June 15 - East Rattlesnake: Butterworth - Ridge- Col (part)

Okay, we wanted to hike again. Again it was a weekend. The weather was superb: high 60's and windy. Hunter was getting over her cold, not yet completely mended. We decided to tackle another set of Rattlesnake trails. This time we would get dropped off my Nika and Scott at the start of Butterworth where there is NO public parking (that is an issue for an SLA trail, in my mind). We left our car at the end of the Col Trail. We also put on plenty of bug spray and carried more with us, which wafted back to me when Hunter sprayed on more, mid walk. The walk up Butterworth skirted some logging and was pine forest. I found it less attractive than the other side of the mountain in spite of the gorgeous trail work - see Hunter perched on the lovely stone work. The view from the top was breathtaking - looking south and east and somewhat west. We then descended along the Ridge Trail to the East end of Col. There were more sign of logging before skirting a swamp where Hunter spotted a large toad which was well disguised in the greenery (see photo).