No tick snowshoe

Jodi's cabin was available for a brief two days so Commando and I headed up on Wednesday. We unloaded and then drove around looking for likely places to showshoe. We finally settled on Billie Mack road, at the Donner Lake exit on 80. Many snowmobiles had blazed a nice trail along the stream and we enjoyed the final hour of daylight snowshoeing up and back.

The cabin was nice and warm with the brand new propane heater and we slept great!

The next day we lazed around and took a brief morning walk with coffee. Commando played with a young champagne colored standard poodle and also peed on virtually every driveway we passed. I don't know how he manages to hold so much pee.

The cute guy came to shovel off the decks and we had packed up and took this as our cue to leave.

I thought there would be a good place to go along 89 on the way to Sierraville and there was. We stopped at the Prosser Hill OHV staging area and explored the Prosser dam and a random picnic table. Someone had snowshoed along the 10 + mile Commemorative Emigrant Trail (to Boca Stampede reservoir) and left a pretty big trail. We followed that back after blazing our own trail for a short distance. The snow is GREAT! There's a deep, hard base covered with about 2-3 feet of wet powder. Great snow for shoeing.

Commando is exhausted and has spent most of the evening sleeping with only a few forays out to the backyard to remind the squirrel enemy that he is home.

Another low elevation hike with ticks

The weather was unsettled so I decided to stay out of the chain control zone and hike in Auburn. There is a small waterfall called the "Black Hole of Calcutta." It's at a popular area which I would normally avoid, but I was hoping that only die-hards would be out in the possible rain.

We drove to the Auburn confluence area and parked across the highway 49 bridge and started hiking along the Western States Trail. I could only let Commando off leash occasionally because there were other people about. We strolled along quite nicely for about a mile and viewed the waterfall. Despite the rain, it was thin and thready but it was high and dropped into a scenic dark-gray granite grotto.

We headed back and I stupidly elected to try to hike down to the river on the Cool trail side. After bushwhacking around for a bit, I was forced to turn back.

And, I have a tick bite on my back shoulder!

Ticks, or why I don't hike at low elevations

We started off intending to hike somewhere at Ice House but a boulder at Bridal Veil Falls was threatening the road and the traffic backup was insane. So we did a U-turn and decided to explore somewhere off Sly Park road. We turned off on Park Creek road. From the map, it looks like you can hike down to Jenkinson Lake via Old Sly Park road.

We didn't make it quite that far. My phone GPS was working and it just didn't look like I was moving that fast. The way back would be uphill. We turned off on an unmarked but well travelled road (White Springs). It traversed the hill at roughly the same elevation and parallel to Old Sly Park. I figured it must eventually hit Park Creek again. It does, almost, except for the dead end.

The last 1/4 mile to Park Creek was uphill through an extremely dense forest with manzanita, willow and plenty of junk pines. I'd already picked 3 ticks off Commando so I figured they were now raining down on us.

We saw plenty of deer sign, indeed, there really wasn't a place where there weren't fresh tracks or droppings. I did see what looked like bear scat, but I couldn't be completely sure. It was certainly a BIG pile of poo with lots of berries and twigs in it. I've never seen horse or cow poo quite that color either. It wasn't particularly fresh although I didn't touch it. There's only so much I'll let my naturalist self do. I observed, that was good enough.

Commando got a bath once we got home which he loved (not). I took a bath and am pretty sure I washed off some ticks.

So, that's why I don't hike at lower elevations.

Why I hike

Henry Shukman wrote about a trip to the Grand Canyon and had this to say about his first view of the trail:

We only stayed an hour or two. But before we left, from the rim I saw a trail, pale as chalk, winding down a huge slope beneath a cliff. There’s something about a trail seen from far away. That thread snaking over the landscape — where does it go, who uses it, why does it seem so intimate with the land? And why does it arouse such an intense longing to follow it? An unknown path seems almost necessarily a metaphor. We like to conceive of life as a thread, after all, a path crossing unexpected terrain on its journey to another element. When the trail winds across empty desert, up and down huge hillsides — as in the Grand Canyon — it’s all the more insistently allegorical.

First Snowshoe

Met up with Diane for a quick snowshoe excursion in the Icehouse area. There was plenty of snow but it was only a few inches deep so we didn't really need to snowshoes. We used them anyway because it's just more fun that way.

We took a mellow trip at the Bassi Falls area down to the river and back along the river bank to the road.

Then we drove up to Loon Lake and ate lunch and gazed at the scenery. Commando had a great time playing in the snow. I tossed snowballs down the granite ledge and he happily caught them and chewed them to bits...then he pretended he couldn't find the snowball and wanted more.

It was an excellent day!

Loon Lake Hike

Tried to hike from the dam at LL to SL but there really isn't a trail on that side of the lake and I didn't make it.

We did explore the LL shoreline and became intimately familiar with the thick brush. At one point, I slid down a cliff using the brush as a brake.

I may still try to make it, but with better directions!

Commando Kicked out of Doggie Day Care

Poor Commando is a little too aggressive to be in doggie day care. I had taken him several times to a great place and even boarded him for a few days. Yesterday he got into two minor altercations with some dogs (no breaking of skin on either side) and was kicked out of day care. Sigh.

He's still a good dog, just need to make sure he and the other dog plays nicely.

Lake Van Norden walk

After viewing the progress Jodi is making with some work on her cabin Commando and I walked around Lake Van Norden. This is a beautiful alpine meadow and is part of the Yuba, Truckee, and American River watersheds. There is a partially dismantled dam that has created the lake...don't know why it hasn't been fully removed.

I followed a random use trail for a while, then walked along the edge of the lake, then cut across the main stream (getting my feet wet), then followed a very straight trail back to the car.

Saw some small black frogs and a hawk. Commando really enjoyed the open space and ran and ran and ran.

Great people I met today

The hound and I drove up to Loyalton to look at some houses and hike. It's a pretty area and would make a great weekend place.

The woman who owns the Blue Moon Bakery in Loyalton (0n 49) was incredibly charming. They were transporting a bunch of cakes for a wedding (to be assembled at the wedding) and she was very friendly and pleasant.

Stopped at Machado's fruit stand (80 and Bowman) and bought an apple pie and some cherry preserves. I usually stop at Ikeda's but thought I'd give Machado's a try. They are much smaller but have some interesting produce...and they also sell fresh apple pies.

