The trail dog and I parked by the culvert and hiked in on the west side of the beaver lake with the intention of crossing on the beaver dam and hiking back on the east side. When Fred called and said he might meet us, we decided to hike out to Lollipop road (a forest road that isn’t open to vehicular traffic) to meet him. He parked at the end of Lollipop road (just off of Long Point Rd) and met us about half way to the trail entrance. There, I turned around and backtracked to the beaver dam crossing and we all hiked together back up the east side of the beaver lake.
It was a cool night. I think it was about 36F (2C) when we hit the trail and it got down to 32F (0C) by the time we got off the trail. It was very humid and a little foggy but the sky was clear and the stars were beautiful. I knew we’d be in the dark the entire time, so I didn’t even take a camera.
The original plan was to start my hike at the end of Hillfield Rd, but a government contractor arrived as I was about to begin my hike and explained that there would be about 50 soldiers doing survival training in that area for the next few days, so I’d have to find somewhere else to hike. I guess they will be monopolizing that area for the next 2-3 days.
If anyone is looking for a short, but scenic and interesting loop hike, this track (you can skip the hike out to Lollipop road, of course) is one option. Crossing the beaver dam is a little tricky, but not terrible. It’s definitely more difficult with a dog on a leash. The only caveat is that you are likely to get your feet wet in one or more stream crossings on the west side trail; the east side is dry except some potentially muddy (not bad) areas as you approach the culvert.
