We took Ravennspirit up to Lord Hill for the let's get lost day, as she had never been here. I must admit, I got totally turned around on the Temple Pond trail. First time I've been that turned around up there. Luckily Trickster who's hiked here a zillion times with me straightened me out! We did not see the beaver at Temple Pond that some earlier hikers told us about. Maybe you will see him/her. It was a busy day on the Hill today, lots of runners, bikers, walkers and some horses. We escaped the crowds by taking a who knows where it goes footpath (actually this is the real fun of this park)  and wandering around until we came to the Pipeline. There's a nice bench there  to eat lunch  with a bit of a view, just as you begin to drop down to the valley. We ate and turned around and headed back to the Main trail and parking lot. Recovering from a bad cold I was a bit winded, so we saved some of the other trails for another day. There was some fresh blowdown, but nothing too big to hop over. 

Extremely easy hike today after the holidays just trying to spend time with the family. The trail is in relatively good shape aside from being muddy and having a few stream crossings that are difficult even in waterproof boots. The downed trees that we encountered were not difficult to pass at all. We started out on the boardwalk trail and continued around to the pipeline trail that was linked up with the beaver lake trail (although beaver lake should be called dry lake as there was no water in the lake). We then took the beaver lake trail around the lake and all the way to the red barn trail where there was no red barn to be found :(. From here we made a giant loop all the way around to the main trail and back to the parking lot. All together we hiked 3.9 miles with little elevation at all which was really nice for a family hike. 

Pics from the Viewpoint again. Seems I never get tired of them - it's different each time. On this Christmas Eve, the sun popped out around mid-day and lit up the snow covered Cascades. I dropped everything and headed for the hill.  I felt bad for the last minute shoppers stuck in the lines as I sat on the backside and toasted the mountains...

Spent the last couple days clearing the footpaths. Several big blowdowns near Hidden Pond are too large for me to handle, so you'll have to step over them until someone decides to get after it with a chainsaw. I think I left one on the Riverview also, that I didn't have time for. I know not everyone carries a saw with them; but if you do, go for it!

Brushed the top half of the Ridgeside to the sittin' rock. Did enough on the lower section to make it passable, but it still needs more work. And boots - it's in danger of disappearing. See if you can find it...

The Startup is still "CLOSED", but you wouldn't know it except for the sign. It's all clear, and looks like it sees regular use. This trail is scheduled to be decommissioned? Guess the Springboard is supposed to be a bike only trail now, and they don't want you popping out on it at the top. Whatever...

And the best part of this last weekend?  The daylight hours are getting longer as we swing back towards the sun! Won't be long before we're mowing the lawns again...

Last weekend, I brushed the Midway N. a bit and cleared the branches from the recent windstorms. There is a big double blowdown just north of Hidden Pond that is too big for me to handle. It is right at the intersection with the Midway Cut-off. Easy enough to step over, although one side is a pretty big step. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if someone sawed through it...

Today, I decided to check out the Midway S.  Parked at the south lot off Tester Rd. - only one there. Brushed the trail again on my way to the Viewpoint, and took care of several blowdowns. Didn't re-check the north section, but I believe the entire trail is clear. A couple new step-overs, but you won't even notice.

Windy today; and there were already new branches on the trail when I left. Feel free to flick them off as you go. If there were twenty branches on the trail, and twenty hikers happened by that day, and if each one cleared just one branch - the trail would be clear at the end of the day. Just sayin'...

(Sorry about the boring pics. I ended up working more than exploring today.)