Racin' Jason: Hayward Lake Loop (Jan. 31, 2009)

Today I decided to ride the Hayward Lake loop again and continue on with my photo every kilometer idea seeing as how my camera died last time. This time however my plan was to complete the loop in less than three hours. Hopefully the ice has melted from the trail and I can actually ride the entire trail.

I parked at the same parking lot as last time, on the west side of the Ruskin Dam and headed out on my bicycling mission. There was a lot less snow this time around thanks to the week of warmer weather (five degrees) and rain, which had also left the trail very wet. There was still one section of trail, approximately a kilometer and a half, that was still snow-covered, and unfortunately the warmer weather had left this section now slushy and unrideable. After trudging through the slush I got back onto solid ground and was pedaling on with much more speed than last week thanks to the lack of ice that had coated almost the entire forested portion of the trail, (which was the majority of the loop).

13 km: There were still some snowy sections but they were now crunchier and not icy and I was actually able to climb some steep grades on the snow.

This was my view to the right at km 13. Tree graveyard with its tombstones sticking out of the ice.

14 km: A neat section of bridges at one of the many creek crossings along the way.

15 km: A nice gradual incline and no more snow.

16 km: Yet another bridge and yet another creek crossing. I can't wait until all the snow is gone and I can cruise the entire trail with more speed.

This is actually at 16.5km mark and it really needed a picture. This is a secluded bay on the lake which as you can see doesn't get much sun and is still frozen.