Cool, cloudy, so a good day to do my due diligence. I drove to Haller Park in Arlington, to ride the north end of the Centennial Trail. I was so mad to see the tagging on the Trestle... All these years, such a beautiful bridge & fools have to deface it. Crazy how much time & effort it costs our hardworking Rangers to clean up after these idiots...
Haller Trestle heading north~
I walked Farah across, there were people playing in the river on both sides & underneath - I saw no point in risking a spook - since she was in one of her moods.
Looking west, Highway 9 crossing the Stillaquamish~
The views from the Trestle are so pretty - any time of year. The flow of the river is down, but not as low as last year.
Looking east at 530 crossing the Stilly~
Farah was acting foolish & I get so tired of it. When she's looking for things to shy at - it's far from relaxing. The sides of the trail were freshly mowed, which made for perfect footing!
Picnic table gone?
I'll have to ask why both the picnic tables are gone from this nice little area. I was disappointed here too, trash lying about. Though it doesn't look it at this point, there's a lot of branches down, some shrubs that could be cut back & some pick up work done. Since tp paper littered the ground - I'd be wearing gloves :-(
What happens to BAD horses!
After Farah refused & threatened to spin at a rock - yes - a rock that she's passed twenty times before... I got off & had her butt moving in a circle so fast that my head was spinning - all the while smacking her with my stick on her rump. As we saw the gate above - I explained that it could happen to her! : -)
Ready to cross Hwy 9
By the time we got up here, she had finally settled down. Even riding defensively - we were making really good time & both of us had a layer of sweat from the humidity.
Over Pilchuck Creek~
Here too, people have found a way to access the creek & were down in the water enjoying the warm, if cloudy afternoon. A few people were out on bikes, most very pleasant - but one guy who thought he had the right-of-way on the bridge. He soon found out that a horse can take up pretty much all of the width if they have a mind to!
Horse path mowed too!
We saw a pile of bear scat in the center of the trail! So, either the bears up at Victoria do come down this far, or there's more in the area near the creek.
At the Barn~
All the beautiful native plants that were put in as part of the landscaping are being overrun by invasive weeds. The little strawberries are working to cover the ground ahead of them! Most of the trees & shrubs are doing fine & we watched Red-winged black birds flying in & out of the cattails.
From the unimproved to the trail~
I rode up the unimproved part of the trail & we stopped for our lunch break. There was plenty of tall grass for Farah to graze on. I thought about riding up to Hwy 9, but it was pretty overgrown. Butch was picking Ben up on his way home from work - so I wanted to get back at a decent time.
Butch has taken on the task of painting new mileage markers on the paved portion of the trail. The design of the stencil is our trail logo - the mileage numbers will be in the center. It's much larger than we'd envisioned - soon we'll be out one evening getting mile #1 positioned & painted. Before that though - the mileage points have to be marked.
Looking south from the barn~
We checked out the barn before we left, just a few cars were in the parking lot.
New sign~
I like the new little sign as you head down the trail - cute & so true! I didn't see one single piece of trash in the area - with trash receptacles provided - there's no excuse.
Coming back to Pilchuck Creek~
The day hadn't gotten any brighter - pretty quiet on the trail for a Friday afternoon. We were moving out about 9-10mph most of the way - so it didn't take long.
Ramp at the Quarry ~
The ramp that is almost between Farah's ears, will be the access from the new parking area to the Whitehorse Trail once it's completed. That will be such a boon to horsemen - since it will have trailer parking spots.
From the Whitehorse Trail~
I rode a way down the Whitehorse from the Arch to see how things were progressing from this angle. It's looking promising!
I thought I'd filmed all the way across - but I goofed up. We were almost across by the time I realized it & turned the camera back on. It still gives you a glimpse of what it's like. I'll have to do another next time.
Google Earth view~
I couldn't resist seeing what our crossing looked like on Google Earth :-) I guess we can walk on water!
Farah enjoys the pasture~
We covered almost 16-miles round-trip. Once home, Farah got a bath & we both got soaked :-) I turned her out & stood there admiring our girl. I'd thought about going to Renegade - it's been a few years - but our weekend is full-up! Hard to believe that the Fourth is almost here!
It was another quite morning at the Glass School parking. I'd debated between here & the Morgan Horse Club, but don't have enough of a route memorized at MHC - yet for a good loop. I wanted to move out & take the southern loop.
Skunk Cabbage
The skunk cabbage is opening it's stinky blooms :-) Still - it's nice to see the spots of bright yellow & lime green.
New tree down~
Just since Linda & I had been here last Fri., this tree had come down with the latest round of winds. I cut a couple branches & we hopped over.
Going around~
We didn't go up to the monument today - Farah wanted to make the turn, but we continued on. I told her we'd have lunch at the bottom of the hill. When we came to the second turn that would have taken us up - she asked again :-) "Have you forgotten the way Mom?"
Another tree~
I pulled my saw out again & cut a couple branches, making it real easy to go over :-) We met two hikers, we all discussed when the sun was supposed to appear?
