Mud Creek

As the seasons shift, so do our preferred places for hikes and runs.

Mud Creek is a huge tract of lands owned by a logging company. Portions are actively logged, and in the summer, cattle graze here. The owners allow public access, and while the girls and I rarely encounter other users, we have stumbled across turkey hunters and discarded deer carcasses.

There are miles of native dirt logging roads cut through here. In early spring, the creeks are running high, there are still some pockets of snow, and usually no one else is using the area. Perfect. That's when we head in, to run or hike. Eventually, the creeks will run dry and it will become too hot for the girls.

I took the girls for a hike there last night, to scope it out. Just two weeks ago, there had still been too much snow. Now, it was nearly perfect - just a few patches of snow left on the roads. We returned this morning for a run.

Unfortunately, my favorite route is now being actively logged about two miles in from where we start. While there weren't any trucks there this morning, it was obvious from the chewed up condition of the muddy road, as well as the slag piles and "missing" trees, that they've already started for the season.

Sigh. OK, in future we'll just concentrate on other areas of this huge tract. Besides, when the cows are set loose, soon, it'll be time for me and the girls to search out the single track trails in the national forest.

On this morning's run we did see a few trillium poking through the dense layer of pine needles left from last fall. And even with the logging, there are still some stunning views here.

Maia delighted in spooking some turkeys. And some pica. Maia LOVES to startle big birds and watch them fly, or chase Pica into their dens and hiding spots. She must have been a bird dog in a former canine life. Meadow, on the other hand, ignored the birds and pica, but perked right up when she spotted some white tail deer disappearing over a rise and through some trees.