Enchanted Pools Deux

Made it! On the last trip I was within 100 feet of the pools (maybe 300), but it was good that I turned back because it was dark when I got back.

This time, because I knew the "trail" I made excellent time to the pools and was sitting on a rock between the upper and lower pool eating my leftover pizza within an hour. They are beautiful, exactly as described by the name.

We hiked a bit upstream and I crossed and tried to find the Rockbound trail to return. I didn't find the trail and we ended up bushwhacking to the lower falls (where steep cliffs stopped us) and beating through some willows and stepping into the stream up to the middle calf to cross.

Commando needed some urging, but he finally came through.

I think next time I'll try the Rockbound trail and see if I can determine where to cut off and head for the pools.

This also looks like a nice trail up to Twin Lakes, much easier and more pleasant than the real trail. That will probably wait for summer though!

I'm very glad I made it this time.

Enchanted Pools

Tried to get to the enchanted pools and didn't make it. In my defense, we didn't leave till noon and it gets dark early. I also didn't have a map or compass and only my memory of looking at someone else's map to guide me. I also met some people on the trail who confirmed that if I just headed left on the faint trail off of the Twin Lakes trail and had some luck I might find them. I probably got very, very close...say, within 1/4 mile.

I'm glad I turned back when I did because it was almost completely dark when I got back to the car. There was just enough light to see the beautiful Crystal Range reflected in the mirror still Wright's Lake with a tiny campfire across the lake and an early star over Mt. Price to add extra charm to the scene.

It was an excellent hike over awesome granite slabs with some stream crossings and a waterfall. I could hear a bigger stream at the place I stopped in a steep canyon below (probably the source of the pools) but it was getting late.

As usual, Commando enjoyed running around like a fiend. We only met 4 people. Three in a group at the beginning, and 1 guy who came up behind me on the way back. He'd been at Grouse Lake.

I wanted to try again today, but I was more tired than I expected and so I lazed at home with a small trip out to get a new ear piece.

Snow 2008!

Drove up to Wright's Lake again, this time via the partially paved Granite Springs road. The weather was overcast but clearing up and the recent storms hadn't dumped too much snow so I figured the roads would be driveable and they were.

The forest service had been clearing the forest all season and with the start of rain and snow we drove past dozens of burning slash piles. I was surprised at how much heat those piles create!

Wright's Lake was more overcast than the rest of the area as Commando and I headed out on the short 1.5 mile loop trail. I had brought my snow shoes, but as the snow was only a few inches, I didn't wear them.

It was quiet with only two sets of human tracks. We met the couple and their two dogs about 5 minutes from starting out. They had two. The dogs exchanged pleasantries and we each headed our separate ways. I was glad to be able to follow their footprints in case I lost the trail.

Well, they weren't very good at route finding as it turned out. After a very short climb, their print stopped when the "trail" did at one of the cabins and they had looped back on an alternate route. I pressed on a bit into the brush, but it was obvious that there was no trail.

I backtracked to the flat land and started ahead at the most recent "Loop Trail" sign. I kept looking, but no other sign. I took a side road (snowed over) that went in the right direction. We passed a few more cabins and then some signs saying that vehicles couldn't pass.

I could see one set of human tracks from the weekend before, that had been snowed over. I could also see what looked like a trail, if I were a heavily travelled trail covered with a few inches of snow.

Still no "Loop Trail" signs but the route looked good. There were some orange markers nailed to some trees, and signs in different directions saying "Horses" and "No Horses" at a large clearing. The horse trail didn't look very well used.

I was just starting to get a little worried that I might have to backtrack when we finally encountered the trail junctions to Rockbound Lakes and Twin Lakes. A bit down from here I sat on a cozy rock, ate my snack and drank some water. There is a spectacular meadow above the lake with Silver Creek running through it. The creek is very still with little current (usually!) and someday I'll have to bring my kayak up.

