First Trillium of Spring!

Perfect Trillium

Lynn & I met at Kathryn Taylor Park - first trailers there.  It was a sunny, perfect morning, after starting out in the low 30's.  We planned to get in some miles & Lynn had a plan!  Once we'd started out, I realized that we were riding our longer loop - only in reverse!  Funny how just a change in direction can make the views fresh & interesting.  My surprise though - was finding blooming Trillium's!  The first few were beat by the heavy rains, but finally my search was rewarded when I found the one above!

Daffodils line the drive~

It was such a gorgeous day that I tried to overlook Farah's antics...  Head tossing, threats to buck - her usual arsenal of ornery behaviors.  The miles rolled by - we headed down the the Sammamish Valley Trail along the slough in Redmond.  We were surprised by the many people out enjoying a real spring day.

Farrel-McWhirter Farm

 Next we rode the long way around Farrel-McWhirter Farm.  All forested trails, we found a couple men surveying at the edge of one, they were unlucky enough to be working near a large patch of skunk cabbage!

 

Lots of water flowing everywhere!

From the park, we connected with the Powerline Trail & started back due east on the straight shot of rolling Big hills that we followed all the way back to Kathryn Taylor.

Powerline Trail looking east at the Cascades

 This gave us the opportunity for some trotting & a couple gallops too!  Sophie as usual set the bar high - with her good, fast working trot, so Farah had to reduce her antics to keep up.   The bikes found that while they excelled on the downhills, two galloping horses would pass them handily on the up!  :-)

As we rode back into the parking area at KTP, there was a woman who had her horses tied to the trailer while she was stripping hair, cutting the mane of a Fiord etc.  There were piles of manure - so it looked like they'd been there a while.  As she started to pull out - I looked over & noticed that all the mess still on the ground!  I had to run - but cut her off & asked her to stop.  She did & unhappily put her window down, as I asked her to pick up her mess.  She said;  "The manure?"  I responded;  "Yes & the hair too!"  Next - she asked me if I was the "horse police?"  I replied;  "No, just a horseman who wanted us all to be able to continue to have these amazing & few places to RIDE!"  UNREAL!  How can someone pull into a pristine parking lot & think that leaving a mess is OK?  

We covered just over 21-miles of urban trails in under five hours.

By day's end - we'd made plans to meet-up with Amanda in Woodinville for an impromptu birthday dinner!  Jack drove over & Butch met us too!  Farah was so surprised when he pulled in next to the trailer :-)  What fun to get-together & good time we had catching up!  The perfect way to end a perfect day of riding!

A Square Round-Trip!

On the top of Redmond Ridge

That Lynn!  We'd planned a ride from Moss Lake to the Tolt, to see how far we could go.  Fog is far from my favorite weather to ride in, I start feeling claustrophobic...   So, since Lynn has told me many times that Redmond Ridge is always free of fog - we decided to go there.  Guess what?  As you can tell from the above photo - it was foggy.  We decided to take the Tolt Pipeline & head down to the Sammamish River Trail, then from there - if time allowed - return by the Powerline Trail.

Our 19-mi. "Square"

On the way out, we enjoyed sightseeing all the beautiful homes, barns, playhouses, etc., that are the norm in this area.  Even so high up on the ridge, once the fog burned off a little, we had cloud cover & the day stayed gray.

Lynn & Sophie head onto the Big Bridge over the roads~

There were a few people out, joggers, dog walkers, but we didn't seen any other riders.  When we dropped down the hill to the trail, I told Lynn that next time we're going to plan lunch at the Redhook Brewery - (The brewery Butch built :-) so Farah & Sophie can use my hitching post & we can eat!  :-)  Instead, we turned south on the trail for a few miles, before the turn that would take us back up the climb.

The Sammamish Slough

We were rewarded by seeing a big Eagle sitting in the Cottonwoods along the river, but otherwise - besides a few friendly people - like us - determined to make the best of a cold, gray day - it was pretty quiet.  Heading back, we had to really pick up the pace, as sunset is around 4:30 & after that it gets dark quick.  We had a lot of roads to cross to get back!

Lynn & Sophie cross Avondale

It's so nice to have to crossing lights!  There were only a couple crossings when we were back into the Trilogy area where we really had to keep a close eye on the cars to be sure the saw us in the fog & rapidly approaching dark.  Once back on trail - we hit a good trot & maintained it all the way back!  Fun!  First time in a while that we've been able to do that kind of trotting - the trails, though wet in places were in pretty good shape!

It was 4:35 p.m. when we returned to the trailers, fog so thick that we could hardly See them!   All in all - we'd ridden on three different trails & through three parks!   Cold, damp & dark - time to head Home! 

A Cold Ride!

Our 15-mi. "Loop"

When Lynn called & asked if I was still up for an adventure - of course I said yes!  She'd ridden this area yesterday & had an idea for one long loop!  By 11 a.m. we were at Kathryn Taylor saddling up & it was cold!  Maybe mid-30's in the sunshine.   We were both dressed in layers, but I started out with my jacket on the back of the saddle.

"Welcome Lake"

When we came to the above lake, the bridge was so covered in ice that we took the road.  Of course there was minimal mud - a real draw - but with the recent Arctic Blast - the trails were frozen solid & very slippery in places.  I really didn't expect it - not after just a couple nights of cold temps - but in the woods, where the sun doesn't reach - there's no thaw until the temperatures warm again.

Ice on the wetland pond~

We headed over to Farrel McWhirter Park, I hadn't been there since one of my very first rides on Farah.  We looped the park - then took a short break in the sunshine.  Hoping for a yet longer ride, we toyed with the idea of dropping down the gas line to the Sammamish Valley Trail, but no faster than we could ride, we knew we'd run out of time.

Spectacular Horse Farm

Passing this incredible equine facility - made us both envious!  Here we were on a beautiful wooded trail - peaking out at any horseman's fantasy farm :-)  We had to ride the road on 116th, but not for far, before we were back on the power line.

Frozen winter berries & snowberries

Even in the sunshine, under the power lines - it was getting colder already!  Moving back into the trails at the Redmond Watershed, we soon saw riders up ahead!  Our friends Beth & Diane!  Seems we run into them at least a few times a year on these trails!  Fun to catch up with them both!   Farah was in last place when the bikes came up on us fast!  Farah let them know instantly that they needed to Back Off & they Did.  We asked that they wait to pass & got all four horses up to a clear spot where they could safely pass.

The last of the bridges we had to cross were so treacherous that we dismounted to cross them.  Arriving back at KTP by 4:30 - the cold was coming through my winter riding pants!  Next time I'll have thermals under them too!