Beautiful drizzle, mist, and rain -- good hiking on the Boulder River trail, thanks to the WTA. Trail was in great shape, good drainage and lovely tread. Big downfalls were being cleared by today's smiling, wet WTA crew. Thank you -- <BR>[Online Editor's note: And the trees across Boulder River trail are now all gone, mostly.]

A friend and I decided to hike this trail during the first cold snap of December. It has been a long time since I hiked in freezing weather, but I was able to find enough clothes to keep warm, as long as I was moving, anyway. The 4 mile long trail was very pleasant to hike. All the muddy spots were frozen enough to not get wet. The previous day there had been a few inches of snow, which made the upper end of the trail very beautiful. There were about ten trees across the trail between 2 and 3 miles in. The largest tree was three feet in diameter. Please send in the volunteer tree cutters with a misery whip. The nice thing about hiking in freezing weather was that while we encountered spider webs, there were no bugs at all. We only saw one animal, a very little fluffy bird.

A group of us wandered up to the Boulder River for an autumn walk in the rain. Turned out to be a pleasant day under the heavy tree cover, the river is often visible through the thinning tree leaves. Stopped after the second or third blow-down (maybe 2 miles in'), though others had clearly gone further. The first blowdown is on a switchback, people are making a number of alternate trails to get to the 'upper' level, then you cross on rough broken stuff where the trail should be. The turnaround point was at a creek. A light hatchet or saw would make both of these much easier to get by.

This was one of the more peaceful and pleasant hikes we've been on in the area. The trail was clear, the falls gorgeous, and distance (9+ miles roundtrip) perfect for a days' outing. The old growth forest was enchanting and serine. Not as crowded as I feared, although there were a decent enough # of people. Any more & it would have been a pain.

Exercise caution when driving to the trialhead though: I recommend at least a 2 wheel drive with THICK WINTER tires--the gravel on the road can easily puncture smaller tires, and I would not return again with my little Honda. Ideally, a 4 wheel drive is needed for this access road, which in addition to the gravel has a large number of sizeable potholes.