Friday, April 13, 2018

Foothills Trail - South Prairie Trailhead - #SaturdaySnapshots

I've been on portions of the Foothills Trail before (blog post here), but this was my first time on the newly-opened section between the South Prairie and the Buckley Trailheads. We walked three miles along a paved surface, then turned around and retraced our steps on this easy hike. 

According to a Pierce County, Washington, website (here), the Foothills Trail sits atop an historic railroad bed. Another great rails-to-trails project.

This daunting sign greeted us as we set out on our hike. I asked myself: How fast can you run? (FYI: If you look closely, you'll see that someone corrected the sign to read "its" instead of "it's" by removing the apostrophe. That makes the grammar nerd inside me smile.)



An elevated portion of the trail overlooks farms and country roads...


... and crosses rivers and creeks.



When I saw the structure pictured below, the word "springhouse" came to mind. The stream ran right through it! After the hike I looked up that term and found this on Wikipedia: 
spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing structure was also used for refrigeration before the advent of ice delivery and, later, electric refrigeration. The water of the spring maintains a constant cool temperature inside the spring house throughout the year. Food that would otherwise spoil, such as meat, fruit, or dairy products, could be kept there, safe from animal depredations as well. Springhouses thus often also served as pumphousesmilkhouses, and root cellars.
In settings where no natural spring is available, another source of natural running water, such as a small creek or diverted portion of a larger creek, might be used. In addition, some people put jars of milk in a bucket suspended by a rope in an "open-mouth" well during hot weather.

Could that be a springhouse?




FYI: Sasee Magazine published my personal essay "Happy When I'm Hiking" in its April edition. You'll find it HERE if you're curious about why I love hiking so much. 





Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 
To participate: 
Post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on West Metro Mommy Read's website (link: HERE) Photos can be old or new and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.


11 comments:

  1. I want to go there! This sign reminds me of the "Tsunami Hazard Zone" signs near the Pacific coast that warn people they may need to go to higher ground. LOL. I think I'd prefer water to a hot mud slide!

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  2. So that's what spring looks like! I am looking at fog and the forecast is for freezing rain this weekend.

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  3. Gorgeous scenes! Scary sign, but good to know.

    Thanks for sharing...and enjoy your weekend. Here are MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOTS

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  4. We are blessed to live in a part of the country where so much beauty is literally at our back door. It doesn't take long to find wonderful places near at home. Continuing thanks, Sandy, for presenting places I love, but of necessity, enjoy from my computer! GRIN.
    Colleen

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  5. The spring house story fascinated me. How cool the water still runs through it!

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  6. Wow- that lahar sign is really daunting! I don't know if I'd have chosen to trek there! But it looks like you had a good time!

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  7. What a wonderful looking walk. The sign is a bit scary, but I guess it is best to be prepared.

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  8. Lol I would be a little nervous about that sign. But at least it tells you what to do. We saw warning signs (although not for lahar!) when we visited Sequoia National park. Your hike looks beautiful! I love hiking. :)

    Erin @ Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs

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  9. Congratulations on getting your piece published. Maybe you will have enough walks to publish a book soon.

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  10. Un paseo muy bonito, siempre da gusto pasear por el campo y respirar aire fresco.
    Saludos

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  11. I learned new word today :-) lahar... I hope you won't meet it in your walks.

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