The usual ... the Midway down and back, with a stop at the viewpoint. Very windy today! Cleared lots of downed branches, and left a couple new stepovers. Talked to one of the regulars about the missing section of the Midway...it will be nice when it's connected. (I'll check into that.)

Hope you all had as much fun outdoors as I did today! Today's pics are all about the trees...

We finally ventured over to Lord Hill for the first time on Tuesday and really I can't believe we didn't go sooner. It was a lovely walk in the woods with some surprisingly old trees, gigantic tree stumps, and one section glowing green with moss on every branch.

We arrived around 10:30am with only four other cars in the lot. We had the trails to ourselves most of the hike. We set off from the trailhead, turning left when it came to a T intersection, beginning a loop hike by Beaver Lake. Just before the Beaver Lake Trail meets up with the Pipeline trail, there is a Y intersection with a broken down sign. We went to the right and had to back track on the pipeline to see the actual lake. Another hiking party took the left branch at the Y and arrived at the lake head on. Going left seems to be the better choice. The "Lake" is only visible as a small pond from this point. the rest of it looks like a marsh as you head south on the Pipeline trail.

The trail leading to the Pipeline had some puddles but was generally in good condition. Pipeline was very muddy and slick in some spots on the hill by Beaver Lake. Pipeline is an open trail but the kiddos explored some side paths into the trees where we found evidence of Bigfoot in the form of piles of snot. He must have caught a cold. (Probably very old, water-logged jelly fungus.)

We turned right at a four-way junction to take the Main Trail Crossover. This section was insanely green with moss covered trees. Reaching the Main Trail we turned right to loop back toward the cars. The Main Trail arrives back at the first T junction as the third spoke we had not taken. Making a left we headed back up hill to the parking lot.

I can see how people get lost here. We encountered many unsigned trails on our 2.5 mile loop. Both my hiking partner and I had downloaded maps from the county website... and they were very different maps. The park itself shows different maps depending on what sign you are looking at. The trailhead has the same one I downloaded with tons of trails shown. Signs at some junctions looked more like my friend's map with only the few main trails shown. I'm including the link to the map I downloaded with lots of trails shown.

We had a terrific hike and the kiddos were able to run free the whole time, although I did have to plead with my kid not to go in the lake. We will be back soon to try some other trails in the network!

Can't believe only three stars, miles and miles of trail, there were 50 cars in the lot but once you get off the main trails, hardly a soul. Beautiful moss covered trees and ferns galore. Had a great time with the pooch. We walked to the east, went toward beaver lake, looped around to red barn (didn't see any barns) and took the ear therapy trail on the way out. Lots of fun little wooden bridges in the forest to cross!

Hiked with two nine-year-old boys.

The trail was wet but not muddy. I think this would be a good hike for a rainy day and you still wouldn't have to worry too much about mud, as the main trail is rocky, so I doubt it ever gets too muddy.

Lots of people out today. My calendar said it was January, but it felt my April.

What a fun day up on Lord Hill! Crowded parking, but saw no one on the trails - that's the nice thing about loops. Even had the viewpoint to myself!

From the horse parking, I took the Startup up the hill to the Springboard, then cut over to the Second Spring. I've mentioned in previous reports that this is a trail in need of some use, and it looks like it has recently seen more hikers. Someone has brushed it a bit so it is easy to follow. Thanks!

Took the Ridgeside down to the Meetcutter, then the River Trail down to the Riverview Footpath. (The Ridgeside is looking more like a legit trail, but I would still classify it as "primitive". Just watch your step.) From the viewpoint on the Riverview, I bushwacked over the hill to the Quarry Trail.

Looped back north on the Midway, and made it to the Viewpoint right before sundown. The sun had popped out and lit up the peaks to the east - Vesper, Glacier, Stickney, Gunn, and Persis. Wallace Falls was kickin'! I never get tired of that view...

On the west side, Rainier was majestic - still glowing above the darkened foothills. The Olympics were outlined in black against the orange sky...

Darn it! Time to go... Hustled back to the entrance and got there just before dark. Amazing how fast the day goes when you're having fun!