I like hiking on Sunday afternoon when the rest of the world is tied up with some sport on TV. This afternoon I parked at the Carlson road trailhead and headed out on the lower section of trail 25. I checked the trail from the road and chose to hike I’m boots with microspikes rather than snowshoes. It was a good decision. The trail was well used by hikers, snowshoes and at least one snow bike. I easily followed the stomped out track to the bottom of Deep Creek Canyon and up the other side. Once I reached the old Deep Creek Road, Trail 25 had not been as well used, but I followed a single set of snowshoe prints, sinking in a bit, but not too far. My trekking pole was hitting the ground  less than a foot down. Where the trail dives down a hill, the snowshoe tracks wandered around the bluff following an unofficial bike trail. I followed those tracks back to Deep Creek Road just above the Centennial Trail. At that point, I followed the Centennial Trail back to my car. I had my choice of more than one set of tracks to follow on the paved trail, and once again, my trekking pole indicated that the snow wasn’t very deep.

I didn’t see any other hikers on the trail. I saw an otter swimming in the river when I crossed the bridge.

There’s nothing like a hike on a foggy day to cure cabin fever.

Starting from the Bowl and Pitcher parking lot, the paved trail down to the swinging bridge was very icy. We have had several freeze thaw cycles since the last snow, which means that all the snow that has been walked on has melted a little and refrozen, leaving lumpy slippery terrain.  The bridge itself was not icy, but the crib steps on the other side were full of frozen puddles.

Once across the bridge, the trail is most challenging near the trailhead. As I hiked farther, fewer footprints accompanied me, and the snow was softer and less used. It was also less slippery. About a half mile downstream from the parking lot, there was a sizable tree across the trail. I easily hiked around it, and continued on my way.  After a few miles,  I turned on trail 10 which is not correctly marked. Some day, someone needs to turn the sign so the arrows point the right way. There were only two sets of prints heading steeply up the hill on trail 10 which connected me to the upper side of the trail 25 loop. I turned upstream to connect with trail 210 and return to the swinging bridge.  I chose to hike through the larch grove which isn’t as steep as staying on trail 25. At the bottom of the hill, near the mile 3 marker, another sizeable tree had fallen across the trail.

My total loop was about 6 miles.  I was glad to have my microspikes the entire way. I saw a couple of guys on snow bikes and maybe half a dozen hikers total. It was a nice quiet day in the woods when I wasn’t too close to the rifle range across the river. They were shooting up a storm today.

It was such a nice day that I had to grab my dog and go for a hike, put a few hills in our legs.  We started at the Wilbur trailhead and worked our way around a loop of about 5 miles on trails 201, 25, 202 and 203 among others.  We took most of the hill trails for ups and downs to get about 450 feet of incline and decline.  Traction devices were helpful on about a third of the trail due to ice.  Great way to prep for snowshoe and ski seasons!

It may be January, but today felt like spring. I headed to Carlson Road Trailhead in Nine Mile Falls to check out the north end of the trail 25 loop. As I was leaving the parking lot, a man was exiting the trail wearing full crampons. He said that the trail was covered in ice and discouraged a couple who was starting out at the same time I was.  They got back in their car.  I accepted the challenge, and started up the hill in my Chacos.  I made it to the bench at the top of the bluff by skirting around the icy patches. This part of the trail is mostly old logging roads, so there is plenty of room to pick a safe path. Where others have hiked, the compacted snow has melted and refrozen into hard ice.  It will take a lot of warm weather to melt it. Some sunny patches were melted down to dirt or mud. 

I took a break at the bench and put on my microspikes for the steep descent down the bluff.  That part of the trail is challenging even on a warm dry day. I was fine with my proper gear, and the guys with the off leash dog who were climbing as I descended were jealous. As I traversed toward Seven Mile Road, there were lots of slick places, and few ways around them on the single track trail.  I saw a meet up group hiking the other direction in this section of trail. Other than these two groups, the trail was a place of solitude today.

I crossed the road and continued south on the exposed bluff in just my sandals until I was near the ORV play area. I put my microspikes back on before I headed downhill on an unmarked trail that took me to the junction of Seven Mile and Wilber Roads.  I crossed Seven Mile and picked up trail 25 on the other side. There was lots of ice on this shady section of trail.  I stopped for lunch after I crossed under the power lines. 

As I headed uphill then downhill again before crossing Deep Creek, I was glad to have good traction on the ice and snow.  My feet were warm enough in my sandals, as the snow was not deep, and the day was warm. Every Saturday should be this pleasant.

After hiking in the snow on the mountain yesterday, my dog and I headed for lower elevations and clear trails.  We parked at Bowl and Pitcher, braving the swinging bridge across the river to the myriad trails on the other side.  I don’t mind the bridge at all, but Shadow doesn’t like walking on things that move under her feet.  After many visits, she no longer needs coaxing the cross the bridge, but she still cowers all the way across.

We turned left, or south on trail 25 today, rambling along the river, admiring the chutzpah of three kayakers out for a December paddle.  The trail was rocky or damp, but not so wet as to be walking in puddles. We passed the horse corrals and the camp, then crossed the Centennial Trail before climbing the bluff in stages. Some day I will explore the old railroad grade which was a brief piece of this hike.  We continued up and down hills and through the larch grove which was carpeted with faded gold needles. 

December days are short, so we turned toward the river on Trail 10 which connects with Trail 25 by the river to form a complete loop. From the parking lot, our total hike was just under 9 miles. We missed the rain, but the air was damp rather than crisp. I saw the same bike rider twice, and maybe a half dozen other hikers once I was past the bridge. For a location so close to town, there was abundant solitude today.