Northern State Recreation Area aka Northern State Mental Hospital

Another relatively easy hike with some potential bad weather that didn't show itself until just after we were settled for our post-hike lunch. Northern State Recretion Area used to be a State Hospital. Some of the buildings are still there, some are still intact and being used by other organizations and some are in serious disrepair with falling walls and roofs.




We ended up walking mainly amongst the buildings because the trail around the more forested area was mostly under water. In 2 hours, we wandered around approximately 2 miles with lots of stops to look at the surroundings.




There is also a disc golf course there and some people were out playing. I think it would be more fun without so much water. Also seems like a great place for some flat running.

Afterwards we headed to Sedro-Woolley for some lunch. Just after we ordered, a hard rain started falling. Great timing!

Squires Lake Trail

Went for a walk with some friends today. It was described as a level hike, which should have been described as a decent climb to the flat section. It was a short hike (approx 2 miles) and we were each of different fitness levels. One other person and I took an upper loop  with a bit more climbing, but then we met up with the rest of the group and a half mile in.

So, aside from my weekly spinning, this begins my official training for the TRT.

Stebbins Cold Creek Canyon

Ah those stairs! Love them. The trail starts off Highway 128 where the parking is pretty limited. It's a pretty gentle hike for the first mile or so and then... the stairs. But, once up the stairs, it's a more gradual ascent. There's a nice place to stop for a rest where three trails intersect. We went right, up the spine. It's a pretty steep climb but the trail is well maintained. Any time you want to stop for a rest, there's a beautiful view any way you look. Lake Berryessa is the most obvious scenery that you'll see. Once you make your way over the spine, it's down down down via several switchbacks. It's also where you'll run into more people coming up the opposite direction.

Once you get down, the traffic will probably be worse so be careful walking along the road to your car. Then head down for a bite and/or drink in Winters. Lots of cute places to check out.

Stebbins Cold Canyon - Hiking

We got up early to be at Stebbins by 7:30am to beat the heat and the crowd. We succeeded at both! We had most of the front side to ourselves, which made climbing the stairs a little easier. Then we encountered a few more people on the backside. The trail is well-marked and very easy to follow. It was also very dry and, as usual, lots of rock hopping. We decreased the amount of time it took us to complete the loop by nearly an hour. Neither of us believed the time on my phone was accurate when we finished. lol

I took my hiking poles and wore my Asolo boots to see if my knees would be in better shape for the descent. Nope! Maybe the boots are too heavy or perhaps it was because I haven't worn them hiking in awhile as I've opted for lighter weight most of the time. The scar I have on my foot was protected by mole skin but I also thinking the more solid boot helped with that. It's all about finding the balance. Speaking of balance, I think yoga has helped me with the rock hopping a lot. But now I need a little more strength to protect my knees.

Here's the route:

Stebbins Cold Canyon - Hiking

Distance - 4.75 miles

Time - 4 hours

Trails - Homestead and Blue Ridge Trail

We decided to go with one of our Meetup groups to Stebbins Cold Canyon to finally check it out. It's one of those hikes that's near by but unless you know where to park, it's difficult to find. Now it seems so easy to find! lol We met up with the group in Davis at 9:00am and were on the trail by 9:30am. We started with eight but one person had to turn around when it started getting a little too difficult and two people ran on ahead at a faster speed than the bulk of us wanted to travel. It took us about 4 hours with our stops and taking a casual pace.

Here is the description listed on the Meetup:

Here is a brief description:

http://redtailtrails.com/trails/stebbins-cold-canyon-reserve-lake-berryessa 

Stebbins Cold Canyon Trail - The full hike is a 4.75 mile loop hike up Cold Canyon and then to the Blue Ridge with spectacular views of Lake Berryessa and the surrounding area. Lots of steps and rocks. A great workout!

Length/Degree of Difficulty:

•Loop trail - 4.75 miles, strenuous, elevation gain of 1500 feet 

•Trail Condition: maintained, traihead well marked but otherwise unmarked, trailbed obvious, footing rough along ridge.

What I didn't attend closely enough to was the word "strenuous!" lol I'm not sure we would have gone had we noticed that so it was good we hadn't. The hike ended up being beautiful! There were definitely a lot of steps  to climb and rocks to shinny over but the view of Lake Berryessa and the rest of the valley below was just incredible. The sky and lake were both so blue... different shades.

