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! 

Bridle Trails to Kathryn Taylor Park - Point-to-Point

Our overland route~

This ride was a collaborative idea between me & Lynn.  I remembered that we used to ride from Woodinville - along the Sammamish River Trail to Marymoor Park.  Then - when Butch was building the Red Hook Brewery, a friend & I rode from there to Bridle Trails State Park & then back to the brewery.   I mentioned those rides to Lynn - she & Jack went down & did some recognizance to see if indeed we could get through the Marymoor area - since horses are no longer allowed.  My new friend Chris, who works for the DOT & is a self-described map person - also checked out the route & gave us a "go"!

Corner of Bridle Trails Park

  It was So Cold when we arrived at Bridle Trails, that we didn't take a before photo!  Instead, we jumped into our cold saddles as fast as we could & were heading through the park by 10 a.m.

Old Signage

In under 2-miles we were crossing the street above & had found across the way - the Bridle Crest Trail.   This started with a steep downhill - with Farah's favorite - sheep - at the bottom!  No worries about rushing or slipping on the down - since we had to stop & look at those sheep every few steps!

We rode the trail past backyards, nice, quiet neighborhoods & we were really enjoying the morning - but the sound of traffic was getting louder, so we both knew that the 520 overpass was coming up!

View from the overpass!

This too had changed!  On my first trip, it was just a pedestrian/equine/bike overpass.  Now, a regular road overpass has been built right next to it.  Instead of seeing off in both directions, you can only see west - there's a concrete wall on the east side.  You can hear the road traffic - but not see it.

Farah & Connie between Sophie's ears!

Google Earth image of the overpass

Once over, we rode for a block or two through a neighborhood, then found this park.  We stopped long enough for the mares to take a few bites - but it was too cold to tally for long!  The ground was frozen in many places, so we were talking it easy.  The mares were in no particular hurry either.

Lynn & Sophie @ Westside Park

Picking up the trail again at the bottom corner of the park - we rode right into a nice wooded gully area that could have been up in the mountains - rather than the city. 

In the woods, we found - a sign!

We knew we were on the right track when we found the sign above & dropped down the hill to cross West Lake Sammamish Parkway NE.

Once at the edge of Marymoor~

Welcome sunshine!  It was about 11:30 when we reached the river trail & things had changed!  Now, the equestrian trail runs along the opposite side of the slew from when I used to ride it!

Beautiful Morning!

You can see the concrete wall up ahead.  The trail isn't finished through that area, so it's narrow with blackberries along both sides & a homeless person living in a tent that's backed up to that wall.  Once through the trail widened again & was beautiful.

Here's where we crossed the slough~

Next, there was a new to me bridge ~

Connie & Farah

The temperatures by now were probably the warmest of the day, (No!  We weren't removing any layers!) there were a few dog walkers, a jogger or two, but we were the only horsemen & certainly got noticed :-)  On the far side - I finally again recognized where we were, from my last ride here with Janelle & Saddle-up in 2011.

Powerline Trail

Now, we were heading up the Powerline Trail!  Back into country more familiar to us & the mares too!  But - that's not to say that we didn't have more busy road crossings!

Almost 1 p.m. - we're ready to cross Avondale Road

Avondale was busy one, but having the crossing lights make it as safe as possible.  We were happy to be across & it wasn't long before we were into Farrel McWhirter!  Time for a welcome potty & lunch break!   Here we could have added in miles to the trip - but since we'd been out in the cold for a while now & Jack was hoping to get home before sundown - we decided to just carry-on & head for our final destination!

We were in the Redmond Watershed when we ran into two other horsemen!  Brandi & John!  I'd not seen Brandi since Renegade - so we had to take a few minutes to catch up!  They were the only other two horsemen we'd seen all day!   We were still on our mission though - both of us even under all our layers - starting to feel the cold!

We've Arrived!  Kathryn Taylor Park~!

It was Wonderful to see Jack parked at Katheryn Taylor waiting to take us home!  We felt like we'd really squeaked this ride in.  December - the cold snap - holidays, etc., it was still so darn wonderful to spend a sunshine day in the saddle!   My GPS recorded the trip at 15-miles & we took just over four hours.