Another hike

Yesterday there was another break in between storms, so I decided to take the dogs to the Salmon Falls Recreation area for another hike.  Our destination was the "Magic Bridge", a HUGE stone bridge over the American River, its cool because during the summer it disappears under water when the water level is high (well, maybe not this year as we are in a drought).

I parked at the end of the "Sweetwater Trail" a great single-track trail that is a pretty hike through the trees and parallels the American River.  Since it has just rained, the trail was pretty muddy, but I knew it would be pretty and it didn't disappoint...everything was a flourescent green.  It was so funny as we had to cross a few "creeks" that covered the trail, the first one we came to (which I think is at the beginning of the video) Nick put his brakes on and wouldn't cross it and finally ended up hurdling over it to get across...by the end of the hike, he just was walking through all the water we had to cross.  At least he's turning into a good trail dog now.  

"Trail Dogs" on the Sweetwater Trail (Hope is on the left, Nick on the right):

I can't remember exactly, but it is probably about a 2-mile hike out to the bridge and the trail opens up into a huge meadow that leads to the bridge.  Nick and Hope at the meadow, you can see the bridge in the background:

When I was out here before, you actually had to hoist yourself up to get on the bridge, yesterday, there was a ramp (of dirt) that made it easier to get on it and there was even a ladder...funny.  You can see this in the video below. It's amazing to me that this bridge has been around so long especially when it is under water a good part of the year, the walls are so tall that the dogs can't even reach the top of the walls...in the pictures below where they are looking over the edge, they are actually standing on a mound of dirt that has built up near the sides, so I had them do an "up" there so they could at least reach the top and see over the edge.

Nick and Hope on the bridge:

Nick and Hope survey the area from the bridge:

The only sour note to the day was the ticks, I made sure Hope stayed on the trail and kept Nick on leash as he kept wanting to go off the trail.  I felt bad for Nick as a couple had attached to his belly and I couldn't get them off until I got home as I couldn't pick them off with my finger.  As soon as we got home, I used my tick remover tool to get them out of his belly, poor guy, its so disgusting! Ick! Both dogs got a bath and I did several more tick checks at night to make sure I didn't find any more.  The hard part is they are difficult to see on a black dog.  I even removed all the blankets from my SUV and washed those as well, so hopefully we don't find anymore. YUCK!  

And, finally, a little video of our hike...