Trail #25

Awesome trail closer to 26 miles though

A nice and easy hike. It is great to do with dogs as well. My puppies loved the trail!

it is just a straight walk. no crowd dog friendly as long as they mind you well

I recently moved to Washington from California and last week my dog, Major, finally made the long road trip with me. Now that he's here with me the search for nearby trails that are dog friendly begins for our daily dog walks! Okay, perhaps not daily... but living in Airway Heights by the Walmart area I'm most certainly motivated to drive our buttocks elsewhere.

Tonight was the first night where we set out with the Crosstrek and headed for the nearest trailhead that I could spot using AllTrails app. It landed us on one of the many trails within Riverside State Park - trail # 25. I don't have a Discovery Pass, yet! It's absolutely and most definitely on my long to do list to purchase one. However, for now, as I'm on a limited budget (no job in 2016 - by choice) I must find parking by trailheads that are fee free. Tonight, I got lucky as this trailhead had plenty of room for the Crosstrek and by the looks of it 5-8 additional cars could easily and safely park in the spot I found on the side of the road. I'm not an expert on such things, but I figure if there is not a sign posted prohibiting me from parking then it must be allowed.

As always, I set out in the wrong direction and started trekking up the service road. When I reached the top of the hill I saw the trail below and confirmed with my AllTrails app that I'm on the "wrong trail" so I headed back down the hill and spotted the trail just to the right of the service road marked off by a white painted gate and had my usual "duh-uh!" moment.

Major and I lazily meandered through the park. The trail starts off with power lines up and above and on both sides, but who really cares when there are lots and lots of blooming wildflowers. The further you walk in on the trail the further you get from the hustle and bustle of the main road, W Trails Road, which is a bonus in my book. The flowers are bountiful, but so are the mosquitos. So, if that bugs you then be sure to come prepared with bug spray. I'm curious how long into the year these guys will last. Not so used to them coming from CA. Not saying we didn't have them, but they're definitely in way more abundance here in WA. Probably because of all the awesome water everywhere! Major most certainly is not fond of them and he goes "chopstick Mr. Miyagi" on them.

Absolutely loved all the pretty wildflowers in full bloom. Taking pics of them is quite the challenge with an anxious vizsla, but Major was a pretty good sport about it for the most part. Other than the occasional tug on the leash which would render my photo out of focus. If you've ever tried taking a close up a flower you'll know the difficulty in getting that perfectly still zoomed in photo as you hold your breath that the wind stops blowing for that split second that you need to hit the button to capture the flower. Add a dog to this maneuver and yeah, got yourself into double trouble.

Trail is mostly flat and very little incline. There are a couple trails that branch off to the right (East). The trail that I continued on had a brief "semi-steep" incline through a very thick brush and it ended up connecting to the same service road that I avoided in the beginning. Having met up with the same trail I decided to make our way back to the car via the service road. I thought it would be faster because it's a straight shot back to where my car was parked, but instead found that it was a bit like walking on railroad tracks. The trail is covered with rocks with rough and jagged edges and because they are not tiny pebbled they roll left and right as you step on them. Not saying crazy difficult just possibly as much time to walk back on it as the trail below would have taken. I can't tell tonight as on the way in I stopped and took lots of pics while on the way out I just enjoyed walking alongside my dog. Yeah. I let him lead us back.

Oh! And the most exciting news is I saw a wild turkey cross the road. When the bird spotted Major he wobbled away from us and hid somewhere in the bushes. As for my dog. Well, he was about as oblivious as he could be for which I'm delighted as I love it whenever I can avoid him trying to chase after something he deems "chaseable."