Went on an early afternoon hike with my dog.
First of all, the area requires a Discover Pass. I didn’t know until I was there and since it was an hour drive I figured I could risk a ticket. My GPS actually took me past the entrance indicated in the driving directions on this site. There were several unmarked trail heads further on but I didn’t want to get lost so I turned around and went back to the entrance.
As I was getting my dog out of the car, a lady in a sedan stopped and informed me that there are several traps with meat hidden in them on several places out on the trail and to be careful(she was planning on reporting it to the park ranger). I was a little freaked out but I since wasn’t planning on letting my dog off-leash I wasn’t too concerned. The logging gates were closed so I had to duck underneath but it the roads were well maintained and I only saw one other person.
We ducked off the main road when the road turned and started to incline. Again, nothing was marked but it was obviously a well used trail. It was pretty muddy, I was glad I wore my tall hiking boots. Then came the weirdness.
We came upon this blue car that was riddled with rusty bullet holes, doors wide open, being reclaimed by nature. It had obviously been there a few years so I overcame my instinctive “nope!” And continued on. We reached a large pond that I can tell will be a mosquito nest in the summer and yet another blue vehicle- this time a Jeep. No bullet holes but it was more decomposed than the first car. A little past that there was a bit of glass on the ground but my dog was able to avoid it.
Keep going past the pond and it turned into a rushing stream. It was very pleasant to listen to. Further on the trail crosses the stream and you have two options to cross. Option one: several trees if you’re nimble enough to navigate your way across. Option two: a downed tree across the stream. I took option one on the way out.
Once we got across, the trail follows the creek until it turns away and finishes on the side of some random road (it was rather unexpected and weird as hell). At that point, we took a break and had a snack and some water before heading back.
2 hours, 4.5 miles - it was a good trip. My dog slept all the way home.
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