Tried again to find a trail map of the area, no luck. Just as we were getting saddled up, though, a couple with a horse trailer drove in, and Hubby asked them about the trails here. They told him about a loop that was about 5-6 miles long, so we headed out on the South Canyon Trail. We had to ride a mile on a gravel road to get to the trailhead (we had put the boots on), crossed the bridge, then turned left at the sign. Within a hundred yards or so, the trail started getting very rocky, and, unfortunately, stayed that way. This is a multi-use trail, and twice we had to get off the trail to let ATVers pass. We climbed and climbed on this rocky trail, and it wasn't much fun. We finally reached the top, and stopped for lunch before descending on the other side. Fortunately, this side of the mountain was much less rocky, so it was a bit more enjoyable. We finally passed out of the forest (a mix of conifers up top and aspen down below, typical throughout this part of the West) onto a plain-like area that let us back to civilization and the gravel road. The couple that came in after us showed up some time later, and I asked them if there were other, less rocky trails, preferably non-motorized, but it seems pretty much all the trails here cater to the OHV folks. They did say that if we turn right at the bridge instead of left that the main trail in that direction is less rocky, so maybe we'll try that on Sunday. Hubby and I spent some time this afternoon discussing the schedule and the travel plans, and just about the time we had settled on the next few weeks, I received an email from a client who wants us in DC at the end of the month, so now our plans will have to change again, though only slightly. Seems we'll be flying out of Spokane now, I'll have to find a place for the critters and the vehicles while we go. More research on tap for tomorrow!
