I found the gravel lane easily. It’s long and narrow and from the map I could see that it dead ends at the trailhead parking area.

As I drove along, the road dropped down into a valley. In the bottom was a low-water bridge with a good amount of water flowing over the top and just beyond the bridge was a pickup with a big horse trailer attached heading straight toward me. He crossed the bridge first and we both waved as we took our fair share of the ditches and passed without incident.

At the lot, I parked near three other vehicles, one with a horse trailer. The river wasn’t far and the spot did look good, however, the recent rains had blown out the river which made the slough more of a lake and the fishing difficult. I surveyed the area and made plans for a return trip under better conditions.

Back at the parking lot, I found several riders who had just returned from the trail and were preparing to load their horses. I packed up my gear and started back down the lane.

As I approached the bridge I saw the same pickup and trailer that I’d passed on the way in. They were just past the bridge, almost jackknifed in the road. Beyond them sat a small car and a couple on horseback who had stopped to see what was going on. Another truck and trailer were waiting at the top of the hill.

The driver had attempted to return to the parking lot by backing along the lane and hadn’t quite made it. The truck and trailer were hopelessly stuck in the ditch. It became clear what my friend meant by “don’t get trapped by the horse trailers.”

Horses were unloaded and trailers were disconnected, and eventually everything turned out fine.

I’m already planning a return trip of hiking and camping in order to more fully explore these “shallow ponds that contain fish and provide variable fishing opportunities.”

However, I’m going to be much more careful about where I park.