Little Mountain Park - Bonnie and Clyde Loop — Thursday, Jun. 18, 2015

Puget Sound and Islands > Bellingham Area

Today called for a hike that was close enough to do before work. I arrived at Little Mountain just before the gate was unlocked at 10:00, so I parked below the gate, leashed up the dog and hit the newest trail, which is located on the right side of the road and is marked with fresh gravel and a couple of traffic cones. Heading south, aka UP, I came to the trail called Up Quick. This is near the gate, a trailhead kiosk and some recent trail improvements by the great volunteers of Mount Vernon Trail Builders. This trail is almost straight up for about 2/10 of a mile. I then took the Huff n Puff to Sidewinder and made my way to the top. Sidewinder has obviously been recently cleared and brushed. It looks good! There at the top I visited both viewpoints and chatted with a man from Snohomish County who was doing testing for radio interference. From the top, one can see Mount Baker and the San Juan Islands. From the south viewpoint, the Sound, The Olympics, Skagit Valley farm fields and much more is visible. I headed down Sidewinder briefly them DOWN Fred's trail. In the past, I've only been UP this very steep trail. Bad decision to go down Fred's trail. Even though it's short, it's very steep, like unsafely steep! Due to the slippery, eroded trail and lack of trekking poles, I ended up letting my big dog (who was slipping and sliding himself) go down ahead of me so we didn't kill each other and I slid down on my butt while he watched and occasionally ran up and back down. Once down to a relatively flat area, where multiple trails converge, we took a break, I dusted myself off and Ruger had some water. From this junction, we took Bonnie & Clyde trail to the hair pin turn on the road, walked the road briefly, picked up the Laz E Boy trail all the way back to the gate, the. Walked the road to the car. The trails are in great shape. No water available on these trails. Lots of people out hiking today. Some trails are multi-use and others are for hikers only. I generally don't get sore, but the two steep trails did a number on my knees for the rest of the day! Thank goodness for ibuprofen! 5.12 miles in 2+ hours