We continued onward and as we neared the cabins on this side of the lake there were fresh footprints again. The sky cleared up a bit and I thought maybe Red Peak might show up.

Back at the car Commando got to run around with a beautiful red hound dog pup. Great end to the day!

Lyon's Creek Trail

Although the weather was frightful with rain (and snow above 6K) I still wanted to hike. Commando and I got into the deathtrap and headed up to Wright's Lake via Ice House and the Wright's Lake tie road.

I was an uneventful drive although the huge rain in Placerville didn't fill me with confidence.

There was about an inch of slushy snow just below the big meadow at the junction of the tie road and Wright's lake road and it continued to snow/rain steadily. Snow had accumulated on the road to the lake with many tracks of previous vehicles. I had passed a few hunters on this last day of deer season so was glad that I'd remembered to bring Commando's bright yellow slicker.

At Wright's lake the gate was open. I had planned to hike around the lake, but when I saw the snow on the road, and that it was continuing to snow, I chickened out and decided to head a bit lower to hike. Although the deathtrap had handled well enough so far, I really don't have a lot of confidence in it and I really don't want to become a statistic.

We stopped at the Lyon's Creek trailhead. I hadn't hiked here in the past because the parking area has always been crowded. Today, there was a truck towing a small boat and that was it. As I parked, a couple (with two charming dogs) pulled in to hike. Our dogs got acquainted and ran around like loons while we geared up.

They hiked on ahead as I made my slower way along. For some reason my cell phone wasn't working, although it should have plenty of power, and I wasn't sure how long I would be out. The terrain was pretty, with about an inch of very wet snow. The temperature couldn't quite decide whether to be freezing or not, so there was a mix of snow, light rain, and even some sleet at one point. There was about an inch of snow on everything.

As far as I went along the trail (which wasn't far, maybe a mile) the trail was easy. Relatively level with only a few rocks. It's mainly a typical alpine forest on granite. There are a few views of the creek from just off the trail.

I will have to try this trail in better weather, and even perhaps stay overnight at one of the lakes. Next year!

Crystal Lake, Hampshire Rocks, Summit Valley

On the other side of 80 from Eagle Lakes it looked like one could drive or hike up to a lake on the other side of the railroad tracks. It's more scenic than it sounds. One could drive up to the tracks, but the fenced property on the other side said "No Trespassing" about 100 times so I figured they were serious.

We then exited at Big Bend and looked at the Yuba River. We strolled around the closed Hampshire Rocks campground and explored the river a bit. Commando got wet and enjoyed trying to chase the pitiful excuses for sticks I threw for him. At the end of a season of camping, even the twigs are puny and weak.

Finally we drove down to Soda Springs and explored Lake Van Norden and the surrounding valley. It's a beautiful valley in the fall, although it could use some aspens on the surrounding hills. The grass is golden yellow and the center of the valley is dry. It must be quite a bog in the spring or in a wet year. Commando really had a great job leaping all over the terrain occasionally stopping to terrify the rodent population by sniffing at a rodent hole. I could see signs of other predators in a pile of game bird feathers with nary a bone left of the carcass. There was a gaggle of Canada geese and ruined part of Commando's afternoon by leashing him up so he wouldn't chase them. A part of me would like to see him chase them. I suspect they would be more than a match for him, and I might enjoy him watching him running away from a particularly aggressive specimen. However, I try to be a good citizen and harassing wild life is not in the handbook...even if the wild life is more like a flying rat that converts meadow grass to copious poo.

He slept soundly on the ride home and was only able to chase one tennis ball before falling into a nice nap before going to bed. A tired dog is a good dog.

Eagle Lakes hike

Drove up 80 to the Eagle Lakes exit. This was the first time I've had Commando in the dog seatbelt. He wasn't too happy about it, but I felt more secure knowing he wouldn't fly out the windshield.

We stopped for a rest break at the Indian Creek staging area and then drove up the pretty bad road for a bit. Most forest service roads are marked "high clearance 4WD" but many aren't that bad. This one was pretty bad, and it got worse the further we travelled.

