Today we wanted to be out of the sun and moreover, in the trees while also getting some elevation. We decided to hit up Squak from the east side, which was a new spot for us. I saw there were a couple access points to head up the the East Side Trail via the Access Trail. We parked on Sunrise Pl with one other car. Overall, we got in 8.25 miles and 2550 feet elevation and 95% shaded. Not bad for an oldie, but goodie trail network.
The 2.2 mile climb to East Side felt like work, but we realized how much so on the run down. There were a lot more switchbacks than we remembered. Saw 6 runners on that segment and a handful of hikers the rest of the day.
All of Connector and East Side Trail, halfway to Phil's Creek Trail has been weed whacked. And though the trail is only 18 inches wide, the 3 feet of no encroachment is nice. Grading, clearing, and drainage work has been done on the latter to about that same point. We said hi to a gentleman working with his pole saw. After that there was a lot of overgrowth for about 0.4 miles, including some nettle and salmonberry vines. We kept checking for hitchhikers, but luckily never found any. Circled around up to the fireplace and grabbed a bite then headed back down, never having missed being directly the sun (and no dust.)
Comments