Settlers Bay Coastal Trails

 I suggested Settlers Bay Coastal Trails as a possible place to hike today, when Pam asked if we should go hike. It's been raining and snowing and muddy everywhere. But we decided to give it a try. When we first arrived, it had at least stopped raining. The trail was hard packed snow and ice, requiring micro spikes. It started out fine, and the dogs ran on up ahead, but it wasn't too long before we encountered flooded conditions. We were able to navigate around the flooded areas and make it all the way to the other entrance. We elected to take the other trail back, assuming we would just have similar conditions. But this trail was much more flooded. About halfway back, we were unable to find a way around the flooded areas. We ended up trying to find a high spot, while scrambling over fallen trees and getting very wet feet. In some places, our little dogs were practically swimming in the water. We were basically between the two main trails. Occasionally we would find a narrow trail and follow it for a while. I always kept my AllTrails app open so I could be sure we were at least headed in the correct direction. Bella seemed to know what we were trying to do and tended to find paths leading toward the cars. We finally came to a fenceline and could see our cars down below. But at first, it looked like a steep cliff we would need to descend. So, we stayed on a trail but very soon I realized we were just headed back to where we had come from. We turned around then I saw Bella head along a narrow ridge and down to the parking lot. We ducked under that fence and followed her. It wasn't a trip that warranted taking any pictures, but I did take a screenshot of our crazy route on the AllTrails app. We're saving this one for dryer weather!