So I intended to use the Deception Crags trail to get to the Iron Horse and strike off from there, but at 7am the parking area for the crags was packed. They were mostly climbers, but rather than add to the crowds I drove a little farther and hopped on old logging roads.
I saw exactly zero other people as I wandered through the forest. Lots of evidence of logging besides the existence of the roads The roads themselves were mostly overgrown and felt a lot like trails. I guess being abandoned for so long works out.
We found snow, which was great in the morning's heat, but presented us with a quandary. Walk on the snow and posthole occasionally or deal with the brush that was bent down by the snow and blocking the road/trail. We did both and neither was better than the other.
It wasn't what I had planned for the day, but it was a great way to get out and not add to the crowding problems at popular destinations. (On the way home, I saw huge numbers of cars at at every trailhead I passed. The Homestead Trailhead (access to Mount Washington) and the Twin Falls trailhead were particularly bad. People were parking more than a mile from the actual trailhead.)
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