Although a few people who had signed up for this hike decided against it when they woke up to rain and wind, three of us had faith in the weather forecast that said the precipitation would end by 9am and re-start at noon, with mixed sun & cloud in between with wind.

We were happy that we did as the conditions were better than forecast! Driving conditions were good, and we had bright sunshine and blue skies and little wind for almost all of our morning hike. There was only a skiff of snow on the trail, but ice underneath it in a few places, so we were happy to be wearing our icers. We went up to the lookout and enjoyed a sunny snack break there with lovely views in all directions.

Ursula & Carolyn at lookout on Deer Ridge

We then descended to reconnect to the main Deer Ridge trail, up to the high point, then down to join the Eagle Ridge trail and return. There was an inviting picnic table by the lake just before reaching the parking lot at noon, so we had our lunch there. A few dry snow pellets started falling as we finished our lunch, so the timing of our hike was perfect, getting the best part of the day!

Although we didn't see much wildlife on our hike (a couple of squirrels), we saw a small herd of elk on the west side of the Sibbald Road driving down and 3 mule deer near the road on our return trip. Temperature stayed at about +2 throughout our hike.

Thanks to Ursula and Carolyn for joining me on this lovely short hike from Barb.