Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Gooseberry Falls State Park, MN
We took a short trip up to Gooseberry Falls while visiting Rik, Karen, and Alex over Christmas. Sara and I braved the icy steps down to the lower falls, while Rik, Karen, and Alex toddled over to the upper falls (where we caught up to them). There was some snow but it was icy! We saw ice climbers who were climbing up the waterfalls. The highlight for Alex was exploring a little cave in the basalt.
Distance: A short mile?
Vertical Gain: 50' of icy steps
Weather: Overcast, low 30s.
Dog Rating: Stuck in Seattle.
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Saturday, December 10, 2005
Lime Kiln Trail, Granite Falls, WA
Bella and I decided to spend a December day exploring this new trail near Granite Falls. The trailhead has a large parking area, but signs warn that the gate is closed at dusk; with sunset at 4:15 these days, we parked outside the gated area. The trail was created by Snohomish County Parks and crosses clear-cut private land for about 1.5 miles before joining an old railroad grade above the South Fork Stillaguamish River. Once on the railroad grade the trail heads upvalley and is pretty flat while wandering through a moss-draped forest. It sure felt like a rainforest and the low light of a December afternoon made it seem even more mysterious and spooky. The trail passes by an old Lime Kiln and many rusted out artifacts from the past railroad/logging history of the area. The trail ends with a loop trail descending to a nice point bar on the Stilly River. This would be a great place to hang out in the summer, and the steam rising off the river was beautiful. Bella and I basically had this trail to ourselves, passing another person walking her dog and a trail runner within the first 15 minutes of the hike and then no one else. Not bad for a snow-free, relatively flat trail about an hour from Seattle! This will be a fun trail to come back to during different parts of the year, and also to explore the area around the Lime Kiln in more depth.
Distance: About 7 miles roundtrip, but goes fast
Vertical Gain: About 400', most within the first 2 miles.
Weather: Sunny, 30s, some ice and a bit of snow on trail in places.
Dog Rating: Woof woof. Nice long walk, lots of good smells!
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