Staircase Rapids — Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024

The gravel road back to Lake Cushman can be terrible, but not this time.  There were potholes, but nothing too deep and easily avoided.  The trail is snow free.  We took the Four Stream trail and turned around about a half mile in when we encountered a large rock to climb up and over that some members of our party were reluctant to do on this rain/wet day.  After crossing the suspension bridge we went left/upstream for a couple of miles enjoying the trees, mosses, and the river until we ran into a creek crossing that was fast and deep enough that most members of our party didn't want to cross.  There were a few muddy sections along the flatter parts of the trail, and between the suspension bridge and the trailhead on the way back in (going clockwise) there was a short stretch where water was running over the trail, but it wasn't very deep.  The most problematic aspect of the day came when we ran into 3 large dogs, running, barking, and off-leash.  I don't usually comment/correct, but I did on this day as we were in a national park (they had passed two signs about "no pets allowed") and the dogs approached us in such a way that one member of our party was frightened.  The owners didn't get defensive, but made annoying excuses for their behavior:  they didn't know dogs weren't allowed, they had seen several other dogs that day (we had seen none), and they put their dogs on leash when they see other people.  We didn't let it ruin our lovely day full of lush greens and the beautiful colors in the river, and we  had just enough rain mixed with sunshine to remind us how fortunate we are to live in this amazing place.