The guy working the pie counter was very charming and had the most engaging and friendly smile...he has a great sense of humor!

So, if you're ever traveling in either Auburn or Loyalton...stop in and bask in the friendliness.

Meadows Lake

Drove up 80 to to Truckee, then took 89 north, then took the Henness Pass Road to Meadows Lake road.

It's a pretty lake with some great camping spots. They are spaces far apart and most of them border directly on the lake. There were only a few spots occupied.

I put on my water sandals and Commando and I walked along the shoreline from camp spot 1 to the boat ramp and back. Then we drove over to an open area that turned out to be the remains of the town of Summit City According to the various signs, Summit Cityhad a brief stint during the Gold Rush and then was abandoned when they couldn't get gold out of the "stubborn ore."

There wasn't much left of the town. I was surprised. I expected some old tumbledown shacks. Perhaps the remains of a rock wall or sidewalk, but there really wasn't much there.

My main goal was to see if I could get close to Old Man Mountain so we headed to the dam area. I could catch glimpses of the mountain from campsite 1, but from the town site I could only see a volcanic crag (Hartley Butte). I decided to head to this volcanic high spot to see what I could see. On the way up I passed some other hikers who told me where to locate some petroglyphs.

Hartley Butte had some great views of Castle Crags, Fordyce Lake and the back side of Old Man Mountain so it was worth the scramble up to its shoulders.

I navigated down and did some cross-country scrambling to see the petroglyphs. There were quite interesting. I shot a few pictures with my cell phone. It seems as if many had been removed (based on the petroglyph sized chips on the granite. There seemed to also be some fake petroglyphs (on a wall not the floor, on bare granite not black discolored granite, and of different shapes). There was also some graffiti (1902?) and some intials that could have been from the settlers.

Perhaps someone needs to put up some signs for the First Nations people who were here before Summit City?

We drove back stopping in a few places for some short strolls.

Nice trip and I'll definitely have to come back before the snow flys.

Elkhorn Slough Paddle

Drive a little bit south of Santa Cruz, CA to Moss Landing and take any of the turns to the right just before you cross Elkhorn Slough to several kayak rental places. If you pass the power plant towers, you've gone too far.

We rented closed deck kayaks and headed out around 11 am on a Furlough Friday. This is very popular and I imagine in the height of summer the crowd might be a little too enthusiastic.

The tide was with against us on the way in, but the wind was with us. I think the tide was stronger because when I stopped paddling I almost immediately came to a full stop.

We saw plenty of sea lions, pelicans, water birds and otters. Sea lions were basking on the shore in various places and on a boat dock. Otters were basking in the water near the launch point, in a pod in the estuary about a mile from the launch point, and just swimming around doing otter stuff. On surfaced quite close and began grooming it's back flippers, rolling and rolling and rolling and then shaking it's head dry. The otters seemed to dry off more quickly in the water while the sea lions stayed wet and glossy. We made it a bit past Rubis Creek and Andy went along ahead to Kirby Park. I explored Rubis Creek but didn't manage to make it back to the main channel. Although there looked to be a clear channel, it was confusing to navigate and I did not want to get stuck in the mud.

I made it back about 15 minutes after Andy and both of us were muddy (getting out was definitely muddy) and our arms were like spaghetti. I told Andy our shoulder would really hurt later.

I'd like to definitely do this trip again, perhaps with the tide coming in to see if we can make it further and explore more of the marshy areas.

Of course we were hungry as we'd only had a coffee and 1/2 of a small breakfast burrito but we were also pretty dirty. Andy's jeans were wet from the knees down and my hair looked a bit like I'd jammed a hat over it, sweated, then frizzed the ends with seawater. We stopped at Haute Enchilada which had a vibrant and charming exterior and it had outdoor seating. The food was good, the mole very tolerable and the decor excellent. I highly recommend the place.

Two hike weekend

On Sunday drove up to the Carson Pass area to take a short stroll to the top of Hawkins Peak. From the maps, it looks like you can take a forest service road to within a few hundred feet of the summit at just over 10,000 feet. I wasn't in much of a mood for a hike and I'd been wanting to try this since last summer.

Unfortunately the road up was blocked by a gate. Although this shortens the distance quite a bit, I still wasn't prepared to hike at that altitude.

We drove down to the lake and parked and then hiked part of the trail to Grover Hot Springs state park.

On previous trips I'd hiked along a well marked trail that followed the exit creek to a riparian meadow. At this point the trail disappears and I've just walked through the meadow. At the far end of the meadow you eventually find the well marked trail again.

I was determined to follow the trail back so that's what I did. As it turns out, the trail stays under the trees and avoids the meadow. It edges between a small ridge and another meadow and then crosses a small granite ridge to the boat ramp of the lake. From the lake, there is no trail marking so one would have no idea this was the actual trail head.

Still, it was a pleasant hike around the lake, through the meadow, off trail up a small ridge, back to the trail and then back to the lake.

Fordyce Lake Trek

Drove up 80 to Cisco Grove exit and took the signed dirt road to Fordyce Lake. The beginning part, once paved, is in some ways the worst part of the trip due to the HUGE potholes. Someone has graded parts of the road because when I drove it late last year it was much worse. Once over the Fordyce Summit the road is also not good, but PG&E is doing some maintenance and they have repaired and sanded the road for heavy equipment.

We parked about 1/2 mile from the lake and then strolled along the inlet meadow to the the dam. From the dam you can see the back side of Old Man Mountain and I think I'll try to get there before winter closes in.

It's pretty, but Grouse Lakes is prettier so I think I have probably seen what I wanted to see with this trip. I may try to take another drive up to Lake Sterling.

Commando had a great time running around and chasing sticks.

Saw a dead skunk with skeleton-y goodness!

I just cannot get moving in the mornings so it was very late (4 pm) when we hit the trail at Fuller Lake to Spaulding Lake. All of the water in the streams is gone until you get to the stream that parallels the second big water conduit.

I decided to take the bridge over a water-filled stream that leads to Spaulding Powerhouse 3. The trail is fairly level and parallels the shoreline, albeit a good 100 feet below. The water is low.

