I spent some time this afternoon helping to paint a mural done by Mauricio Ramirez for the Redmond Senior and Community Center. (Community members were invited to sign up for 20 minute painting slots today.) Stunning mural. Come see it when the RSCC opens in May!

Afterwards, I got on the Sammamish River Trail. It was quiet, except for many crows flying around. From there I took The Powerline Trail up. And up.  Then I was off trails, in My Neighborhood all of the way home. Everything is still wearing their newish spring greens.

4 miles in total.

Check off another winter hiking bingo. New Urban trail! Actually this one turned out better than I expected!  The trail is good gravel and yes, there is development along the way, but the trail is wide with lots of trees and brush and the housing is not noticeable. I much prefer it to the Tolt Pipeline trail nearby. We started at the Ferrel McWhirter Farm Park as recommended in Urban Hikes Eastside. We took the wrong trail to start off, realizing it when we ended up on the wrong road, adding another mile, no prob, we wanted a hike. So back we go, as the trail starts right by the loo, not bad and better use it cuz there is nothing the whole rest of the hike you can count on! After that it is very well signed and as it follows along the powerline, hard to make a wrong turn. We followed it down to the Sammamish River and had our lunch on the nice bridge. Elevation is gained both ways, nice little winter workout with 8+ miles and 750' total gain. 

A little personal history with this trail, ages and ages ago as kids we used to ride our bikes on all these old service roads, not really knowing where we would end up, other than Redmond (small then) or the river. The Sammamish River used to be dredged and diked, and we used to walk on the dikes. There were also timed hydroplane races in the 50's we could watch. That river used to be so polluted with raw sewage we were forbidden to swim or wade in it. When there was an effort to clean up Lake Washington, the river got cleaner too. It looks nothing like it used to 65 yrs ago, thank goodness, but sadly, most of the little farms are gone now too.

Walked the Farrel McWhirter and a bit of the Powerline trails this afternoon in the snow before the rain comes and turns everything to slop.  We actually parked at Juel park off 116th St largely because that lot is easier to get to in snowy conditions.  You can walk over to Farrel McWhirter along the section of the Redmond Powerline trail that runs between them.  The Farrel McWhirter, Juel, Redmond Powerline and an out and back along the M.D. Nicholls trail that connects there as well ended up being about 4.5 miles.  No real trail issues though there are a few bits with exposed ice over the trail which are darn slippery currently and once the rain comes there will be considerable mud..  There are functional albeit chilly sanicans at both Farrel McWhirter and Juel.  Parking is free and plentiful at both the north and south McWhirter lots and at Juel. 

Not much wildlife out today with all the snow though there were several Douglas Squirrels freaking out about something and sounding their alarm.  However, don’t miss the horses in the barn complex - we were lucky today and they were out getting some fresh air and afternoon snackies when we were there.  A nice little forest/creek walk if you are in the area.  

The Redmond Powerline Trail is located at the North end of the Farrel-McWirther park area, with a small paved lot at the beginning of the trailhead that always has open spaces throughout the daytime visiting hours. The hiking trail, alternatively called the PSE Trail by nearby signs, is shared between regular hikers, bikers, and horse riders at all times although nobody else was seen there. The trail forks into different paths that lead to various sections of the park, which is a good way to walk around the area and connect with other nearby hiking trails. The main powerline trail leads to a large wide-open grassland area with no trees to obstruct the view, though it is surrounded by many flowers and bush plants. Along the trail, the overhead power lines run across for miles above the grass, held up by tall metal frames close to the main trail. The trail itself is simple to hike and is mostly dry gravel and dirt, making it a good place to walk with pets.

The sunny weather during the summer can become noticeably hot on the trails because of the lack of trees and natural shade, as the grass hillsides were very bright in the mornings. The path is also quite narrow, barely allowing two hikers to pass by as well as occasionally blocking the view with sharp turns in the trail. Generally, bugs were not too bad during the daytime since it wasn't becoming dark but there were still some bees on the trails. No animals or signs of wildlife were present along the walk, with mostly ordinary plant varieties surrounding the trail as well. In the summer and spring seasons, a few kinds of flowers can be seen blooming on the sides of the hiking path, which adds to the natural scenery of the quiet trail. 

Walked the Farrel-McWhirter and Powerline trails with a side excursion to the trails in Juel park which is directly accessible to the north..  Total mileage was just about an even 5 going up the top of the next hill west on Powerline out and back plus the loops through Farrel-McWhirter and Juel.  Parking at McWhirter is plentiful and free, (though do note the gate is locked at dusk.)  There is also parking at Juel off NE 116th.  Well maintained porta-potties are available at both McWhirter and Juel.  Some of the southern “meadow” trails in McWhirter are a bit sloppy but everything else is in good condition with no issues.  

Farrel-McWhirter has some nice and quite large 2nd growth forest in addition to the more developed areas (horse riding arena, children’s play areas, picnic areas, etc.) and the beautiful little Macky Creek.  The side trip through Juel adds another beautiful forest and wetland area walk and some nice views of and direct access to the larger Bear Creek.  Powerline remains a traditional utility corridor but adds some vertical to get the blood moving and a few decent territorial views.  Quite a bit of wildlife out this morning - varied thrush, robin, junco, woodpecker, raven, douglas squirrel, a couple hawk of some sort doing loops over the meadows looking for lunch, evidence of recent beaver activity along Bear Creek, etc.  A beautiful, easy walk with lots to see if you are in the area.  

https://www.redmond.gov/288/Farrel-McWhirter-Park

https://www.redmond.gov/facilities/facility/details/Juel-Park-38