The Sun! We were heading down, when it finally came out!
We'd been doing a lot of trotting, Farah was feeling really good & we did a little of downhill trotting too. At least with all the rain, the roads are softer than at any other time of year.
We'd had our lunch & the clouds came back~
Once on the old Scott Mainline - we trot & gallop. After receiving my PNER Handbook in the mail & leafing through the ride flyers - I doubt we'll make more than one or two endurance rides. The majority are in central, OR, or even further south. That's easily a 7-8 hour haul south for us - through the center of Seattle's notorious traffic. Four rides in WA & even those are a 6-7 hour haul. One of my favorites, Bare Bones - which is only about 3 hours away (traffic gods willing) - isn't on the calendar this year.
Old Growth Cedar Stump~
When we came up on this scene - I had to stop & look... I always admire the huge old-growth stumps, they are a reminder of what Washington Forests looked like before logging destroyed them. Now - someone is starting to cut into several that I saw. I have to hope that this amazing ancient wood isn't going to be burnt as kindling.
Still showing the old marks of the buckboards~
Things change, I know - but this is another change that I don't like at all. I suppose if the wood was going to an artist - to make something that would be beautiful, it might make it easier...
We were bad - I wanted to see just how long the little trail is that connects the Scott Mainline with what Linda & I used to call our Running Hill. It was a logging road, now more of a trail - but the road base still there.
A new name sign!
The length that this trail would be used to connect a very nice winter loop? 2/10ths of a mile. Guess I need to ask about this?
Blocked!
Not far up the trail - these trees did a great job of blocking our way! Even Farah realized that we'd been foiled :-)
Nakashima Barn~
We turned back. That gave us another three-miles of trotting & galloping. We made the turn back up to the water station & stopped for a short break.
Farah finding every bit of the green grass!
We started up the climb & we booked! I'm using the heart monitor again & I was impressed with her stats. I always worry that we're not in that ready-for-anything mode - but I think we're fine :-)
Logging!
We'd had a great ride, came trotting down the last section of road heading back to the parking area, when we heard the ripping, tearing sound of active logging. The claw was picking up the big, cut cedars - lifting them into the air, then stacking them. It was impressive, loud & got my heart rate up! We didn't get much closer, the operator hadn't seen us - when I decided to dismount. About then, he whirled the claw in our direction! Farah went around me as fast & as far as my reins would allow. Then she stopped & huffed! Finally the operator saw us & thankfully - shut down! I let him know how much I appreciated that!
Our route~
We were almost to the glass school road, when we heard the sound of yet more equipment!
PUD at work!
These guys saw us too, shutting everything off, the wood chipper was behind the first truck. I thanked them - they said they were tired of wind storms & I'm sure that's a Fact! Back at the parking - we were still the only rig there. A long ride, a good ride & our speed is going up! Funny though - how a good run with me urging the gold girl on, doesn't seem to be as much fun for her a running away with me! :-)
I got lucky! A second day of weather in the 50's & the rain holding off for one more day! When that sun came up over the mountains, I hustled & loaded Farah up. Going to out to Victoria, the clouds started moving in - but it was 52 at the bank in Arlington! Unreal for December!
No one there - usually the case, so we took off at a good trot & had only gone just over a mile when Farah hit the brakes! There was a horse & rider coming right at us! Linda & Count! Both Farah & I were thrilled! We'd hoped to ride with another friend, but that didn't pan out. I knew Linda was back in the saddle, she'd sent me a text yesterday with a between the ears shot. I didn't expect that she'd want to ride again today - but she surprised me! My good friend & riding buddy is back in the saddle again!
Linda & Count
Since fresh logging has closed one of the access trails that Linda uses to ride out from her place, she'd had to ride the longer way & I was amazed we'd manged to meet-up before I made the turn for the climb to the Monument. So - what would have been a long - somewhat lonely ride - turned out to be a lot more fun. At the Monument - we had our snack, then Linda headed for home, it had been almost two months since she'd had Count out & he wasn't up for the distance I'd hoped to get in today.
Amazing shrub covered with bright red berries
I left toward the deep, dark woods - Linda dropped down the other side. Farah didn't realize that they weren't following us for a short way :-) When she did - she stopped short & looked back over her shoulder - the "Where the heck ARE they look." :-) As we went on, she gave a big grunt - but didn't argue the point.
Looking down at the Nakashima Barn
As we headed down to the lower roads, I could see where we were last Wed. :-) We managed over 2,000 ft. of elevation gain on this ride, nothing like the ease of a nice flat multi-use trail. On the way back up - Farah wanted to gallop, so I let her & by the top she was soaked. It was so darn warm, that both of us worked up a sweat.
Lower wetland
It was a strange, eerie day - barometric pressure dropping. The clouds thickened, it was getting dark fast. We arrived back at the trailer just as the rain started!
