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| Don't walk in these woods, they spread sludge here |
A long drive did not sound fun and I got off to a very late start due to insomnia. A hike close to home was in the works. So much rain, no point in rushing off to the mountains if I can find solitude closer to home.
I had planned an 8 mile hike but my hiked turned out to be 11 miles. My planned route back was blocked by a gate that said no trespassing city of Shelton biosolids area. YUCK.
I don’t really want parasitic worms or e-coli, so I obeyed that sign. I could have turned back but I was in the mood for a loop hike.
I kept going and going and going down a paved road until I found a legal looking way back into the woods. A dog started barking as I passed a house so we dove into the wet bushes.
A large animal was in the bushes with us, the dog would not stop barking. Would the police be called? No worries, no one would be foolish enough to follow me back into the brush. We tried to brush crash to the same lake as before and with the same luck. The way to the lake is just too brushy.
We hiked on motorcycle trails, paved roads, abandoned train tracks, over my head brush and logging roads. We also had to climb into and out of a ravine while taking a brush crashing short cut from one road to another.
We ended up exploring a bunch of dead end roads in our quest to find the way back. We stopped for coffee and dog snacks about a mile before the end of our hike. I noticed that is was getting dark, so I drank my coffee as I walked.
A nice long hike with plenty of solitude once I got off the freeway.
This was another very soggy hike. I am so glad that I have great rain gear.
My feet stayed dry as usual in my gortex boots with my rain pants on. My feet always stay dry in my high quality La Sprortiva brand boots. Don't believe the gortex footwear naysayers.
11.5 miles with 300 feet elevation gain
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| Abandoned Tracks |
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| Discovered a new waterfall |
