Friday, August 5, 2011: It was a bad sign

I left town in the early afternoon in order to make the drive up to the Kettle Crest--I was supposed to meet Deb and Jeff at the White Mountain TH in the evening.  I took my time going north, stopping in several interesting shops along the way.  In one, I found that the shop owner had fallen asleep in his chair at the front of the store; he had relaxing music turned WAY up, and he didn't even hear me enter.  I felt a little like an intruder!  I don't think he ever knew he had a customer; I didn't find anything to buy, so I exited quietly without waking him.

Once I crossed over the Columbia I started looking for places to hike.  I was hoping I could find a trail on the Columbia itself, but nothing stood out on the map.  I drove up to the Log Flume trail and ate a snack as I hiked the .5 mile interpretive loop.

After that I continued up the pass, and that's when I saw the bad sign--a huge sign that said "Sherman Creek Trail."  I turned, hoping that I could get a few extra miles in.  Immediately off the highway was another sign that said Canyon Creek Trail #93, a barrier free trail (paved) that was built by boy scout volunteers.  I was sure that the Sherman Creek Trail would be longer than this trail, so I continued up the road.  The map wasn't promising: there was no sign of any trail, and it showed that the road was a dead-end at a scenic overlook.  However, the map also didn't show the Canyon Creek Trail, so I continued.

The mile markers went from three to four to five to...four!?  It turned out the road wasn't a dead-end, it was a loop; there was no scenic overlook, and there also was no Sherman Creek Trail.  At least not that I could see.

I went back to the Canyon Creek Trail and decided that it was my only option.  I hiked it both directions--it turned out it returned to the Log Flume Trail when I went east, and it ended at the Canyon Creek Campground when I went west.  Based on hiking time, I estimated that it was 2.5 miles.

Grand total for the day = 3 miles.  I'm soooo far behind.