We stopped quite a bit to catch our breath for photos and to take in the views. The air temp changed periodically so that it would be so hot and then we'd walk through a cool spot. At the top we even got a little chilled. That kept things pretty comfortable overall.

As usual, coming down was such a relief at first. Then that started getting painful too. Tired legs definitely make the downhill more difficult. And Bozo with her bolted together knee was enjoying this part less than any of us. Thankfully it was pretty quick and we got back to the cars. I would definitely recommend going the direction that we did. I'd rather climb up the stairs and up the bulk of the rocks going up than going down. The Blue Ridge side also seemed a little more exposed so I imagine it being very hot climbing that side.

Afterwards we headed to Winters for some beer (Bozo, Arlene, & May), a Coke (Daphne), and an iced coffee (me) along with sandwiches and wraps at Steady Eddy's Coffee House. Very good reviews on the sandwiches and the drinks.

Definitely a great hike to be done again and again... now that we know where the trailhead is!

Sly Park Recreation Area - Day 2

Bozo got up around 6am to go down to the lake to reflect on her past year and to think about her next year. I stayed in bed! lol She came back to the tent and we ended up sleeping until about 9am. We got the fire started and began thinking about breakfast. Rachel and Natacha showed up around 9:30am and started getting set up in Site 64.

LJ showed up about an hour later. After settling in a little we had to figure out how to spend our one full day there. It seemed a little cold to be in the water so we decided to hike to the waterfall. Rachel stayed behind to get some work done. Boo! I know that feeling!

Trail Map for Sly Park Recreation Area

The hike was about 2.4 miles roundtrip and was beautiful. We were on the lake much of the time and then along a river that ended/began at the waterfall. There were a lot of people playing in the water and sunning near the waterfall. We put our feet in the water and it was VERY COLD! No thanks! lol It did feel good on my feet but no interested in submerging. Bozo, Natacha, and LJ walked across the river and climbed up to the waterfall. I tried to watch them but couldn't see through the trees. It looked a little dangerous from what I could see so I'm probably glad I didn't see them!

Sly Park Recreation Area Waterfall

We were a little hungry on the way back. We'd eaten a container of almonds among the four of us so that wasn't enough food. What were we thinking? We did have plenty of water so that's a good thing! Passing by one of the campsites, we saw a boy, maybe 9-years-old, who captured a gosling in a fishing net. The mother goose hissed at him and went after him and he finally let it go. But he was laughing and the woman he was in front of didn't do anything about it. LJ and Bozo talked to a ranger who happened to walking past so he went over to the campsite to speak with the boy. It's very hard to see young people doing things like that without anyone correcting them. In general, it's hard to understand people who don't value wildlife. I could go on and on but I won't.

Back at camp I think Rachel was getting a little concerned about the amount of time we were gone. We sat for a little while and then started getting things ready for dinner. Bozo had prepared chicken with vegetables and then just plain vegetables to be heated in the fire. Rachel and Natacha have a solar cooker and had been making a lentil dish all day. LJ brought meatballs and watermelon. So we had a meal with lots of variety. Natacha had also made a spreadable cheese out of cashews with no dairy. I love that stuff!

After dinner we had a cheesecake also made from cashews with no dairy. SO GOOD! They'd brought some candles for Bozo's birthday too so we got to sing Happy Birthday and then eat way too much dessert. As it started to get dark, we played a word game in which each of us would write down 5 words or phrases on 5 different pieces of paper. Then we each take a turn trying to get our team to say the word. The second round is the same words but you can only say one word to get your team to say the word. Then you can only act it out. It was actually a very fun game... made more so by our choices of words and very silly descriptions and acting.

Once it was dark, it was time to settle in around the fire and chat. The loud group above us was eerily quiet! I think perhaps others had also complained about them and assume they were warned that they would be kicked out if another complaint came in. OR... the previous night was fueled by alcohol and they were using it tonight. Either way, it was the kind of environment I prefer for camping.... QUIET!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOZO!

Myre Big Island State Park

Another camping excursion! We had planned to leave Friday right after work but the weather did not look like it was going to cooperate. So we stay warm and dry in our house and decided to take off on Saturday morning. This morning came and it wasn't clear whether the weather was going to cooperate at all. So Lorrie decided to clean the carpets before we left! That way they would have time to dry while we were gone. Smart woman! While she did that, I got everything ready to go. Good timing and we were out the door by about 1:00pm. A little later than intended but the weather was finally getting sunny if slightly cool.

