Just a Quickie

After hurting my knee at work, I was unable to do any hiking on my first weekend off. We were planning on hiking to the top of Mt. Coeur d'Alene. Instead, we took a quick overnight to the Beauty Bay Campground where the trailhead is located. There I was able to sit on my arse with my feet up and finish Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride. The sky was clear, the air was cold, and there was actually water in the creek. Though the campground is not on the lake, it is very close. There are several campsites that are private and back in the trees. The others are out in the open but it is a nice place that is just 40 miles from my house. The Mt. Cd'A trailhead is at the campground and crosses the creek and then winds its way with switchbacks up to the top of the ridge and then back into the woods to the top of the mountain. We did it last summer and it was a pretty cool hike. You can look down into the valley and see the campground (see picture...which I suppose I should add was "borrowed" from the Forest Circus website). The road that goes past the campground and up into the mountains is a great bike ride as well. After a mile or so it turns to dirt and meanders through the hills. Though I have not skiied or snowshoed the Mt. Cd'A trail in the winter, I know people do. I would not recommend it when avalanches are a problem because of the exposed trail on the ridge and the steep slope above. But it is pretty cool and the view is amazing. We took Walter's sister Sophie (a five year old Scottish terrier) with us. She loves camping and rooting through the bushes to smell all the small animal scents.