Mendenhall
We had a big day of trails planned and we all met in Walden anxious to get started. We didn't really know what we'd find but we hoped we'd at least find the first trail, Mendenhall. We got lucky and found that one, but the rest of the day was kind of obnoxious.
We weren't sure where the trail really started so we did a lot of weaving in and around the oil rigs before we found the true start of the trail. We started heading up and ended up behind an ATV and assorted dirt bikes. One of the bikes was very small and ridden by someone fairly young and he was having a hard time getting up the steep hill.
We didn't mind the delay very much, though, because the scenery was really nice. Everyone took lots of pictures of the valley below. The weather couldn't have been better.
We left the group in front of us at the "Y" in the road when they went up the other spur. When we got to a flat spot we stopped for a break. That's when one of the dogs with Katie and Les took off for a while and they both had to go off in the woods to chase her. Much later, Monica was hanging out when the dog came running out of the woods and came when Monica called her for some weird reason. That was the last time that dog was off of a leash for the rest of the weekend, and we were soon on our way.
There were some fun spots on the rest of the trail, including some sections of deep mud and water. It looked like it wouldn't take too long before it was dry, but it was going to be very rutted for the rest of the summer.
The mosquitoes were out to get us, so we usually kept moving. Near the end of the trail we expected it to head down through a camp site but the short section was closed. We ended up at the big crossroads just a short distance farther down the trail and it was all good.
We were hoping to find lots of trails on our way to the Hohnholz Lakes so we went that way next. Mendenhall was a great trail and we knew we'd do it again.