There was a dead, mostly eaten skunk on the trail. It was partly dessicated (doesn't take much in the dry heat) and the skull was intact (with fur) and the tail bone (with fur) was also laid out neatly. There was some blobby, leathery looking innard that the predator also hadn't eaten. I almost wanted to take the skull because it would look sort of interesting (once the fur and gory bits had been boiled off) but I decided not to. The smell was faint. Poor skunk.

We made it over the first dam and rested along the shore. Well, I rested and Commando chased sticks, dug up good smelling stuff in the duff, and looked for critters.

I had been hoping that there was a link between this trail and the trail that follows the Yuba River so I could make a loop but if such a link exists, I didn't find it.

It was a nice hike with beautiful weather although the mosquitoes are incredibly fierce.

Saw a Lynx!

Drove up to the Van Vleck trail head again. This time we stopped at the ranger station on Ice House road and the map they had posted showed Shadow Lake almost 5 miles from the trailhead. It's 2 miles from where the trail turns off the Highland Lakes trail the intersection of which is about 2.5 miles from the trail head gate. Ah ha!

It was pretty hot and the mosquitos were still pretty fierce so I wore long sleeves and long pants and slathered on the DEET.

We headed up the Red Lake trail as I wanted to stop at the Bassi Creek crossing and soak in the creek and read a bit before turning back. About 1/2 mile from the start Commando started a lynx and they both ran across the trail and into the woods before he came back with his tongue hanging out. The lynx was as big as he was and I'm glad they didn't mix it up. I'd brought the squeaky toy for a recall and it seemed to work very well.

Although there were a lot of parked cars we didn't see anyone until we got to the Bassi Creek crossing. I briefly chatted with two guys coming down and we saw some mountain bikers splashing in the creek.

We ate our lunch although the mosquitos were so fierce I can't say I enjoyed it much. I got thoroughly wet wading around the creek so was cooler on the trip back.

It was a good hike and this is a fascinating area to explore.

Failed to reach Shadow Lake again

The Eldorado National Forest Guide says this hike is 2 miles but some trail descriptions, and my experience trying to take this twice says it's a lot longer, maybe about 5 miles. This time I was determined to make it, but stopped at the big mule's ears area and decided that was enough for one day. I still wasn't at the alleged cutoff to Shadow Lake and from the map, it looked like I was still only halfway to my goal.

The trail is actually pretty easy, well marked and with slight upgrades followed by really long level spots. There are a lot of water crossings, including two very wet meadows (still very wet in July) so this is probably not a trail to take any earlier in the year if you want your feet to stay dry.

It's a good trail for solitude, wildflowers and water. It rained on my way down (oops, forgot to check the weather before I left). The first rain was very mild and barely wet the dirt but it left pine pollen-y golden droplets on all the foliage.

It was also nice to hear the forest silenced just after the rain. There was no wind, and all the birds and insects were in hiding and silent. I don't know whether the cloud cover dampens sound but I'll just say it does.

It rained in earnest for about a half hour just as I was nearing the big marshy meadow and as I crossed it. I thought about taking shelter beneath a tree but it just wasn't worth it. I won't melt from a little water.

The mosquitos were fierce but this time I was prepared. I had long pants and long sleeves. I think I still was bitten, but a lot less.

Commando enjoyed the trip although (due to his bad owner) he had an accident in the car. I knew he had to go but thought we could make it to Ice House road. We almost did. I cleaned out the car and was fortunate that my tax dollars had paid for a trash bin just up the road. I wasn't about to throw his mat out but didn't really want to drive many miles with a poop laden dog mat.

I also discovered that he probably can't be trusted around horses. Just as we were starting off a group of about 6 were coming back form a ride. I got Commando's collar (he was off leash) and he stood quietly as they passed by. I let go of him because he didn't seem that interested. Oops, bad owner again. He wanted to chase after them and even looked like he might try to nip at the last horse's heels before he listened to my, "NO!" and came back to me.

It's a good trip but I'll have to see if I can find a better map and directions.

Slow Trip to Hell Hole

Drove up to Hell Hole reservoir for a short hike. I wasn't very motivated and left late. Reached Hell Hole and headed across the dam to the trail to the campground. It was pretty hot. Reached the trail and started climbing up the trail. It traverses a steep hill, nearly a cliff, over badly broken granite and volcanic gravel. It was hot and not very inspiring. I didn't get very far and decided I'd had enough and we turned back. Even Commando didn't seem too enthusiastic. The vulture that circled overhead was certainly not very inspiring either.

Just at the end of the dam there's a slope to the lake so we headed down. Commando needed water and there were plenty of driftwood sticks for me to throw and huge driftwood logs for me to sit on.

Fortunately there was a rocky, beachy slope so I could toss sticks pretty far out before Commando had to swim. The water is very cold and I really don't want to have to swim in it to rescue him. He is very confident. He swam out several times to try to retrieve a stick that appeared to still be firmly attached to the log jammed just under the surface.

I had noticed some weird looking thing on the bottom of the lake in the shallow water. They look like fleshy pink and white tulip with octopus type tentacles. But they don't move, they seem anchored to the bottom. I didn't touch one.

For some time I'd noticed one at the surface that was moving around a bit but didn't think much of it. After a while I focused on it a little more and discovered that a smallish snake was trying to eat one of these weird looking things and was having great difficulty gulping it down.

I watched the snake for a while and kept Commando from bothering him. The poor snake didn't seem to be making much progress so we finally left without viewing the final swallow. I hope he managed to choke it down.

انقلاب ایران

انقلاب ایران . من با چه تکنولوژی است که در ایران که در طول استفاده از ایهیجان انتخابات مسحور شده است. اعتراض به استفاده از چهچه و دیگر سایت های شبکه های اجتماعی برای برقراری ارتباط... فناوری اطلاعات در سراسر جهان است پله تا دسترسی به اینترنت را فراهم کنید و سعی کنید به سپر از دانشجویان معترض و در حال حاضر گوگل است که به بهبود خود را ترجمه خدمات. من این پست را به فارسی ترجمه کنید و بعد از آن دیگر تنها برای تفریح.

Iranian Revolution

I have been fascinated by how technology is being used in Iran during this election excitement. The protestors are using Twitter and other social networking sites to communicate...IT around the world is stepping up to provide internet access and try to shield the protestors and now Google is improving its translate service. I'll translate this post to Persian and post it again just for fun.

