Whiskey Still Trail, Holder Knob, Mountain Beaver Trail, Boot Trail & Elk Ridge Trail — Thursday, Jun. 13, 2024

Horses
This is a very popular horse riding area. I feel like I'm sharing their trails. I try to be safe as they pass. Then there's poop. Horses are allowed on all of the trails. There's plenty of poop on the trail. Keep your eye on the trail to avoid it.
Road & TH
We used the SR 18 TH right off 276th Ave. There's a short gravel road to the gravel parking for cars. There's a separate parking area for horse trailers. It's all well maintained. Should be fine for most cars. We arrived at 7:45am on a Thursday morning. 1 car and 2 trucks with trailers were there. We returned at 2:15. The trucks and trailers were still there. We were the only car. The TH outhouse was locked before 8am, open in the afternoon. But there's a sanican in the trailer lot that was open early. Both are well stocked and cleaned.
The trails
Our route was a loop starting on Road A, Whiskey Still, Boot, Mountain Beaver trails. There we found Carey Creek is still closed due to washout. Back up Mountain Beaver, east on Boot to Road A to Road G. On Road G there's a kind of deep drainage ditch with a shallow small creek. Getting down the bank and up the other side is doable with care. Then up Elk Ridge. There's a spring crossing the trail about halfway up. It's easy to cross. Then the Shadow trail to Road A, Road K, Road I, Holder Knob to Road A and back to the TH. The south leg of Holder Knob is a bit overgrown including thistle and stinging nettle. Stinging nettle is generally plentiful on all of the trails. Most of the trails are in good shape with good footing. We covered about 10.3 miles and 1120 gain. Saw 4 hikers, 5 horses and riders and three dogs. Everyone was friendly. Lots of banana slugs. One was 6 inches long! Lots of flowers, sometimes in huge beautiful banks together. Buttercup, Herb Robert and Candy flower/ miner's lettuce. Also saw lush scour rush and pink and white Fox Glove.