Plumley-Maud Trail

 I've noticed this trailhead for years during the summer on my way to Jim Lake or Mud Lake to kayak. I've always wondered where it went or what it was like. In summer, I figured it would be very muddy. I heard that the ski club had groomed it recently. So, I decided to check it out. It is very close to the Mud Lake parking area where I went a couple of days ago. It is a trail that connects the two roads, Maud Road and Plumley Road. I figured it would be fairly flat and easy to navigate, especially since it had been groomed for skiing. At first, it was. I just hit navigate on my AllTrails app to record my route. Several times I ran into snow machine trails heading off what still seemed to be the obvious trail. I did find it was really not very flat. In fact, there were a few hills that caused me to take a deep breath as I screamed my way down them. I came to a place where there were two obvious trails, and I had no idea which one was correct. I felt somewhat lost so clicked out of the app, reconnected and followed the actual trail. I saw where I was and realized I needed to take the right trail. It was a very steep hill. I chickened out and took off my skis and walked down to the little bridge over McRoberts Creek. From there it was flat and eventually lead to a road that connected to Plumley Road. I was getting a little tired and wished I had brought some water and something besides doggie treats to eat. Bella got a nice drink at the creek and ate some snow and the doggie treats. We did run into 2 guys on snow machines. There were more tracks causing confusion, so I was glad I had the map to follow now. I saw a couple of places where I'm sure that if I followed a snow machine track, I could have found my way over to Mud Lake. It was interesting exploring a totally new trail to me. I will give it a try in the summer. I was surprised at the lovely views I had along the way. We covered a little over 6 miles. 

McRoberts Creek

McRoberts Creek Bridge