Since it was only a quick overnighter we quickly packed the packs and looked over the maps for some quick refreshing. The goal was to do a quick little 3-4 miles to the campsite, then spend a little time and do 5-6 miles on Sunday coming back to the trailhead. Nothing fancy, but at least it lets us get out and get the dogs some exercise.
The park is only a 20-30 min drive from our house to the trailhead so the drive wasn’t bad at all. The dogs loved the ride and were ready to go as soon as they saw us packing the bags. They were basically howling at us when we started packing their bag as well. It was just after 4:00 when we got to the ranger station to check in, which would mean we'd be hiking in the cooler weather - or so we thought. I asked the ranger about the water situation and if the creeks and streams were running well enough and she assured me that they were nearly full just a few days ago. I signed up for one of their designated campsites and we set out.
At the trailhead, we donned our packs, suited the dogs up, locked the car, took some photos and headed onward. We stared out on the wide mountain bike trail and eventually split off onto the more hiker-esq white trail. Along the way, we crossed a footbridge with nothing more than dirt powder and leaves underneath. This was the first sign we were in for a rough hike. Well, we continued on toward our destination noticing that the gulley on the side was dry too. It looked as thought it had been weeks, not days, since any water had been in there.
This made us a little weary about taking the dogs so far into the woods, then not having any water so we decided we would just hike to Maggie's Glen for a quick out-and-back dayhike. As we got closer, to our amazement we noticed that there was some water trapped in the low spots of the stream along the way. Once at the Glen, we let the dogs cool off a bit in what little water there was, we took a few pictures, and then we headed back out.
We went a little out of the way and made a loop back to the trailhead in which we started. After another 30mins or so of hiking, we reached the car and unloaded the packs. We took the last of the water and gave it to the dogs to cool them down, and prepared to head back home. 
After stopping at the ranger station to tell them about the water and remove my name from the backcountry list she apologized and gave us a raincheck for next time.
Once getting back home, we brought the packs inside, and figured at least we had a good short little walk with the dogs.
Posted by Robert
