NWTrolls: Way of the Bird King features six giant hand-built troll sculptures by Danish environmental artist, Thomas Dambo. The publicly-accessible sculptures are located around the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) where each whimsical troll sculpture is part of an underlying environmental story. The project celebrates the human experience of art by amplifying the connections of cultural heritage between Coast Salish Tribal Communities and Scandinavian traditions. There is no admission fee to visit any of the trolls.

Frankie Feetsplinters unlike the other NW Trolls lives in the city and because of this he isn't a happy camper. You can find him in front of the National Nordic Museum in Ballard Washington. There is no hiking to get to him because he is in the city so this is an easy troll to see for everyone.

In Nordic mythology and folklore, trolls are known to be fierce protectors of nature so meet Jakob Two Trees. He has a birdhouse necklace along with a ponytail. Jakob stands around 14-ft. tall, looking down at passersby who walk near him on the trail.

Jakob can be found in Issaquah Washington and hangs out approximately a quarter mile from the Issaquah Community Center, down the Rainier Trail. The hike here is pretty easy and is very family friendly with wheelchair accessibility. If you start at the Issaquah Community Center (301 Rainier Blvd S, Issaquah, WA 98027) and walk south on the paved Rainier Trail past the Dog Park, you will find Jakob several minutes down the trail on the right.

The last Troll in this post is Bruun Idun (“Idun” for short – pronounced like “Eden”) is playing a flute with a song for the orcas. It is a hike to get to him and this does depend on where you park. If you park in the parking lot along Fauntleroy Way SW there are numerous trails to take to get to him and some are longer than others so plan your hike in advance. He is located near Coleman Pool so that should help you plan.

The hike in is fairly easy and very family friendly but it is not wheelchair accessible. Note: you do start out the hike higher in elevation and have to hike down so there are some steeper areas.

On your way there are some great views of the Olympic Mountains. This is a great hike and you get views of the bluffs along with the beach below.

When you start doing downhill keep looking to the west and you can see Bruun from the trail.

Once you get to the bottom of the trail you come out to this view. Coleman Pool is on your right and head past Coleman Pool and Bruun is also on the right. You can't miss him if you keep walking along the bottom of the woods.

Bruun Idun is playing the flute for the Orca Whales and has sea shells around his feet. The sad thing is he became the victim of taggers sometime in the middle of September. Bruun had its legs and stomach painted over, as if someone was trying to paint pants on it. Luckily, crews with Seattle Parks and Recreation power washed the troll and the paint has been removed.

If you do come here I would highly recommend spending some time here on the beach. There are benches and a large area to have a picnic with both sand and grass. You can even take a swim but remember the water here is cold so I would recommend the pool. The view of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains in the background is awesome. Find a log along the beach and try some meditation!!

Now you can decide how you want to hike out. You can take the same trail you came in on or you can explore and take a new trail. I love to explore so I chose a crazy trail that was pretty steep and had a lot of steps. I HATE hiking on steps!!!

The Troll hunting experience so far has been awesome and If you have any comments or feedback please let me know.

You can check my earlier post on Ole Bolle who is located in Portland Oregon at this page: Portland Oregon Nordic Troll (crazydsadventures.com). In the next part of this series I will talk about the last two Pacific NW Trolls and they are Pia the Peacekeeper located on Bainbridge Island Washington and Oscar the Bird King who is located on Vashon Island in Washington.