I parked about 1/4 mile past the staging area and hiked from there on. We soon came to a signed fork saying only 2 miles to Eagle Lakes. Various OHV clubs are maintaining the trail and they have done a good job. The road is relatively flat, going gradually uphill with some minor steep bits. From an OHV perspective, it's really strewn with big boulders and there are granite or sandstone ledges with varying degrees of steepness every tenth of a mile or so.

We never made it to the lakes because I got sidetracked at some muddy ponds. Commando was hot and thirsty and we kept going off trail to check out likely looking places. One was very, very boggy and Commando sank in up to his stomach in the mud. We kept on and reached a actual pond with water and spent some time gazing around. He drank and cleaned some of the mud off chasing sticks.

We headed back to the OHV road and continued on to a summit. There is a faint OHV road intersection to Fordyce creek and it said Eagle Lakes was 3/4 of a mile ahead. We were out of water and I had forgotten to bring food and was pretty hungry. We did spend some time at this summit sitting on a granite rock looking over the (spectacular) view. Although I'm not a fan of logging, a lightning strike on a particularly large, old growth tree would have improved my view of the Old Man Mountain (looks kinda like Half Dome).

Quite a few small birds flew around to enliven the view.

We finally headed back and I was so hungry that the mild climb back to the truck really took it out of me. Commando was also extremely thirsty! I guess I'll have to carry more water for him. When we got to the store at Cisco grove he was butting my hands trying to hurry me along in serving him the water.

This looks like a nice snowshoe hike this winter, and I'd like to explore the area more next summer and try to get to Old Man Mountain. It looks like Fordyce Lake might be car accessible and might be within hiking distance.

Andesite Peak

My goal was to reach the Peter Grubb hut, but I miscalculated the route and didn't make it. I also let the last 100 feet of Andesite Peak defeat me. I scrambled up maybe about 30 feet, then considered the loose rocks and the steepness and considered how I would get down without breaking any bones. Perhaps I was a wuss, but I'm not the most graceful person and I really did not want a cast for my 49th birthday.

We drove up the snowmobile trail/road. It looked like if I followed the road to the end, we'd be very, very near the Andesite Ridge and the trail to PGH. I took a wrong turn and we ended up about 1/2 way to Andesite Peak. I bushwhacked along the ridge through a mature forest which desperately needs a cleansing fire. We reached a small meadow and I gave Commando some water and sat on a perfectly lovely bent tree and surveyed the pretty view.

I could hear voices so knew I was close to Hole in the Wall trail. Sure enough, about a football field away was the trail. Hiked up, ate my snack at the top, hiked down. It was a beautiful fall day and I enjoyed the views over Donner Summit.

Texas Hill Road

Drove up to Emigrant Gap and took the Texas Hill road. I was planning on hiking from the campground down the stream to the waterfall, but ended up exploring THR until the pavement ended and then hiking up the Helester Point road for a bit. (Side note, read the Helester Point link, then go to the linked blog home page. It's a special story)

The fire had burnt through here in a good way. Plenty of pines were left and there is a lot of new shrub growth from the roots. There are lots of critters as evidenced by Commando running off pell mell to try to catch them. He ended up a little soot blackened, but not too dirty.

We tried to drive over to Foresthill and got lost (the map is not clear) and then stopped by the expected gate. Along the way we saw some spectacular views of the North Fork of the American River. There was one particular place that was breathtaking!

Meiss Country, Scott's Lake to Big Meadows Trailhead

Drove up to Hope Valley to see the aspens and the fire damage around Burnside Lake road from this spring, and of course, to take a hike somewhere. I had decided that either Crater Lake or Scott's Lake would make good hikes from highway 88. Although the climb was steep, the distance was relatively short.

As it turned out, the forest service road to Scott's Lake was open and we drove all the long way up to the lake. It isn't much of a lake now with the water level down almost to dry.

