There’s nothing like a hike on a foggy day to cure cabin fever.

Starting from the Bowl and Pitcher parking lot, the paved trail down to the swinging bridge was very icy. We have had several freeze thaw cycles since the last snow, which means that all the snow that has been walked on has melted a little and refrozen, leaving lumpy slippery terrain.  The bridge itself was not icy, but the crib steps on the other side were full of frozen puddles.

Once across the bridge, the trail is most challenging near the trailhead. As I hiked farther, fewer footprints accompanied me, and the snow was softer and less used. It was also less slippery. About a half mile downstream from the parking lot, there was a sizable tree across the trail. I easily hiked around it, and continued on my way.  After a few miles,  I turned on trail 10 which is not correctly marked. Some day, someone needs to turn the sign so the arrows point the right way. There were only two sets of prints heading steeply up the hill on trail 10 which connected me to the upper side of the trail 25 loop. I turned upstream to connect with trail 210 and return to the swinging bridge.  I chose to hike through the larch grove which isn’t as steep as staying on trail 25. At the bottom of the hill, near the mile 3 marker, another sizeable tree had fallen across the trail.

My total loop was about 6 miles.  I was glad to have my microspikes the entire way. I saw a couple of guys on snow bikes and maybe half a dozen hikers total. It was a nice quiet day in the woods when I wasn’t too close to the rifle range across the river. They were shooting up a storm today.

Did a casual trail walk along the river, which included the Bowl & Pitcher area and eventually connected with the Centennial Trail.

It just snowed, so it covered everything, but was no challenge to walk on.

After hiking in the snow on the mountain yesterday, my dog and I headed for lower elevations and clear trails.  We parked at Bowl and Pitcher, braving the swinging bridge across the river to the myriad trails on the other side.  I don’t mind the bridge at all, but Shadow doesn’t like walking on things that move under her feet.  After many visits, she no longer needs coaxing the cross the bridge, but she still cowers all the way across.

We turned left, or south on trail 25 today, rambling along the river, admiring the chutzpah of three kayakers out for a December paddle.  The trail was rocky or damp, but not so wet as to be walking in puddles. We passed the horse corrals and the camp, then crossed the Centennial Trail before climbing the bluff in stages. Some day I will explore the old railroad grade which was a brief piece of this hike.  We continued up and down hills and through the larch grove which was carpeted with faded gold needles. 

December days are short, so we turned toward the river on Trail 10 which connects with Trail 25 by the river to form a complete loop. From the parking lot, our total hike was just under 9 miles. We missed the rain, but the air was damp rather than crisp. I saw the same bike rider twice, and maybe a half dozen other hikers once I was past the bridge. For a location so close to town, there was abundant solitude today.

Stopped on the way to Idaho for a quick run along the river. The balsamroot is at peak cheerfulness, the lupine is coming on, and the river is HUGE. Lots of folks out enjoying the park camping, hiking, biking, running. Met many dogs, all well behaved and leashed. 

Followed trail 25 north abput two miles. It's in great shape *except* for one section where a scree slope has washed the trail down into the river for a 25 ft stretch just shy of 2 miles north of the bridge at Bowl & Pitcher (and before the intersection with the Centennial trail). I picked my way through, but folks with kids may want to opt for the high road on this little section. Was in a hurry, so I forgot to snap a photo. (Coming from the south, it's where the trail descends steeply right after the bench.)

Was such a nice outing, I wsh I had had another hour or two to keep rambling on.