Gerle Creek Reservoir

Drove up to Gerle Creek Reservoir for a snow shoe. The main road is snowed over, but SMUD plows a gated side road to the dam so we walked down that. I wasn't quite sure where I was so I left the snow shoes by the side of the road and walked to the top of the ridge to look around. The reservoir was right there, about 700 feet down a steep slope. I heard a car door and saw a security guard truck (uh oh) and noticed he was picking up my snow shoes. I yelled out and we chatted for a bit.

He thought the gear might have been left behind by some campers and I chose to believe the story. It's not private property (well, it's SMUD property) but there is public access. I was surprised that he carried a gun and everything...I only thought police could do that.

As it turns out, you can't walk around Gerle Creek Reservoir...the dam is closed off. I was able to scramble around the side of the pump house to get to the shore and here the snow was a good three feet deep. Good thing I carried the snow shoes down the hill with me!

It was a bit of a chore traversing the side of the reservoir. It was steep and obviously I didn't want to trip or fall into a snow pit of some kind. We worked our way along the reservoir until we came to a stream inflow. I headed away from the water and navigated eastward along what looked like an old, old, old logging road (more a suggestion of a road than an actual one) to a small saddle. It was either that or retrace my steps because the hill to my immediate right was way too steep for me!

Just at what looked like the top of the saddle, there was another road with some old snow shoe tracks buried under 6 inches of snow. We headed gradually uphill on this track and eventually came to the main road where I'd left my car.

The snow was slushy and not tamped down so it was a bit of a slog cutting the trail. The picture shows the snow depth. It's funny though, because on the sunny slopes, it's bare dirt.

Nice trip!

Bassi Falls in Snow

Andy (he's a cute brother, ignore the stain on his leg), Commando and I snowshoed up to Bassi Falls. The weather was cloudy with the sun occasionally sending some faint rays through the clouds. A lot of the snow has melted so we had the shoes on and off depending on the snow. At the granite field by the falls, the snow had mostly melted.

Commando ran off and refused to come back until we had called several times. His tongue was black and dirty. Whatever he was hunting must have gone to ground and he must have spent some time trying to dig it up. He was pretty tired on the hike back (so was I!) and slept most of the rest of the day and the afternoon.

We saw no one on the trip which was quite nice.

Adventure on Peavine Ridge

Once again I really wasn't in the mood to hike, but went anyway. We drove up 50 to Ice House road. Instead of continuing on, we headed off on a paved road that heads west (ish). On the map, it's called Peavine Ridge road which turns off Ice House at the top of what I assume is Peavine Ridge.

The road was rough in places, but by no means the worst we've traveled. We drove through a few snow drifts but the ground was mostly clear. Nearing the top, we saw a pickup in a snow drift and they were stuck. I wouldn't even cross the last snow drift towards them because the snow was high and the road was muddy and it looked deep.

Instead, we drove Justin down to his house lower down and then back up with some shovels so they could dig themselves out of the snow. They were young and in good shape and they weren't that far into the drift.

Commando and I then hiked up the road and reached the crest not too far along. The other side of the hill was the shady side, and I had to trek through drifts, or go along into the forest to avoid the snow. I squeezed through a manzanita bush at one spot. I hadn't brought my snow shoes with me although they were in the car and when we reached a solid mass of snow, we turned back. At the crest of the ridge, we turned off onto a side road and wandered along it for a while. Commando alarmed a rodent colony in a pile of brush. I saw fresh deer tracks. We crossed through the wood to the lower road and ended up just above where the kids truck had been stuck.

Not a very interesting hike, but reasonably enough.

Beautiful snow shoe

Drove up 50 to Meyers and then went south on 89. Somewhere before Luther Pass summit there was a pull out at a meadow. It was a perfect outing. The snow was hard packed, with about 3-6 inches of very fluffy powder on top. So the surface was fast and gentle on the feet at the same time. We headed generally uphill following someone else's very fresh tracks. We stopped a little bit before the summit because it was late in the day, it was getting steep, the trail was over a wet meadow so it was possible to slip into a sudden hole over water, and I hadn't given anyone any notice of where I was. It was a beautiful, beautiful hike. The snow was relatively unscathed. A ground level wind sent snow hissing over the surface. The sun poked out and just when it was getting a little hot a cloud would cover it, then, just when it was getting a little cold, the sun would burn off the cloud. I'll have to try this trail again next weekend and get over the summit next time to see what's on the other side.

Scary pic

Commando was bitten this winter on one of our walks by some nameless black dog. It cost a pretty penny at the vet, and he has recovered just fine.

Cute pics

My backyard neighbors love Commando and he loves them. They call to him and give him treats and toys, and he has even been known to go to the back fence and bark to call them! This stuffed warthog is an example of a recent toy. I didn't see it until the squeaker was gone. How cute is that?

Saturday Leisure

Drove up 80 to Foresthill and then to Mosquito Ridge road to where it ends at the Forebay turnoff. Snowshoed over firm packed snow with just about 3 inches of fresh, fluffy new snow. On the way back stopped at the Middle Fork of the North Fork of the American River and walked across the bridge and then down to the river. There was a fancy zip line with heavy duty cable and a fun looking cart but it was firmly locked down. Rats.

Drove up Foresthill road to the China Wall staging area where the road was blocked. There was a lot more snow here, both on the road and in the forest. Snowshoed down some OHV lane for a bit and then headed back.

The weather was changeable as the wind. Snow, rain and hail mixed with sun and fog. Fat, puffy clouds backlit by the sun added interest to the sky on the drive home.

Commando had a great time as usual running around in the snow, scaring rabbits and jumping to eat snow balls. At the first stop it was a rabbit meet up with fresh tracks in the snow every five feet or so. Spring?

Almost Nevada

Drove up to Indian Creek reservoir near Markleeville to hike and check out the campground for our September camping trip. It's an interesting area but not a very nice campground so I think we'll pass. Also, they don't take reservations which is fine unless you're trying to organize a group.

We had a good enough hike. There are some beautiful views of some craggy peaks near Yosemite and the hills across the Reno Valley into Nevada. I needed my snowshoes for the first part of the trip though and didn't wear them. We forded a little stream and then hiked back along a little airstrip.