It has pretty views of the peaks around Hope Valley and there were some small groves of aspens framing the lake. I was going to hike back down, but a hiker said there was a well marked trail down to the Big Meadows trailhead that was less than 3 miles. Commando and I headed off and let our shuttle driver take the car to meet us.

It was a beautiful trail, although probably too crowded in the summer for us. Easy to follow and not very steep. It generally follows a creek and watershed down from the peaks. The forest is mixed with pines and aspens. We passed several golden meadows with willow thickets and ate our lunch sitting on an ancient log still impervious to rotting.

We did pass a few mountain bikers (or they passed us) and only 1 other set of hikers so at a more popular time of year I'm not sure Commando would have been so welcome.

Close to the trailhead there's a junction to head to Meiss Lake and that looks like a great hike for another day.

Cascade Lakes to Long Lake

Drove to Soda Springs, then took Pahatsi road until it turns to dirt and continued following it till it ends at Cascade lakes. These were pretty unimpressive although the glacier erratics boulder field we passed through to get to the lakes was interesting.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and was pleased to see a trailhead sign, "Palisades Creek Trail." The mileages were a bit much for me. About 1/2 mile down, the trail forked and I took the non-trail fork and ended up at Long Lake. This is a very pretty lake, and natural too. We hiked along an easy path on the east side of the lake and took a trip down into a watershed declivity that is probably more like a waterfall in the spring.

Then we crossed the lake and went trail less back to the trail head. This was a little more difficult than it sounds because there wasn't a shore, more of a series of boulder cliffs to scale interspersed with willow and manzanita thickets. I came home with plenty of pine needles in my hair!

This is a pretty, pretty area and I think I'll try the Palisades Creek trail for a bit longer.

Dog Mobile at Heart Association

Saturday we took two dogs, Spike and Becca to the American Heart Association walk in Land Park. Becca (my dog) was a sweet, sweet puppy who is very smart and already knows a lot of tricks. She was a little uncertain a few times and did NOT like the band, but she was happy and willing to trust. She knows sit, down and touch! She was learning not to jump on people and showed real progress by the end of the day. She also is learning to walk on the leash.

I picked her because she greeted me at the cage door with a toy in her mouth. That's the kind of happy, playful thing my dog would do and I found it charming. She happily chased balls in the ball yard and came willing to me when I called. She wanted to play with all dogs and people that she saw and she wasn't phased at all when an owned pug dog growled at her. She thought Spike was awesome and really wanted to play with him. She happily accepted petting from everyone, adults, men, women, children and even the whole cheerleader squad.

What a cute, cute dog.

Spike was very dignified and happy to meet everyone. The picture I took of him shows him getting belly rubs from several people. One person had just taken her hand off his belly and he had opened his eyes.

Kayaking!

Teana wanted to try kayaking so we drove to Lake Natoma to the Sac State Aquatic center so she could rent a kayak. Mine traveled fine in the back of the pickup truck, although it could probably use some padding. For some reason, I'd forgotten that there was parking at the AC so I parked in the park and ride lot at the entrance to Nimbus Flats. Then I had to carry my kayak and gear all the way across the road, along the bike trail, around the razor wire topped chain link fence, into the parking lot, and finally, finally to the water. We had no problem renting although there was quite a long wait till the "harbor master" came to help us get underway. I had launched from the beach and was sitting in the water by the docks.

We headed straight across the lake to the area through the culvert. The water is very low and we actually had to walk about 20 feet at the end near the culvert. The water plants that fill the water on the other side were propagating and poking some kind of pollen dispenser (or seed pod) above the water line. We didn't see any of the giant fish that I was hoping for.

When we got back out to the main lake, we briefly switched kayaks. I could not get comfortable with the other backband and so we switched back. The rental paddle was the worst paddle I think I've ever touched! It seemed like it was weighted with lead. I let Teana have the nice paddle and I used her bar bell, I mean paddle, for the trip back.

