Muddy Dogs!

But happy dogs after hiking in wet, snowy, icy, muddy conditions. I refer to this loop as Jackson Creek which is the road and creek that the first (and last) part runs along.

Left the house around 9 am and my car was the only one parked at the pull-off by the gate when I started out. Drizzly, 45° F. The snow along the beginning of the route is mostly melted and Jackson Creek is running strong.

I walk this route counter-clockwise proceeding up graveled Forest Rd 610. This means climbing the steepest part of the route first for an aerobic challenge as I go up 520 feet in elevation over three-quarters of a mile. Today's walk was complicated by icy snow beginning around 500 feet elevation. At the top, as the route follows the ridge, snow was still surprisingly deep in places.

In spite of the fact that I rarely meet anyone along this route, it's heavily used by horseback riders, mountain bikers, cross-country skiers, and hikers like me. That meant that there was a packed trail through the snow that had iced over. Dogs have traction devices on their feet. I have worn out hiking boots. I'm looking forward to getting those Stabilicers I ordered last night. As I slipped, slid, and cussed, the dogs ran and wrestled in the snow all the way up.

The first part of this loop runs through some fairly recent (<20 year old) clear cuts. Once you gain the top, though, it runs through some very nice forest with big trees. There's only one creek crossing that's on the northwest side of the loop at the bottom of a long hill. This creek just about dries up in summer. It was running hard today, though. Still, we were able to jump it without too much trouble and without getting too wet.

On the back side, the snow disappeared and getting down the hill was much more comfortable than going up. Nice walk for a total of 2.6 miles.