Enchanted Pools Round Trip

Drove to Wright's Lake and finally did the round trip journey!

Took the Rockbound Pass trail and then cut over to the EP just before entering the Desolation Wilderness area on the poorly marked use trail. There's a little summit just before the turnoff and we stopped to listen to a lone coyote somewhere north of us.

The weather was good for hiking because it was cold and overcast with dramatic clouds. There were even a few rain sprinkles and it had rained earlier in the day.

It was a little tricky crossing the stream...it's spring and the water is COLD, DEEP and FAST but I found a relatively short crossing with relatively shallow water (below knee deep) and not too fast. I took my boots off and then started across. Wow! Cold! The bottom was rocky but a little mossy and soft without being slippery. I took it slowly because I didn't want to fall in and get wet and cold. It was a bit of struggle scrambling over the granite on the other side but I didn't get wedged in any of the cracks and was soon sitting on the rock putting on my nice and warm and dry socks and boots.

We did spend a little time sitting on various comfy boulders and logs on both sides to enjoy the scenery and the incredibly loud water.

Hiking down on the Twin Lake trail side I saw some new views of the small cascades and sat down to watch a solid wall of water fall down into a crevice and then dart sideways to drop down a chute and then boil up before dropping into a large pool. By summer this will be a great pool to take a dip and cool off...but not today!

We had no problems crossing the other little stream. The water was swift but didn't really get to the top of my foot so I let my water resistant boots take the brunt.

I had to leash Commando up down at the Wright's Lake loop trail because it's a bit busy now and it is an on leash area.

He had a great time and was a tired doggy for that evening and the next day.

Calaveras Big Trees Camping Day Three

We all slept in although I was awake at dawn. It had rained during the night and the meadow was steaming until the sun dried it out. We broke camp and went our separate ways...Tami and Donna to Jackson Rancheria and home and Commando and I for a big hike and then home.

I had planned to go to the summit and hike there but we turned aside at Spicer Reservoir and then took a side road to Summit and Elephant Rock lake. We parked at Elephant Rock lake and hiked to Elephant Rock. It's a giant pile of volcanic rock sticking out (like a sore thumb?) amongst the more usual granite. From looking at the map I'd wondered if it were possible to get to the top. If it is, it certainly doesn't look easy.

We ended up doing a loop trail back to Summit Lake and then back to where the car was parked. It's a nice easy trail...not too heavily used and with no significant ups or downs. There were some creek crossings but my feet only got a little wet. Most of the trail is marked for mountain bikes but I didn't see any evidence. Trails leading off went to Duck Lake and Highland Lakes both in the Carson Iceberg wilderness and way too far for me to go!

There had been a few cars along the way on our way to the trailhead but they were all gone on the way back. We stopped briefly at Spicer and gazed at the trail at the bottom of the dam. It's a cool looking lake and maybe we'll have to camp here sometime and explore some of the other trails.

Commando had a good trip and when we got home he looked at me like he expected me to carry him into the house. Hmmph!

Calaveras Big Trees Camping Day Two

Donna really wanted to explore some caves which is why we selected Calaveras. We woke the next morning and ate eggs, potatoes and bacon then drove to Moaning Caverns with a NEW 1500 foot zip line.

I had no intention of risking my life on a zip line but Tami and Donna went twice. Commando and I watched and he chased the zippees down the slope. Then they went on the cave tour while Commando and I explored the area and gassed up.

We drove down a Power House on the Stanislaus river on Camp 9 road which was a very single lane non-county maintained "road" down the Stanislaus River Canyon to the power house. We crossed a green metal bridge and then entered a beautiful meadow filled with purple flowers. After scrambling down a dry creek bed we hung out on a beachy area of the river watching the water pour into a deep pool. Very pretty.

Hopefully we won't have any poison oak!

Commando didn't like the green bridge (metal slats and stairs) but he braved it once he saw that I was going to cross without him. On the way back he was nonchalant, quite the old hand at crossings!

Tami and Donna slept in their truck because it had rained again at camp and their tent was wet. We were surprisingly tired and all slept great.

Calaveras Big Trees Camping Day One

Drove up around 11ish after running some errands. I bought a cheap screen house so we'd have some shelter for the expected rain and a somewhat expensive soft sided cooler on wheels so I could take up less space. The drive was uneventful and I selected space 21, which, I highly recommend. It's on the meadow one space away from the very nice restrooms and there's lots of space in the site.

It was a challenge setting up the rain tent with just one person but I used my giant brain and was able to prop two of the legs between the seat and the table top of the picnic table to hold them in place while I got the other legs assembled and positioned.

I took Commando for a drive and then a short hike on some unidentified forest service road just past Dorrington while Donna and Tami set up their gear.

It did rain the first night and I was glad to have the shelter. It was also a handy place to stored our chairs and wood when we were away.

The first night we feasted on sausage. I couldn't find the mustard I'd bought though. Damn.

Sleeping in the Escape was a bit of a challenge. My knee is still quite bruised from the fall I took at work so kneeling wasn't really an option. I also forgot to close my thermarest so the air leaked out and it was hard to get comfortable.

Also, Commando and I breathe out lots of moisture so the windows were fogged up in the morning. Still, it was nice to not have to crawl into a tent and sleep above the ground.

More French Meadows Reservoir

This was really more of a driving trip because I was dizzy and shaky once we got up there. We drove up the Ralston Ridge way but could have come the Mosquito Ridge way as all the snow from last weekend is gone.

We strolled around at the trailhead to Granite Chief wildernesss but I didn't have the chops to cross the snowmelt stream. I put Commando on the leash when going down to the American River past the one group camping. On the way back I didn't do that because I didn't see anyone around and certainly no dogs. Unfortunately the dog was in the tent with its owner and the tent dog and Commando exchanged some pleasantries before he heeded my recall command. I'm guessing that the tent occupant was napping and the probably wasn't the best way to wake up.

On the way back one of the campers came down with fishing gear and he was very polite so they are (whew!) a forgiving group. He said he hadn't caught any fish yet but he'd warned his worms to get ready and to hold their breath!

We turned off at the Duncan Peak crossroad but a downward truck said the road was still closed by snow so we headed back to civilization by Mosquito Ridge.