Both of us were tired and my shoulders ache. I remember how much I enjoy kayaking though and must figure out a way to take Commando along.

Grouse Ridge hike with cow drama

Got Commando because I wanted to tackle the (I thought) trail-less overland route to the little lakes I could see from the top of GR proper. We parked under the shade trees where the trail to GR starts and headed overland down the meadow.

We got to the edge of the cliff and looked down over Sanford lake. As expected, there's no easy route down the cliff for a hiker. We paralleled the cliff edge for a while gazing over the spectacular view and then worked back to the meadow. We crossed a dry stream and then intersected a good trail to Sanford that followed the stream's course.

We took it, and after about 1/2 mile or so, we were soaking our feet in Sanford lake and gazing around. The lake is at the base of GR and is framed by a lichen covered granite head wall on that side. The granite continues around the lake getting lower and lower until it disappears and gives the lake that "endless" pool effect overlooking the wilderness beyond.

We waded around and explored some of the shoreline and I tossed sticks for Commando. Although I had carried my big, heavy Neal Stephenson book (System of the World) I just wasn't quite in the mood to sit and read it as planned.

There are quite a chain of little lakes and so we headed out to find some of them. There wasn't much of a trail and the first lake we found was really just a muddy pool. Then we found a dry lake. Then we found a tiny, pretty lake, then another little lake. At a granite saddle at the north(?) end of this lake I could see another big lake (about Sanford sized) maybe 500 feet below. This was Downey lake.

It was getting late so we turned our backs on Downey and scrambled up some scree and into a volcanic slot to the top of the ridge overlooking both the little unnamed lake and Downey lake.

We just kept bearing west and south and going up and eventually we reached the proper trail and had just a bit of a climb left to back to the car.

I saw some strange, fresh tracks on the trail. I thought, gee, those look like cow tracks, but I'm not sure they graze cows here. I tried to make them out to be very large deer tracks...or perhaps scuffed horse tracks...or perhaps horse tracks where the horse had some kind of weird shoe...but none of those theories seemed plausible.

As we neared the camp, I could hear some musical tones...perhaps a banjo? Also, the music was intermittent. Keep in mind that it's windy and non-wind sounds are obscured wind sounds.

Eventually the mystery was cleared up...by...free range cows with bells! They were marching through meadow just below the camp. The campers thought this was pretty exciting and people headed into the willows to get closer to the cows. The cows weren't too fond of that idea and a terrific mooing racket began. It wasn't really mooing, more like braying and mooing.

By now I had Commando on his leash, because I was pretty sure he would find cows entertaining to chase and that's just not right. We kept walking along the (now) road back to the car while the cows kept up the same pace just below us in the meadow.

The continued the braying and mooing. Something was stirring them up (and it wasn't Commando).

We saw them stretched out in a loose line below. A caramel colored cow, followed by about 7 light to dark red cows, then a dark red cow behind and still in the brush. The last cow was making most of the noise.

We kept on to the truck and sat down near it on some rocks bordering the meadow just as the line of cows was walking over the saddle to wherever they were headed. The caramel leader cow paused at the top to give another loud bray, moo bellow and they continued on at a fast pace. These were cows on a mission.

I kept sitting on my rock while Commando kept trying to figure out if there was some combination of moves he could take to escape the leash and follow the cows.

A good while later, I heard the bell again and the dark red cow and a large dark red bull calf crested over the saddle. They didn't like seeing us and paused, but then continued on after circling us. So this explained the mooing and braying! The bull calf wasn't keeping up and the other cows were scolding him. The lead cow had finally abandoned the mother and her calf to get the rest to...wherever they were going. Fascinating!

Commando was very disappointed to not get to chase the cows but he settled down once we were back in the truck headed home.