Nakashima Barn & Trail Head on the Centennial Trail~
We've now had frozen snow on the ground since it fell the day after Thanksgiving! One of the longest times I can remember for so early in the season. Challenging - that's what this kind of weather makes riding... I was mulling over where I could possibly get in a ride today where I could stay dry, wouldn't take too long & yet would get us out. With the weatherman promising a warmer day - at least by a degree or two, I decided on the trail.
Heading south~
My plan was to ride the opposite direction from what I usually do - to confuse Farah enough that maybe she would forget her usual antics when we do an out/back ride. Since we have all the snow here at home - I was hoping that the snow on along the trail would be melted. Not...
Snow, snow, snow...
The ground was still covered most of the way & Farah's shoes instantly packed with it. Every so often I'd move her over onto the paving & we'd trot to knock the frozen balls out.
What's this? :-)
We were the only ones on the trail today - Farah's hind end kept slipping out from under us - but she figured out how to adjust her stride. A couple of times, she moved into a trot on her own, controlled - but it was fun to see that snow fly!
Almost to the bridge~
The places where the sun shines through were so pretty! The sun is so far to the south that the shadows stay long all day. Two hawks were flying overhead & lots of small finches were out too.
Frost & Pilchuck creek~
Pilchuck Creek is so beautiful, we stopped at our favorite spot on the way back for a snack. Plenty of grass for Farah to enjoy too - since it's in the sun for part of our short days.
The bridge~
I was surprised that the snow on the bridge hadn't completely melted off & it was actually a little slippery - even with the texture on the surface.
Ice, snow, frost~
If the day got above 40 - I'd be surprised. All the standing water & wetlands on both sides of the trail were frozen solid. I got off a couple times & walked to warm-up. We were passed by one bicycle rider on our way back. Farah instantly started curling her neck & bouncing around - not what I wanted with that footing! So - I turned her the opposite direction! She complied, the antics would stop, so I'd turn back. I had to do this three times, but each time it worked! My girl is no fool.
Almost back to the Barn~
There were several County workers unloading lots of trees to be planted in the old pastures. I asked if they could actually get any holes dug & they replied; "NO!" :-)
Farah watches the crew unloading trees~
We rode out the unimproved section of the trail - thinking that maybe we could do some trotting - but it was rock hard & just as slippery, so we turned back & called it a day. The sun was already setting & it was getting colder!
Coming home, I felt the Bronco slip a couple times on black ice in the shade of the trees - no fun. With days of rain on the way - the footing will really get bad once things start to thaw... Was great to be out there - as I told Farah - enjoying the early December day!
One of the few remaining trails through the bigger second growth trees~
I'd gotten the idea when I realized how close we come to the Centennial Trail from the old Scott Main Line road at the bottom of my loop. Today - I met Jack & Lynn at Haller Park, we loaded Farah into Lynn's trailer & left mine there. Jack drove us on up to the glass school parking lot, where we mounted up & hit the trail. We started my loop in reverse, getting in some miles on the tree farm, before heading on down to Hwy 9.
The hole that tripped Jesse!
Today I was determined to fill in the above hole! It was deeper than it looks - no wonder he couldn't keep his feet! It took about seven rocks to fill it, I stomped them down & hope it holds.
Hwy 9
It was a tight squeeze around the gate - once out to the highway - it was about 100 ft. to the current northern end of the trail. I'd dismounted to see how to get around the gate & once Lynn was around, I started jogging pretty fast down that nasty section of road - next to the guard rail, with Sophie trotting along behind us! We just got off when a Big truck went whizzing by! Nothing I'd recommend - but for this one time, it accomplished our mission.
North end of the improved trail~
We rode the mile + of trail that is unimproved & so pretty! It had been mowed, but the grasses were higher than our mare's heads - giving them ample opportunity to grab mouthful's as we went. Bad footing was on our minds, along with mole holes, so we did a lot of walking & kept our trotting speed down. With all the rain - the horse path was slippery too.
New bright signage made from recycled street signs!
Originally thinking that we'd do the ride in about 3+ hours, we called Jack to tell him that we were running behind. There were a few bikes on the trail, but we were the only equestrians. There was a Bear warning sign posted just before the bridge over Pilchuck creek.
Bridge over Pilchuck Creek~
From what was really a cold feeling morning - even at noon, the day finally cleared & warmed! We were removing our jackets in short order. The closer we came to Arlington, the more people were out enjoying the trail. Now that the kids are out of school, it was nice to see families out enjoying such a nice day.
Haller Trestle
Our final bridge was the Big one! The Haller Trestle! Lots of people were down on the banks of the river, enjoying the water - even as cold as I'm sure it still is! Both mares had figured out that we were on a point-to-point & I'm sure Farah knew that her trailer was up ahead! :-)
Our Trailers wait~!
We could see our trailers from the bridge! Mine still there & Jack waiting for Lynn. We'd gone just over 17-miles. Eight on the tree farm & the rest on the trail! Fun to know that we'd Done it! :-) Now - if I can just keep others from trying to steal one of my favorite riding partners! :-)