It was hot and even with the air I couldn't get cool. Still, it was a good day and Commando got a little exercise while I strolled and he chased sticks into FMR and even had fun running and biting the waves.

Ralston Ridge Road is open

Made it to French Meadows via Ralston Ridge road. Stopped in the campground and sat on the shore and read a book while Commando roamed around. We also took a stroll in part of the burned area along a stream. Then we drove up the river and strolled in another campground just checking it out. Oh, I also used a lever to shove a tree off the road more. Saw a bear on the way up. It was smallish and black and moving very fast into the woods.

Almost got to French Meadow Reservoir

Drove up Mosquito Ridge road past the Interbay turnoff and was stopped by a snow berm. Hiked up the road to the Duncan Peak turnoff and then turned back. The road is intermittently snow bermed with the longest and deepest section just before the DP turnoff. A well equipped, high clearance pickup with what looked like special tires made it up to the longest and deepest section.

It looks like the Ralston Ridge road may be open because there were new tire tracks coming from the lake side. They too were stopped by DP road.

The weather was cool and great for hiking. It was fun to hike on MRR with no cars (well, the 1 4WD) and enjoy the journey at the slow walking pace.

Lots of birds and squirrels but no deer sign.

Commando at day care

Took Commando in for his first day care visit at Grateful Dog. He seems to have enjoyed it. He spent some of the morning playing with a white shaggy dog and then played fetch with a Cairn terrier in the afternoon. He even let the other dog get the toy out of his mouth. So, if he enjoys it and it seems like he is tired tonight I may repeat this every other Monday. He was certainly hungry when he got home.

Bassi Falls

The road was clear all the way up to the trail head. I didn't want to hike from Ice House road, instead, I wanted to see if there was a good route off trail to the top of the falls...and then try going upstream.

Just before the trail turned right and started dropping Commando and I forged off into the pine forest. I could see some brush ahead, but thought that the pines would keep the brush to a minimum. Wrong! We worked our way through rabbit brush and mesquite picking up many scratches in the process. We finally made it down to the upper part of the falls by following a rough and (mostly) dry creek.

I enjoyed the first of my two sandwiches just lazing on the granite and looking at the view and listening to the falls. Commando ran around and smelled stuff. A family was a bit upstream (still on the granite) and asked if there was a trail down. I said no and they said they'd bushwhack back down just like they'd gotten up.

After studying the terrain a bit I decided to head straight up the granite face and then hope there was a trail through the brush covering the ridge. I had to admit, it looked pretty impenetrable.

After climbing up (and then relaxing some more) I saw a guy coming from upstream but close to Bassi Creek. I started back down and he was soon joined by his pal. I thought, hey, they look like they know what they're doing! Wrong.

I headed upstream until we got to a tiny creek. The decomposed granite is a little hard to track through (or maybe the guys had never gotten this far) so I had to choose staying on "my" side of the tiny creek or crossing it to Bassi Creek side. Both ways looked choked with brush. Unfortunately, I chose the Bassi Creek side. I soon lost any hope of a trail and just scrambled through the brush (tearing holes in my shirt) and really hoping I didn't break a leg.

There was a small waterfall that I could almost see. In the summer, it will be possible to just hike up the granite, but I had no wish to be swept downstream in icy water. After much more bushwhacking, I made it back to the granite.

I was a bit tired so decided to head down to the lower area as fast as possible as it's all granite and then a nice trail. At this point, if I never see another mesquite it will be too soon.

Naturally there's no trail so there was more bush scratching, except this time with a steep drop over what is essentially a brushy cliff to keep me paying attention. I actually had to help Commando down at one point.

We made it back and I soaked my feet in one of the icy rivulets before making the final push to the car. It really was a beautiful day and I'll look forward to hiking this again in the summer (and maybe with a machete).

Oh, the dog in this link looks just like Commando, except he doesn't have a tail. She's even got the running bug!

More Lake Spaulding

Took the marked foot trail all the way to the lake. The snow is melting fast but there are still plenty of 3 foot deep drifts. The streams are running well from the snowmelt too so I didn't need to carry water for the hound.

The high water mark is a good 50 feet above the water line and it's strewn with plenty of driftwood. I relaxed at the top of a cove and read some of my book and ate my lunch. The only people I saw the whole day were two guys and a kid with two dogs headed out for camping somewhere along the lake.

Then we followed the high water mark along until I got high enough to intersect the trail again. I threw a big piece of driftwood for Commando to chase in the water and he grew quite attached to it. Unfortunately, when our route took us between two boulders he was forced to abandon it. I sat for a while watching him try to figure out how to get the stick through the gap. A nicer owner would have rescued him from his plight...but I guess I'm just not that nice.

Hike to Lake Spaulding

Drove up 80 to 20 and took Bowman Lake road the hike to Lake Spaulding. Stopped at the road just below Fuller Lake (perhaps called Fuller Road?). I could see quite a bit of snow from the paved road so I took my snowshoes. Almost as soon as I got onto the snow though, I could see bare dirt ahead.

That would mark most of the trip...snow...dirt (or mud)...snow...dirt...granite, etc., etc.

We made good time up to the open canal where the dirt road ends. We took the short but steep way onto the granite outcropping and then bushwhacked our way down closer to the lake. Although it wasn't particularly difficult, we had to route find through impassible manzanita stands, impassible cliffs and other impediments. We didn't make it all the way down to the lake "shore" but made it most of the way. We stopped for mid-hike snack on a nice rock overlooking the lake, Old Man Mountain and 80 while in the sparse shade of a bristlecone pine.

On the way back, we intersected the signed trail which took us to the bottom of the steep hill where we'd left my snow shoes. There were also some significant snow drifts to get through so I really missed them!

The signed trail is a little strange. It leaves the dirt road to duck under a HUGE water pipe and across a stream. It then follows a nice trail at the foot of either a steep cliff or really, really steep hill until it gets to a dry creek crossing from the PGE hydroelectic facility just up the hill. There are signs warning you that PGE may release water at any time so stay out. Well, why have the trail go here then? The dry creek crossing is substantial and you'd have no hope of clearing the boulders if any water started rushing down. You then duck under another HUGE water pipe and then parallel the lake, presumably coming down the water at some point. I think this trail goes east a while and eventually ends up at the Grouse Ridge area.

