The Redwood Trail, Catherineville State Forest

The dogs and I left the county Multi-Use Trail and I began driving around, looking for another trail. Very little is marked, not even the roads, and soon I was lost. But I found the Redwood Trail, designed for handicapped people, which actually had a small sign along the road. The road was unmarked, gravel, and so very narrow that my parked car stuck out into it even after I parked as far to the side as I could. But there was certainly no traffic, so we began our hike:

The Redwood Trail was similar to the previous trail we'd just been on. It really needed maintenance, however, if it was to be used by handicapped people. And also a parking area:

But it took us through a lovely woodland, with sunlight filtering down through the canopy:

The dogs were having a grand time and I was exploring the only trail which was actually marked in the Catherineville State Forest:

Most of the markers were like this, permitting motorized ATVs if one had a special handicapped permit:

But it was clear to me that few people, handicapped or otherwise, had been using this trail. It became difficult to find in places, and eventually it just seemed to end in the middle of the woods:

There was a spectacular stone wall running through the forest, evidence that this had once been farmland, part of the former town of Catherineville. I'm told there are old stone foundations somewhere, though I haven't yet found them:

When the trail petered out, we began retracing our steps, making our way back to the car:

Both hikes that afternoon were short and easy, so the dogs never got tired. That means they were overly exuberant the whole time. They had fun, but five overly exuberant dogs in the woods can be a handful:

But the day was beautiful and the dogs were happy:

Almost back to the car:

We quickly arrived back at our parked car, which I'd had to park in a ditch, with the back end sticking out into the "road." Getting in and out was awkward, causing me to wonder again how a handicapped person could manage it. But we'd had our afternoon adventure and I would have photos to edit and chores to do when we got home: