Mineral Ridge with Walter and Lily

You know, I am just having a hell of a time adjusting to the night shift. I had last night off and then tonight and I just do not seem to have a ton of energy. Maybe I am just getting old. Or maybe it is that my job just about kills me every night. At any rate, we went for a short low energy hike up to the top of Mineral Ridge near Coeur d'Alene. As an experiment, we took along Walter's sister Lily (second picture, the poodle with hair). She is his true sister and litter mate. I have never taken her hiking before (she is not really my dog...she has just been living with me for almost a year and a half). In the first five minutes of the hike I was thinking I might have to turn around and go back, but she finally got into the swing of the leash. I had her on a bungee leash (made my Granite Gear) and Walter on an extendable leash. I almost always have him on a leash. I had a few tangles at first, but we were able to work it all out and I was able to manage both leashes with one hand.

The main loop trail is 3.3 miles but we extended it by about three more miles. The trail is a national scenic recreation trail that starts down at the bottom of the ridge near the lake. It switchbacks up to the top in about 1.5 miles. The elevation gain is only around 600 feet. When you get to the top, you can go left and walk along the ridge and then back down, completing the loop, or take a right to walk along the ridge in the other direction. We took a right, then after about a half mile, we came to a fork and took another right that looked like it was going straight up to the summit of the ridge. That is what it did, but the trail ends up covered with slash from logging, but the view is pretty cool. We turned around at the top, headed down, and took the other fork that leads around the ridge and ends at Forest Service road 1575. From that direction of the trail you can look down on Wolf Lodge Bay and towards the eastern mountains. I-90 is pretty much in constant view as is the lake. Except for the logged area, the entire route is tree covered. After we reached the road, I explored a faint trail that hooks up with the afore mentioned logged area. Instead of looping back that way, we just turned around and went back the way we came. Then we hooked back up with the loop trail and stopped for a short lunch at the end of the ridge before heading back down the ridge to the parking lot. The view from the west end of the ridge is great!

One of the cool things about this hike is the leftovers from mining. There is one short tunnel (picture is from inside the tunnel) that has been excavated in the side of the ridge as well as numerous pits that were dug for exploration. This whole area of north Idaho has a long mining history. After we finished the hike, we drove along the Coeur d' Alene scenic byway to Bell Bay and went for a swim. I was really amazed at how warm the water in the lake is, but we have been having some pretty warm weather. Walter, evidently having flashbacks of the bridge that got him, was afraid to walk on the dock until I put his leash on him. Poor baby, he has PTSD. Tonight I have plans to sit and watch the sunset over the West Plains.