I have a co-worker who is leaving next week and I needed to pick up a perennial for our gift. So we stopped and did that on our way out of Northfield. Which meant we needed to go back home and drop it off. So a little starting and stopping happening. But again, on the road! I have to say, the dogs, who do have human responses, were quite confused when we pulled up at the house with our car never having been unpacked! lol

We chose Myre Big Island State Park, which used to be Helmer Myre State Park when I lived down that way, because it is close to Albert Lea and we could see my mother on Mother's Day. We got there and drove around to the two different campgrounds. Big Island seemed very crowded, especially compared to the past month when we've basically been the only tents around. There were a lot of RVs in the first part and tents in the back area. But too crowded. So we went back toward the entrance to White Fox Campground to check that out. It was much less crowded and there were only RVs on one side where the electric sites are. No other tents. We drove slowly and chose Site 89 for it's Aspen wind breaks, the sun, and the nice grassy place for the tent. Back to the office we went to check in. I got a little anxious that someone else would come along and take that spot, which is funny knowing how empty it was! But we had that happen at Interstate State Park and it wasn't fun!

That done, we picked up a State Park sticker for the bullet, a couple Snickers bars, and some wood. Then off to set up camp. Which took no time. It was windy but sunny so the temperature was great! We took off for a hike to see the Remote Sites that you can't drive too. They were beautiful! Right on the lake with spots to pull up in your canoe if you don't want to hike. Nice! R4 was the best... but it's unreservable. So we'd have to race for it! The hike was about 1 1/2 hours long and gorgeous. Emma Blue had a blast sniffing everything and running around. Her only unhappiness was that she couldn't jump into the water.

Back at camp I built a great, if I do say so myself, fire while Lorrie rested. Somehow our roles while camping totally switch. It's interesting. After the fire, I started on dinner. I bought some *stuff* to "make meat." lol It's really just a bunch of beans that you add boiling water to and then form into burgers. Well, it ended up being lentil soup. Maybe that's why Lorrie does the cooking at home! lol Though it was *good* lentil soup! I also made mac&cheese, which seems to have become a camping staple for us lately. It ended up being a tasty and filling, easy to make, dinner. We also tried out Lorrie's coffee press, which is actually a tea press. That worked very well! So that was a good purchase!

Got the dogs fed... though they have become picky eaters when we're camping. Isn't it usually the opposite? So we added some cheese to their food and that seemed to work pretty well. With the cold nights, I worry when they don't eat enough. But I think they stay warm enough with their fur, blankets, our clothes, and Emma's own sleeping bag! lol

So we settled in for some relaxing, reading, fire poking, and full moon watching. The moon was incredible tonight! The sky was so bright that we didn't really need flashlights outside. So amazing and beautiful! The temperature was also great. It was probably in the 50s most of the night and we could tell when it started to dip... when we'd get cold away from the campfire. We stayed out later than we usually would because of the weather and the moon but we ran out of fire wood so it's time to get into the tent and get the girls comfortable.

Hopefully we'll sleep in the tent tonight and not the car!! heheh Click here for that reference! lol

Rice Lake State Park

We decided that we needed to get outside some more today. Lorrie was still obsessing about the Pileated woodpecker so we decided to return to Rice Lake State Park. We drove around to all the possible camping areas just to see what was there. Really, the only thing we hadn't seen yet were the "Cart in" sites. We didn't want into them, just went to the parking lot. I think I do that so I can give people directions later. Somehow my little excursions become helpful at a later time! lol

We ended up parking in the picnic area where we had a little bit to eat before setting off for a hike allllll the way around the park. There was water, meadow, forest, road, pretty much everything but mountains. We also saw these little crablike things that I are unfamiliar to me.... except from being in Houston and LA. So I'll have to look up what those things are! The ones we saw were all dead so I'm sure the photo doesn't show their "live coloring."

After the hike, we hung out at the picnic area for a little while so Tori could spend a little time outside. I can't wait to get her leg fixed so she can come along on more of these hikes! (=

Hiking at Rice County Park

We needed to get outside and the dogs *really* needed to get outside. So we took a little hike just outside of town. Not many leaves on the trees yet so it looked pretty barren. But the weather was awesome and it was just nice to be outside. Emma Blue was thrilled to be out! Tori could only be out around the car as she can't walk well enough anymore to hike. But she seemed pretty happy to get out too!