2/13/14 Walden and City Forest

We have a big storm predicted for this afternoon, tonight, and tomorrow so we stayed close to home to get in a hike before the storm. We had not been to Walden in three weeks and didn't know the trail conditions.  We started from the parking lot at the end of Tamarack Trail and were pleased to find the trail with packed snow and no ice. We usually turn on the first part of the Loop Trail but Kelley got excited and took off past there. When I caught up I found her with Sophie and her owner. We continued out to the rail bed and found that someone had run a snowmobile down it- they usually are not on this section - I guessed to condition it some. In any case it made for more nice walking.

Soon Kelley found a side trail she wanted to take. Someone had preceded us on snowshoes so the footing was not bad. I think we were on this trail recently but took a different fork today because that was the way the snowshoer had gone.

We came out on the West Trail which was also in very good condition. There was a woman and her dog on the Loop Road which runs close to the trail in places and  Kelley insisted we  go the short distance through the woods to greet them.

We took the West to it's end and then got back on the rail bed to the other part of the Loop Trail - also well packed and ice free.

And back to our car. A nice hike- gray and threatening but we finished without snow or rain and Kelley was happy to be out. 1  1/2 hours