Old Sauk River Trail — Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024

A wet one today, but if you don't hike at least once in the woods in the rain you're missing out. The trail is in great shape all the way to the west end parking lot, no blowdowns and very little mud. We didn't see any big, exciting wildlife today, but we did see a couple of salmon spawning on one of the little side channels so shallow that they were halfway out of the water in spots. We heard an eagle, saw a water ouzel and ducks riding downstream on the fast river current. There were deer tracks in the mud and what looked like a cougar (not Cougar) prints following behind, and we smelled a skunk, does that count for wildlife? Most of the moisture was a steady drip off the trees, we avoided a total downpour. We took the ADA trail back, it's in good shape, but you would probably need a power chair or really strong arms to do the whole loop.  We had the trail to ourselves. Road bare and wet all the way to the TH. Loo open, clean and stocked.