If I were the trail builder, I would have avoided the many dangerous creek crossings and gone over the granite dome and back down.

We had to scramble up the steep, steep hill in the forest area to retrieve my snow shoes...then I slid back down the snow covered dirt road on my butt. Fun!

Not very interesting hike at Hope Valley

Drove up 88. Was planning on going to Salt Springs Reservoir but missed the turn (just after Ham's Station). Stopped briefly at Bear River reservoir but there were a lot of people and snowmobiles and the snow covered terrain didn't look too interesting.

Drove to Hope Valley and hiked randomly on the Nevada side of 89 to a small saddle. The going was a bit interesting as there was really no trail and bare dirt then deep snow. The terrain wasn't really open so no view eastwards. The view west to Carson Pass was spectacular though. There was also a small stand of very healthy bristlecone pine at the top of the saddle with a spray of winter aspen leading down the hill.

We enjoyed ourselves, but it wasn't a very long hike for all the driving.

Bosworth Meadows

Drove up to Ice House and hiked along to Bosworth Meadows. The trail follows forest service roads that are to the right of Ice House road just after the Crystal Range information station. There was still significant snow on the road and in shady spots under the trees. The snow was mostly hard packed so my tennis shoes were fine. The metal cattle guard type bridge was free of snow but Commando still refused to touch it with his feet. Luckily he was able to find a safe stream crossing area. I gingerly and carefully crossed. It was a beautiful day marred on slightly by a helicopter flying back and forth ferrying snow mobiles from what might have been the Wright's Lake area to what might have been the Union Valley area. After about 4 trips though the 'copter was finished and I was able to enjoy the quiet. The meadow was wet and the snow leading to the meadow was wet and I got my feet soaked many times. Fortunately my socks insulate even when wet so no harm done...it was actually somewhat refreshing. This will be a fun area to explore this summer.

Bike ride at Spenceville

Drove up to Spenceville Wildlife Area to try to bike to Fairy Falls. Unfortunately, I didn't start till early afternoon because I met the gang at Red Hawk. By the time I made it to the trailhead, it was about 3 pm.

Commando and I started off in the heat and dust. We stopped at the bridge and I encouraged him to drink and get wet. There were a lot of cows in pasture so I had to leash him up a few times. We walked up the hill and then had a spectacular view across a green, green saddle or maybe even a valley sprinkled with small white flowers. Commando spent some time running over the grass, clearly enjoying himself.

Then we coasted down the hill and stopped at the stream. The next bits are uphill again and it was getting late. I had Commando swim in the stream to cool off and he drank plenty of water too.

On the way back, the open saddle had cows over it so poor Commando had to be on leash again. He got put back on leash when a wily cow crossed the road (having gotten through the 5 strand barbed wire) to the other side and then went up a wash, through some rocks and disappeared from view.

We saw plenty of turkeys too so it was a good trip.

Sold Jetta

Bye little car. Just sold it to some guys from the internet after posting on Craigslist. I think I got a decent price. It was a young kid and he'll fix the car up and probably drive it. I told him to be careful.

Exploring Bowman Lake Road

Drove up 80 to 20 then Bowman Lake Road. I was hoping that enough snow had melted so I could hike to Spaulding Lake over the route I'd taken in snow shoes a while back. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Still I backtracked down the road a bit to a forest service road that gave access to the major granite. We explored the road and followed it past a small, unnamed lake and back to BLR. We hiked up BLR and then got back on top of the granite overlooking the small lake and bushwhacked back to the car. It wasn't a bad off trail trip and I'm only a little scratched up from a few parts where I had to scramble through mesquite or pines. The rock is beautiful. Mostly reddish but with swirls of color. I'm going to guess volcanic and iron. It's also interesting to see the granite layered (successive volcanic flows?) and then pushed up so the layers are vertical. We enjoyed lunch on some rocks under a sickly looking bristecone pine and then headed home.

Long drive to around Foresthill

Drove up Mosquito Hill road and environs to see if enough snow had melted to get to Granite Falls. It hadn't. Hiked along a forest service road and scrambled around in the brush following some cow tracks. Then tried to drive up Ralston Ridge to French Meadows. The road was good to the French Meadows road but it rapidly deteriorated with snow. It was getting late so we turned back. We took a brief look at the "Georgetown District History Tour" stop 15 which proclaimed that this was Blacksmith Flat and a "nearby" trail would lead to some mines. I could see where the old miners had blasted away the hills but couldn't find anything that looked like a trail or a mine. Still, it was a pleasant drive and two nice strolls.

Pluses and minuses of the new Ford Escape

Pluses: The way the back seat bottom folds makes a great place for the dog...it maximizes his comfort and minimizes the amount of fur. It's comfortable on long trips. The AC works great! The cupholder is well placed and so is the middle storage thingie. That middle storage thingie is huge so it stores a bunch of crap. The V4 is completely adequate for my needs. I was able to climb hills and accelerate onto the freeway with no problem. Visibility is great...huge windows, no big "things" in the way.

Minuses: The cruise control on the steering wheel is positioned so that if your hand is at 7 o'clock you can inadvertently turn the CC off. Also, the CC is a little slow at accelerating on hills. I'm not sure how well the 4x4 works. I was trying to climb a hill with not very much snow (1/2 foot) on pavement and I couldn't make it. I'll have to compare it to the Saturn to see if it does better. Or maybe I don't have snow tires.

Meh: Seat belt adjustment is better than some, but I still can't keep it from attacking me in some positions. Why can't they invent a shoulder harness that is TRULY adjustable for short, tall, fat, well endowed, flat as a board people? Why do they insist on black for some of the dashboard trim? Black is too hot, especially in CA. I'm not in love with the white, still, I can claim some eco cred because white is a better color to prevent global warming (or global climate change or whatever).

Bought a new car

Thanks Edmunds.com for the hours of time I spent researching various cars. Looked at the Scion XB, Honda Fit, Element and CRV, Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier and Rogue and finally settled on a Ford Escape. I decided I wanted a somewhat boxy car that I could camp in and that was suitable for driving on local forest service roads. Most of the low gas mileage cars were too freaking low to the ground. I did really love the Fit though, and if it had just been higher off the ground I would have bought it. What sold me on the Escape was the price, high clearance, lack of crap dangling from the bottom (that can get damaged from rocks), simple looking engine, 0% financing combined with cash back. The dealership was okay with nothing too smarmy happening to make me ill. We'll see how it performs this weekend.

