Barnes Lake Trails on a Fall Day
The Barnes Lake Trails are horse-and-hiker trails in Barnhartvale. Half of the area is grassland and open forest and the upper half is douglas fir forest. There are 5 trails and two trailheads so hikers can choose their own route. The outer loop is about 10 km. On a fall day we chose to do a 6 km counter-clockwise loop through the grassland hills.
We started at the Gardiner Road entrance and followed a gentle, winding route, climbing on double and single tracks. Maps are posted and junctions are mostly signed. Bluebird boxes are posted along the trail (maintained by George).
A few older ponderosa pines survived the pine beetle devastation. Some may die off this winter after a summer of smoke and drought.
Our route took us past Kildeer Pond. After a dry summer it had shrunk to about 2/3 of its former size.
We looped back on Trail #2. There are wide views of the surrounding hills in the southeast part of the trail system.
Along the way we met hikers and horse riders enjoying the trails. The gates have posted signs stating no mountain bikes or motorized vehicles, but we ran into one biker who had read the signs but chose to ignore them. The land is a grazing lease and is run by the Barnhartvale Horse and Hiker Society. Cooperation is needed to maintain the horse-and-hiker status, but like anti-vaxxers, some people are only in it for themselves. But, we didn’t let him spoil our hike. Another fine day in the hills.
