1/27/14 Demeritt Forest

Gray and cold ( 19 degrees ) with a forecast of snow and rain and a high of 41 high tomorrow of 14 degrees.  Strange weather continues. We first drove to the trails near Perch Pond but still could not get in the parking lot or find a place off the road for the car. OK, back to Demeritt Forest where we were able to park a few days ago. As we drove, freezing rain started, making it difficult to see but it stopped by the time we got to the forest. We followed the path indicated above with the idea of sorting out the Black Trails at the other end. We were able to follow the map to the first major intersection of those trails and thought we were doing well until it started to rain ( lightly) and we turned back leaving the rest for another day.The rain remained light and we met a couple with three dogs and that made Kelley happy. The walking was mostly pretty good as there had been a fair amount of use. The Black Trail had the least use and was more of a slog. They seemed to have got more snow they we had. It was pretty with the latest snow still on the trees.

So, a pretty good hike- damp but not soaked- the rain became heavier on the drive home. Kelley seemed to like it and spent a lot of time sniffing around- the snow did not seem to be a deterrent.  2 hours