I'm keeping this one a secret

I had a glorious outing. It was a marvelous lake and I'm not going to say the name because I don't want a bunch of people going there. :P

The forest service road was a bit rough on my dinky car but their were some outstanding views. The hike is short and passes through forests in various stages. A river flows near by and at places blue berry bushes line the trail. Right before we got to the lake the forest feels like old growth and the river was shining with light and draped with moss. Peering down the river you can see the start of the lake. Just after that Coal and I passed a camp with a couple of nice guys. They were the only people I saw on our outing.

A cool stream under the root

Coal and I found a secluded place. We startled up dozens of butterflies that had been on the damp mud near the shore. We sat by the lake for quite a while. I heard a dipper singing quite loudly but I never saw it. The sky filled with chatter and I looked up and watched a flock of busy swifts flying over head. I watched the occasional dragonfly buzz past (they move to fast for photos!) and fish jump. Coal decided that since I was interested in the butterflies he should be interested too, which made photography difficult. I thought about swimming but it was cold and as I stepped in I sank deep in mud. On the way down we saw quite a few chipmunks. Coal seemed quite pleased by this. Even when he was young he didn't chase them, but everytime one went scurrying away he'd give a bounce. It was a lovely outing.

Cedar Butte

I hiked Cedar Butte yesterday. I was frustrated by how many people I encountered in the Iron Horse trail, but once I turned off onto the Cedar Butte trail it was wonderful isolation. The trail was very overgrown. Coal felt a bit doubtful about this. He kept looking back at me, with this "are you sure we should go this way?" expression.

I ate lots of berries. If you look carefully at the link I provided the survey marker at the top says "Ceder Butt". How had I never noticed that before :)