4/16/14 City Forest

Weird weather continues. Yesterday it rained much of the day and  this morning we woke to an inch of new snow and a gray day. I stalled 'till the sun came out and it was up to 30 ( but windy, making it feel colder)  before we headed to the forest. No idea what the trails would be like after the rain and snow. The West trail was in pretty good shape- you could feel leftover snow and ice under the new snow but it was not slippery.

I had been discussing these rectangular woodpecker holes with someone who was also curious about them. I found they were unique to Pileated Woodpeckers and they proved shelter for other birds. The hole is several inches high.

Rabbit Trail runs off the West

When we got to the rail bed we went north a short distance until water stopped us. Going south the trail was very good with only the light new snow until we passed the second intersection with the Walden loop Trail  - we then started to encounter water.

  and then lumpy snow- I think more old snow because it is more shaded in this section

 After the intersection with the snowmobile trail we ran into water running across the trail. We had never seen it out of the pond  at this place before and could see more ahead. Kelley was game but I was ready to turn back.

We went back to the side trail we usually take to get across to West but ran into more water I could not cross. Back to a side trail I thought would get us around the water but no one had been on it and it was hard to follow. We eventually lost the trail and bushwhacked for awhile, running into more water,

 until we picked up another trail that took us back to the rail bed. From there to another side trail I knew would take us back to West without water problems and it did. Back to the car. I had not expected so much water in places it has never been a problem, but it was still a pretty day. And Kelley really seemed to enjoy the hike after missing one yesterday and getting all that water was a nice bonus. 2  1/4 hours