[Sundance Kid]

Okay, first of all, yes, I'm back. I was in Arizona all summer and was kept busy. Now I'm back at school at BYU and have good access to good internet connections, so I can put some posts on here again. ANYWAY, I wanted to thank Craig for posting about the Redmond Watershed. I'm from Redmond originally, and my parents still live about eight minutes away from the Watershed. I like to go there on days when I can't afford the gas to go any farther. While you would have to walk a couple of times around the entire Watershed to work up a sweat, I'll grant that it is beautiful. The trails are great, and if you go there on a weekday, you'll even avoid some crowds. It seems to get crowded on Saturday mornings, but it's not too bad. I personally recommend the hiker-only trail, Siler's Mill. It takes you past a nice beaver pond and really gets you out of the "rest" of the preserve. It's kind of like its own little part of the Watershed. Have fun and please try to use the established parking lots. If the parking lots get full or if you want to enter the preserve from a different side, there are other access points and parking areas, but it's best to ask a local where they are. Have fun!!!

[hikerjo]

For all you big shot hikers, I have now trailbagged all of the trails in the Redmond Watershed Park.

[Sundance Kid]

Hah!! Right on Craig! That should be a goal toward which all people should aspire!

[hikerjo]

Bear in the Watershed Park? Hmmm...Today I found what looks like a gigantic pile of Bear poo. I looked around, but there couldn't see anything, maby there is a bear in the Park. Whooo...Spokey...

[Smokey]

I live south of the watershed and pretty much every year for the last 10 or so, a bear has come to feast on my apple trees. I've had close encounters of the friendly kind, from a distance, with the bear. Alas this year I've seen no evidence of it being here. I'm blaming it on that new illegal town, courtesy of Weyerhaeuser and the King County council, Redmond Ridge, the wired community. That area was better than the watershed, no more.

[Sundance Kid]

Yea, I totally agree that the "wired" town ought not to be there. Alas, we can't do anything about it. They had their way (not without a significant amount of money changing certain hands) and now they've torn most of the trees from Novelty Hill. I don't even live there and I think it's sad. I try to stay away from Novelty Hill road because I get so angry every time I go up there. The people that came up with that damn housing development ought to be strung up by their toenails.

[Karen]

This is a great place to hike this time of year -- not crowded. Had never been there and hiked there today with author Bob Dreisbach ("Seattle Outdoors"). My first visit but it won't be my last. When I got home I remembered reading some posts about the watershed so I found them. I agree that the Siler's Mill trail is the best for scenery. There were only 3-4 cars in the South parking lot today. We saw a doe with two fawns (almost yearlings) and a heron. Tried to get a photo of the three deer but my lens is not powerful enough for good wildlife shots. But I did get this shot of the beaver pond from the Siler Mill trail. Karen

beaver pond 1 VG