Coal Creek Falls - Cougar Mt Wildland Park

Eager to try out my new camera on a trail (thanks, Mom!) and new water system (camel-back type, thanks Rosy and Chris!), but trapped in the lowlands by snow in the hills and by my late start on my last day off, I found this short hike off of I-90.  This is another nature area with many trails criss-crossing through, so you can choose your own adventure.  Cedar was eager to join me in burning off some Christmas calories, so we packed up and headed out.

We started out at the Red Town Trailhead, and went up that a short distance to the Cave Hole Trail.  This trail had warning signs that were worth paying attention to, because the area was full of coal mines which have since collapsed in areas where the ground softened, and on top of the fall hazard, some of them contain toxic gases. 

If there weren't warning signs, it would be hard to tell.  The banks are overgrown with sword fern and blackberries and the water that softened and collapse them, runs through their pockets and valleys, looking much like a small stream simply carved them on its own.

We veered off of Cave Hole Trail and went to the Coal Creek Falls.  They were not very flooded today, but still a bit brown from the recent rains, and definitely full.  I tried to get a picture of Adventure Dog in front, but he didn't want to participate very much.  I finally got this one, but he wasn't very happy about it.

We turned and retraced the trails, which were not overly muddy and quite wide.  Back at the trailhead, we had done just 2 1/2 miles, but I looked at a sign that said .2 mi to Ford Slope and looked it up on my map.  It said it was a coal mine exhibit and Cedar still had loads of energy after such a short jaunt. I had weighted my pack down pretty well to make up for the short length and nominal elevation gain, but jumped at the chance to add nearly half a mile more to our trek, so we headed off.

Look... moss really does grow on the north side of trees.  : )

Also, cool... some lichens remind me of coral. (Also nice check for the camera on close-ups... it did well!)

Just a hop skip and jump later through the quiet woods and we were at Ford Slope.  There was a cool coal cart on a tiny bit of track, and a cemented over mine shaft.  There was also a nice display sign with pictures from when the mining operation was going strong.  It was really interesting, as I had heard of the Coal Creek area before, but didn't realize that there had really been coal mines in the area. 

 

All in all, it was quite a fun little walk on a gray cold day.  I will probably go back and try more trails another time.