Hall Ranch Loop, 02/09/2003
Because of predicted high winds and cold conditions in the high country, with a predicted wind chill of 30 below zero, we decided to stick to the foothills today. We started at 10:11 from the the Hall Ranch trailhead. Presumably because of the cold weather and some fresh snowfall during the night, there were only two other cars in the parking lot when we arrived. This place is usually very crowded on nice weekend days. We did the 10 mile loop counterclockwise, hiking first down the Bitterbrush Trail, then taking the right branch of the Nelson Loop Trail, and finally returning by the Nighthawk Trail. It was much slower going today because of the snow on the ground, with the deepest snow being at least 4 inches on the Nelson Loop Trail. We returned to the truck at about 15:00.