When trails became snowed in with wet snow, an alternative is to hike less-traveled gravel roads.    A favorite is the Goose Lake Road.     The road is usually plowed so we can walk/hike on the shoulder out and back.    I usually wear microspikes to avoid injuries from repeated small slips.     There are a number of pull-off spots on the side of the road.    From wherever I park, I hike west out/up and back by time.

When there was thick fog, I drove to a point in afternoon sunshine two days in a row.     There was a bit of traffic on the road on a weekend day (mostly people harvesting Christmas trees), but it was quiet on a weekday.   On the whole it was a quiet hike on each day.   I plan to return to do more legs on the Goose Lake Road and other gravel roads in the hills before snowshoeing season.

A few photos taken on the hike are shared here in an album – Goose Lake Road Winter Hikes

Embedded here is a slideshow of the album: