First day of spring!! Felt like I had the park to myself today. There were 10-12 cars in the lot but the trails were all mine. Nice to see the muddy trail drying out in the sun. Recent trailwork is really nice. Draining water and gravel in the muddiest spots. The birds were singing, wood peckers were pecking, and frogs were celebrating. Be sure to check out hidden pond on the midway trail. I tried to attach a video of the frog party.

With all the rain we've been having, the trail was fairly muddy with quite a few puddles. This was the case throughout the entire area we traveled. We chose the loop trail around devils butte. We did 6 miles and found what incline there was to be very gradual, so no steep slopes. Even with the wet trail, the up and downhill climbs were so gradual, the water made little to no difference. If you are looking for a challenging climb, this isn't the place for you, but if you are just getting outdoors for the start of hiking season and want to stretch your legs, this is a great spot to wander around (and to test your shoes for waterproofing!). It also has plenty of flat trails, great for the little ones. The trails have some markings, but there aren't many, and there are plenty of ways you can find yourself wondering which way to go to stay on track. We didn't get lost, but we also never found the lookout point indicated on the map. We saw many old growth and mossy trees, but for views, again, we didn't find one. We liked that it wasn't too crowded, but very likely the weather kept folks inside. We decided it would be a great spot for a springtime picnic, if spring weather ever decides to show up!

I needed some fresh air close to home so Lord Hill was perfect. Some things I heard in the park- wind, woodpeckers (the loud knocking kind), tree frogs and an eagle. Some things I saw in the park- ferns, moss and mud (the kind that gets all over your pants when someone's dog puts their paws on you),

Every time I come to the Lord Hill park, I try and take a different route.  There are miles and miles of trails to weave and wander, official and unofficial.  This time, I decided to see if I could circumnavigate the park, so I took a right at the first junction to start a counterclockwise rotation. Shortly after dodging a succession of mud puddles, where the trail bends to the left after the equestrian gate, there was a little unofficial trail heading off into the woods in the general direction I wanted.  It looked good to me. From here, I stayed on this trail as it crossed a few old roads as it made its way around the west side of the park. I continued to take as any right hand turns as the trail would allow me and ended up in a section of the park I hadn't visited before, Devil's Butte.  It had a rather nice pond with the mandatory ducks flying off as I approached.  I could also hear owls and frogs dulled by the patter of the rain gradually falling harder and harder. One of the things I noticed today that I hadn't really noticed in all the other times I have been to the park is the number of old growth stumps covered with bright green moss and scarred by logging steps from the 1930's when the logging industry came through and cut the forest down.  Each remnant of the past was serving as a nurse log to a variety of vegetation and trees having a distinct personality. I'm not sure why they hadn't caught my eye before, but they seemed to be everywhere today.  Not that I was dawdling.  The rain jacket I had brought was already soaking through and my arms were wet.  Not a big deal, but it wasn't exactly a warm day.  I had been out for about 35 minutes and a little over 1.5 miles now. Continuing to take right hand turns, I ended up on top of a ridge where the trail petered out. I could see the Pilchuck River down below so I knew where I was in general, so I turned a bit south and kept going along the ridge.  There was somewhat of a game trail and a long ago abandoned logging road. Eventually I came out to a more established trail and turned right again. This ran into private property and I turned around and headed back up, connecting me with the trail I had already been on.  Fun adventure but I was not getting as far around the park as I wanted to be.  I checked my GPS and determined I could keep taking turns to the south and eventually get to trails I was familiar with near the far end of the park. The trails varied from established trails to decommissioned roads and I even came to a scenic viewpoint at the intersection of three trails.  I imagine on a nice day the views would look out at the surrounding valley and Cascades. From here, the trail was mostly old road and I was getting wetter and colder. The wind and rain had both picked up and I was not sure it was worth it to keep moving away from my car.  So, at about 4:10pm, I took a left where the West View Trail meets the Main Trail and headed back toward the trailhead, arriving at my car at 4:25pm for a total of 3.78 miles. For more details and pictures, including my GAIA, follow the link below.