North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American River Trail

I've been meaning to take this trail for a while, but I've avoided it for several reasons. First, it's name is longer than the trail. Second, it's at a low elevation so it's usually hot. Last, it's the type of easy to get to place that is usually too crowded for an enjoyable wilderness experience.

This weekend was perfect. The weather is unsettled with heavy storms predicted so I didn't want to drive too far. It's also nice and cold. The trail looks worse than it is at the beginning with a short rocky slope composed mainly of talus. It soon gets onto actual dirt and levels out in the typical oak, slash pine, manzanita, tick infested terrain of the 3000 foot elevations.

There are constant views of the river about 300 yards below. With all the recent rain and snow the river was very noisy and flowing hard.

We trekked along happily and only had to scramble over one mud pile where a tree had fallen and taken some of the hillside along with it. Someone will need to come in and repair this section a bit.

The trail ends at the river along a granite curve with plenty of rocks to bask on in the hot summer. I stayed up on the trail's end where someone had built a nice granite platform and fire pit. Commando hung around for a bit and then went off to dig in the ground.

It was perfect timing because just as I was finishing my drink it started to rain! I'd recommend this trail for people with older children who want to end up at a nice picnic and swimming area in the summer. It's only a mile long so it's not much of a challenge otherwise.

Snow at Icehouse while sick

Drove up to Icehouse expecting 8 feet of snow after the most recent storms. It looks like I need to go higher because, although the scenery was nice, there was not 8 feet of new snow. I'm feeling sick so I didn't go far...just along the bank to the end of the campground and then back through the campground. I rested often and sat on a rock overlooking the lake for quite a while.

Commando enjoyed running in the snow...running full tilt along the bank biting the water with his patented scoop mouth technique...and chasing a stick that he'd found when I was obliging enough to through it for him. He got lots of exercise and I didn't but enjoyed the day anyway.

American River

Just about 3 weeks ago on an evening walk with the dog along the river we stopped at the "secret" beach. The water was so low that we could walk along the side all the way to the not-so-secret beach without getting our feet wet. The water was so low that the hound was able to chase sticks into the middle of the river.

Today the secret beach is gone. The path leading to the secret beach is gone and the water level is about 2 feet up the sand cliff. There is standing water in the overgrown gully.

What a difference the heavy rains are making!

Cheese Camp Road

On furlough Friday and also on Saturday drove up to Cheese Camp road to snow shoe. Friday was sunny and some nice people had packed down the trail with their snowmobiles and then left. We headed down and then skirted a hill until we came to one of the streams that empties into Union reservoir.

On Saturday it was overcast and some handsome men with their sons were just breaking camp in the pullout. They had a cool canvas tent with a heater so they must have been very snug. This time we walked down to the marshy area before the road goes up again. Commando dug all the way into the dirt after an interesting smell and I rested on a rock and drank my Vitamin water.

As I was getting my gear off at the car a pack of coyotes started howling over on the hill where Robb's hut is located. Commando seemed interested and I put him in the car before he decided to go investigate.

The snow is very wet and heavy but not very buoyant. It looks like it will be good for the drought conditions and, at the very least, stave off disaster for one more year.

Gloomy, stormy day in Bear Valley

Braved the storms to drive up to Nevada City and then to Bear Valley via highway 20. I was going to stop at the highway 2o ridge past the turnoff to Washington but it was snowing heavily and there was easily 3 feet of not very buoyant snow to plow through. Plus, there was no view.

Parked at the turnout in the valley and some thoughtful snowmobile enthusiast had made a nice trail up to the Sierra Trail and then back to the road. The snow is nice and wet and seems to be holding a lot of water. That's good for the drought. Conditions were good on the trail, but poor Commando went in up to his ears in the soft snow beside the trail. He didn't like it much but did obligingly chase snowballs into the deep snow.

It rained heavily at the lower elevations and snowed at the higher elevations. I might have stayed out longer but I really didn't want to be snowed in. I was glad to get out and I know Commando was glad too.

Stuck Trucks, Foresthill Bridge

I was pretty lazy and it's storming this weekend so I didn't even leave the house till about noon. Drove up to Colfax and took 174 then turned off onto You Bet drive and was hoping to make it via some side roads to Highway 20. Unfortunately, the road isn't plowed all the way through so I was forced to turn back. It was an interesting drive though.

They were stopping traffic in Applegate and not allowing any semis to proceed over Donner Summit. It was sad to see all of them parked along every exit and by the side of the freeway from Auburn north. I sure hope there is a plan to provide them with food and some shelter because if they're trapped there for a while they could get into trouble.

Drove back and parked under the Foresthill bridge and hiked up one of the American River forks. It's a nice jaunt for a rainy winter day because in the summer this is all jammed with people. Commando happily chased sticks and smelled stuff and we had a good time.

Local miscreants had painted part of the bridge supports and 3 of them were good. The pic of the smiley face is actually made with some rocks that have been cemented to the surface. I assume these particular miscreants are rock climbers making a climable surface. It was interesting.

Bowman Road Exploration

On Saturday drove up to Bowman Road off of highway 20 to explore. I could see that from 80, most of the snow had melted. At the Yuba River crossing, there was a sign for the Pioneer Trail so that's what we took. This segment connects with a trail to Spaulding Lake, although we didn't make it that far.

I didn't even take my snow shoes because the ground was so clear. The trail is relatively level, paralleling the river, with a few minor up and down switch backs. Some pretty big boulders had rolled down onto the trail and someone with a strong back and a lever is going to have fun shifting them.

Perhaps 1/2 mile along, there's a big meadow and there was an interesting sight. At the edge of the meadow there are about 10 pine saplings with the tops torn off. I'm going to guess bear, but I considered beaver and a buck scratching it's horns. I thought beaver would be tidier and would have taken the tops down. I thought if a buck had been scratching velvet I would have seen lots of damage on the ground from hooves and perhaps quite a few broken and bent branches. I picked bear because whatever did it had a LOT of strength. It looks like the tops were bent over repeatedly and violently. At least 2 of the trees were too big to wrap a human hand around. Also, a couple of the trees had dead needles although most were still green so it looks like it happened over time. Still, with the bear theory, I would have liked to see some bite or claw marks and I didn't see any damage other than where the trees were ripped apart. Except for one tree, the tops were just left where they lay. I'm not sure what would motivate the bear either. I picture them mainly eating and none of the trees looked eaten. Perhaps violent butt scratching?

