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| | | Enchanted Forest loop, ID | | | |
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Enchanted Forest loop, ID
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| Hiking | 6.69 Miles |
1,331 AEG |
| | Hiking | 6.69 Miles | 3 Hrs 48 Mns | | 1.90 mph |
| 1,331 ft AEG | 17 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | Wanted something easy since the weather looked questionable. Kind of an unknown to me, this turned out to be a better than expected choice.
The drive in was easy, and parking area was empty. Got started shortly before 1000 to cool and cloudy weather, but we had driven north of the rain. Immediately, Wyatt spotted two young birds on the trail. He spent a few minutes playing with them before we finally got going. I had saved a track sourced from a not very reliable site to my phone, knowing it was garbage, but at least using it somewhat as a reference. The map posted at the trailhead was a hundred times more useful though.
Headed up Cabin trail, which was very pleasant. Mountain bikes and foot travel are the only two modes permitted on these trails (no motorized or horses) and it was clear these trails are designed for bikes. I'd probably avoid on the weekends, but we saw nobody else the entire day. Easy hike uphill on the winding trail, but not much in the way of views until we reached a large meadow about halfway up.
The trail skirted around the meadow with some nice views, and a cabin came into view. So this trail wasn't just randomly named. A short spur led to the cabin, which had the best views of the trail--looking across the meadow, over to the snow capped Selkirks across the valley. The cabin is older, but somewhat modern, and trashed on the inside. Lots of antlers on the walls. We took a break on the front porch before continuing up the trail.
Reaching the junction with East Boundary Trail, I opted to go north to connect with a forest road leading uphill. I was hoping to reach the saddle above to get some better views both across the valley, and deeper into the Cabinet Mtns, which we were on the edge of. Wyatt, however, was having a moment, to put it mildly, and I get annoyed with the complaining and turned around a short distance up the road. Oh well.
Once back on East Boundary, we headed back south and onto our planned loop. East Boundary was a great trail, traversing the hillside above the other trails in the network. Trees were thinner in along this trail, allowing for some really nice views. Noticed several piles of older bear scat along the trail, then came across a very fresh pile. I commented to Wyatt this bear was probably still nearly, but he didn't believe me. Sure enough, around the next corner was the bear looking for food just off the trail. We startled him and he ran, while I got one bad picture. Continuing up the trail, and towards where the bear ran, my kid questioned my sanity, while I explained it was just a black bear and he'd keep running way as we approached, and I have good aim with both spray and bullets. Again, at the next turn was the bear, looking back at us. I got some slightly better pics before he ran off for good and we continued on our way.
The junction of Easy Boundary and Unchained Trail was vague, one trail basically turned into the next. Based on the map designations, it seems Unchained started when we turned downhill shortly after crossing Dobson Creek. The hike down Unchained was easy, mostly paralleling high above the creek as the trail meandered downhill. Never steeply, but it was steeper than Cabin Trail. Nice hike, but no views due to being back in the trails. After several switchbacks near the bottom, we got to the end of the trail and back to the trailhead.
While these trails are going to lead to any great adventures, they are certainly quite pleasant. I know I won't get back to them on this trip, but I would definitely explore them again for an easy day on future visits. |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
Flowers along most of the trails. |
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| Stop crying and just go do the hike. |
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