Today's predicted sunshine didn't pan out, but it was still a gorgeous afternoon for a long trail run at Fishtrap. Yesterday it snowed all day long, but it only amounted to a little over an inch. Neither footing nor route-finding were too difficult with such a scant amount, but it did make for a pretty wintery landscape! We started at the TH near the resort and only saw two hikers on the trail, plus a bird hunter on a rock outcropping in the distance. There are several downfall trees along the trail, but otherwise no issues to report. 

A series of small stumbling blocks prevented me from doing my original plan and also my backup plan for the weekend, but Fishtrap is always a good backup-backup plan! I was using the trail to serve as my 12k run for the Bloomsday Road Runners Club cross country series, which has gone virtual this year so I can run anywhere. I love how easy it is to put together a long run at Fishtrap with very little overlap of trails used (we overlapped one trail deliberately because I knew there was a nice aspen grove that would be showing some fall color, which is always worth an extra out & back). It was cold, with my car's temperature gauge showed 28F at the TH, although we found the trail was soft/muddy in a few places where the sun was hitting it and the snow had melted. Much of the route was still completely snow-covered, but route-finding seemed easy enough, and it was so sunny that I soon warmed up. There were several trees down across the trail from recent windstorms in the area, but they were easy to navigate around. The aspen have just barely started to turn yellow, so it should continue to be a good place to enjoy fall colors for next week or two.  

Was a nice morning 🌄. Saw more than a few swimming mammals, birds, butterflies, and not so many people that we weren't able to keep our distance. It is a multi use trail with walkers, runners, and cyclists.

Sunny! Warm! Medium amount people.

We made a loop by first taking the left double-track at the first junction, then following the single-track closer to the lake after the second junction. At the kolk (about two miles), we took a connecting trail, then headed back on the double-track trail which also parallels the lake. Then, we headed left on the single track when it crossed the double-track (the second junction on the way out), making a sort of figure-eight loop. This made a nice loop with great views.

Notable birds we saw included Bald Eagle, Black-headed Grosbeak, Bullock’s Oriole, Rock Wren, large flock of Violet-green and Cliff Swallows, Lazuli Bunting, Eastern and Western Kingbirds, and Western Bluebirds.