I decided that humans would have used tools, possibly burnt the wood, and left trash around. Take a look at the picture and see what you think.

We stopped shortly after crossing a lively creek and then headed back. This is a good trail for early, early spring and late, late fall because the summer crowds are gone. We only saw one other hiker along the trail.

On Sunday we drove up to the other end of the trail (near Fuller Lake) and headed out. This time I took snow shoes because there was a lot of snow on the ground still in spite of the bare dirt patches.

I was glad to have them because some of the hills were steep and icy. I didn't take the official trail because no one had gone before and the snow was deep and unmarked. The weather was bad and I didn't want to get into any trouble.

We headed where snow mobiles had gone and ended up at a water pumping station taking water from (presumably) Fuller to Spaulding. I forced Commando to walk on a thoughtfully provided metal walkway and he didn't enjoy it. Once he made it to the rodent land beyond he was much happier.

Both days were cold and windy. Saturday was sunny but Sunday was gloomy and overcast.

EDNF 13N13

Drove around a bit on Icehouse trying to find the best place. Finally decided on 13N13. The road slopes relatively gently up and ends with an overlook to Sun Rock across a small watershed. I took a brief detour up 13N12, which eventually intersects with Cheese Camp road (?) but it was much steeper.

A truck had made ruts in the snow and a variety of walkers and snow mobiles had also gone up. The snow was firm with a few inches of fluffy new snow from last week's storm. Whoever had walked up before had probably walked up last weekend because they left deep holes. I admired their stamina because that's hard work!

We passed a fire hole with unburnt logs and two places where someone had spent some time digging a vehicle out and getting it turned around. The snowmobile tracks stopped in a cleared area and there were a variety of empty shotgun shells lying around. Who do they think will pick those up?

We crossed a small stream. Just where it crosses the trail it spreads out into quite a pool/marshy area and the previous walker had clearly gotten their boots (and probably ankles) wet. I can imagine just what they felt as they saw the pool, then discovered that the snow they were walking on was really just a deceptive cover over wet, wet water.

Soon the road takes a sharp right and now Commando and I were making the only tracks. Mr. Previous Weekend stopped and probably sat down on a stump to look over a creek down a short steep hill before heading back. At least, that's what the tracks looked like.

We kept on until we got to the summit and then headed over a saddle off the road to look out over the view. I sat on a log and ate my snacks and drank my Vitamin Water. Commando ate his snack and hunted rodents under the snow.

We headed back and were out for a total of about 3 hours.

Bad trip to snow - there has to be one

Drove up to Icehouse to try the hike Andy and I did the other weekend except this time turn right at the intersection. The weather was supposed to be bad, but it was worse than I thought. Ran into fog so heavy in Pollock Pines that the CHP was escorting vehicles west bound. It rained almost constantly with occasional gusts of downpour. There was no snow until we got to the top of Icehouse road and there was only about a foot of snow left.

I put the raincoat and snowshoes on and Commando and I headed off down the forest service road. The snow was very slushy and not supportive. The snow turned to mush underfoot. Commando had the worst of it as his feet just aren't as good as snowshoes.

When we got to the steel bridge, that was the end of the trip. I carefully crossed the bridge with the snow breaking down underneath my feet and hissing into icy Silver Creak. I tried to coax Commando across, and even tried to get him to lie on my jacket and drag him across but he would have none of it. His feet kept dropping into the abyss and he didn't like it.

We headed back to the car and then drove to Icehouse Lake. We parked at the dam and walked across. My plan, before it got very dark, was to walk to a little prominence just past the dam. Well, we were stopped by a steep cut that let overflow water bypass the dam in wet seasons. If it had been earlier in the day I might have tried to go down and back up to continue, but the sun was setting and I didn't want to get covered in mud and soaked to the skin and discover that there was a wet, muddy climb back up in the pitch dark.

We finished up with a tiny bit of stick throwing on the shore and then drove home through the pouring rain.

Oh well, there were some good views of water vapor rising from the dark green hills on the drive down so the day wasn't a complete waste.

Coldstream Canyon

Drove to Truckee and took the Coldstream Canyon trail out past some small nameless ponds and then headed back. At the beginning we ran into a state parks ranger and kept Commando leashed until he left (scofflaw!). We encountered several sets of dogs and Commando even played his favorite running game with one pup. The trail is nice but busy and I imagine it will be even busier in the summer. I was dismayed by the many, many, many piles of dog poo everywhere. We certainly don't make many friends when we don't pick up our dog shit!

Snow, snow, snow

Several trips to the snow and I've decided to abandon x-c skiing for now and stick with snowshoeing.

The day after Christmas we drove up to Hope Valley and rented skis and took a short trip on the flat area. Commando got to play with a lab and they really tore around like loons. We didn't stay out too long. The snow was deep and powdery so Commando found it tough going. It was also bitterly cold, about 9 degrees Farenheit and I wasn't sure how Commando would tolerate the temperature. He kept lifting his paws off the snow. The traffic was also horrible and very near Red Hawk casino there was a bad accident. The views were spectacular though with fresh powdery snow shining in the sun.

Drove up to Truckee on New Year's and rented x-c skis at the BackCountry store. They are really nice with no attitude so I highly recommend them. Drove up 89 almost to the big valley and skiied up a small road that leads to a closed for the season shooting range. The skis did well going uphill although it was no easier than snowshoes. I found going downhill to be harder than I thought and I was so afraid I would fall and break another bone that it just wasn't fun. These skis are easier to handle than the skinnier kind. That was nice. Still, it's on this trip that I decided to just stick with snowshoes.

Andy came up and we drove to Icehouse. We stopped at REI in Folsom first and were dismayed to see an enormously long line. An employee handing out tickets outside said it was the used gear sale. So much for our quick trip! Andy spent heavily on new boots, new snowshoes and new gloves.

We stopped somewhat randomly at forest service road 12N28 and hiked up about 2 miles and then back down. This road passes Jones Camp and skirts Bosworth Meadow. I'll have to explore the meadow a little more next time.