Into the Black Hole

Total Training Miles Today (Sunday 5/4): 15.5 miles

Patti left a message that she was sick, so Debbie and I hit the trail at 6:15 along with Bridget.

It had been raining all night, and this morning there was a slight sprinkle, but it was warm. I didn't want to wear my coat. But, I didn't want to get soaked either. So, I rigged my umbrella under my chest strap, which allowed me to carry my camera and use my trekking pole! Fortunately, or unfortunately, the rain stopped about 20 minutes into the hike, so I had Debbie slip the umbrella under my stretch cords for quick access if I needed it.

We headed towards Oak lake, but decided not to try to walk around it due to high water. On the way we saw a couple of elk near the gravel pit.

Elk near the gravel pit

We cut through the woods and walked on the road between Lake Sawyer and Frog Lake. 

Frog Lake

Debbie wondered how high the water was in Frog Lake, so we went out the trail and found that the water was low enough to use the path around the lake.

A pair of geese eye us from the middle of Frog Lake

From Frog Lake we headed up to the forest road and then took a path that followed the ridge above Ravensdale Creek. At one spot the trail heads into the very dark woods. It always looks like we are heading into a "black hole".

Debbie heads into the Black Hole

We wound around the trails and stopped a couple of times to re-stack the rock monuments along the way.

Debbie re-stacks the rocks

We cut back through the woods and headed back to the car after a bit over two hours of walking.

Debbie walks the grassy trail

Debbie was not carrying her pack today because she has a sore back. She said, "Someone hugged me too hard yesterday." That must have been quite a hug!