On Wednesday we had 20 hikers come out to hike in the Ashland Watershed starting at Upper Toothpick Trailhead. In the days before the hike, the weather looked to be very rainy. We were very fortunate as the weather was perfect for hiking. It was 43° and no wind when we started.
As we started uphill on Toothpick, we knew to keep an eye out for mountain bikers because they share many of the trails. The first part of the hike had some significant downfall, so we felt there would not likely be any bikers to watch out for. When we reached the Catwalk trail, we turned left and headed up again.

We climbed all the way up to Four Corners and gathered back together and had a little snack if needed. From there, we headed down Forest Road 2060. As we came around a corner, a rider on an electric assist bike was speeding up the trail. It took us by surprise, but everyone was able to get out of the way.

When we got to Lamb's Saddle, we had a quick break then headed up Caterpillar to Lewis Loop and went clockwise. We hiked up to a bench and had a quick lunch. From there, we went back down and connected on Caterpillar. We saw 2 people on mountain bikes and again, no issues.
When we got back to Lamb's Saddle, we took our group photos. From there, we headed back on Toothpick. At one point we came across 5 mountain bikers and they decided it was easier to get off their bikes and walk by us. We were all very happy that everyone was able to respectfully share the trails today.

We headed back to our cars and arrived around 1:30 PM. We had hiked 7.22 miles with 1,696 feet of elevation gain.
After going back to CVS for our cars, many of us headed to Caldera for refreshments and to celebrate my retirement as hike leader for 3 years now. We were joined by former AHG Wednesday hikers Hank and John and former Wednesday leader Keeley. The group was so wonderful and gave me 2 cards with wonderful messages from many of the members. Also, a gift certificate to Chateaubriand 36 and a very generous gift of money to go towards my next adventure when I head back to Colorado to hike 14ers next year.