The Middle Fork Road is as muddy and pothole-ridden as ever. The last few miles have about a foot of wet snow but the tire ruts go all the way to bare gravel.
For a brief blissful moment I had the parking lot all to myself but as usual, another party arrived at the trailhead within a minute of me getting there. Somehow I've shared trailhead parking lots with at least one other group on evey single hike I've done in the past couple of years. I've got to own the record by now. I hike alone. I like solitude. I allows me to think. It's also nice to be able to change into and out of hiking clothes in the parking lot without putting on a free show. I let this group go on ahead of me so I could take my time.
The trail was completely covered in a few inches of wet snow. It made walking a slippery affair. I ducked off trail down to the river a few times to get some photographs. The conditions weren't favorible for anything except a breath of fresh air. The river was the best part I guess. Running cold and clear. The forest here is uninspiring. It's a long way to any lakes and they are currently under a blanket of snow. Still, nice to be outdoors.
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