Visit from brother

Andy came for a visit this past weekend. It was fun (except for his usual foot odor) and relaxing. I did forget to put the Trader Joe's croissants in the oven so breakfast was a bit haphazard. We drove up to Grouse Ridge and strolled around there, up to the lookout and up to Grouse Ridge itself. We also lazed around in lawn chairs reading. Very nice. Up from GR, it looks like a very short hike to some small lakes just down the crest from the camping area. That will be my next trip.

Camping at Blue Lakes

It was slated to be an over 100 degree weekend here in the Valley so we decided to head up to the Sierras. I had been wanting to take the Burnside lake trail from the lake to Grover Hot Springs state park and this seemed like the time to do it. We arrived at the Blue Lakes area around 5 pm-ish and drove through all of the various camp sites before settling on the farthest site, or Upper Blue Lake.

After setting up camp and eating a Trader Joe's packed meal, Commando and I drove down to the lake shore and splashed around for a bit. The moon was full (or close to it) so the water was extra beautiful.

The next morning we ate and headed to Burnside lake. We stopped at Sorenson's Resort for coffee to go. I will give Sorenson's props for living up to it's luxury reputation. The extremely courteous concierge helped a woman who complained that her mattress was falling off her bed and also complained that her dinner dishes hadn't been picked up yet. The concierge was affable and polite although I was wondering why you would come to a beautiful place like Sorenson's to eat dinner inside. Next he helped a peevish older woman with a call to Southwest. She seemed to take it personally that her cell phone didn't work here (duh!). He dialed the number (from memory!), joked that he flew SW too and that's why he knew the number, and reminded her that there was a phone room available. She remarked that they were going to have to drive down to Sacramento and I wondered why they didn't try for cell reception somewhere along the way.

When it was my turn the concierge told me the coffee was around the corner and unblinkingly charged me $5 for the two paper cups of ordinary (but good) coffee.

Burnside lake was packed with campers, including some at our "special" location. I would have let Commando splash around in the lake and gotten both of us wet for the start of the hike but the two dogs nearby didn't look like suitable playmates. I geared up, checked my watch and headed off on the trail.

The meadow just to the southeast of the lake is gorgeous, absolutely stunning. We walked through tall grass that was halfway between spring green and full-on summer golden. We hopped over a sluggish and slow moving stream with deep, deep sides. Thousands of grasshoppers leapt up in outrage at our passing and then settled back down into the grass. I also lost the trail here, or perhaps no trail can compete with the lush growth of this meadow.

There was one mark. At the camping side of the meadow, some brainless idiot buryed their camping trash (a whole carload of it) a good 2-3 feet deep. Animals had dug it up and strewn the trash around. May these people someday realize what they'd done and burn in shame and then spend years cleaning up other people's messes in payment of their debt.

I found the well marked trail at the east most side of the meadow and was very glad. I knew this was a rough trail, but it should have been well marked and I wasn't quite sure what I would do if it wasn't.

The trail wound slowly down by the same stream that had cut such a channel through the meadow. Then we reached the edge of the downhill part. Wow. I had been imagining a slope, this was a cliff. There were spectacular views over the valley below. I could even see the roofs of the hot springs bathing facility.

The trail was now steep, and still followed the stream, now more of a boulder choked waterfall...although, I could only faintly hear water underneath the boulders, not actually see any water. There were still pines.

Eventually we came to a sentinel pine, crouching at the cliff edge and guarding the end of shade for some time to come. I had to lower myself off a 2 foot granite drop (sliding on my ass) to continue. We headed down, still loosely following the waterfall on a very steep trail composed of loose dirt and granite rocks. Manzanita brush and another bush lined the path along with willow and stumpy, poor soil aspens. I inched down the trail and Commando scurried from shade patch to shade patch...sometimes jamming himself into a bush to cool his paws. We stopped several times for water.

We reached what I will name, "Cabin Rock" and had a good long rest in it's shade. Cabin Rock marked another level-ish part of the trail perhaps about halfway down. We were just reaching the top of a thrust of rock across the waterfall and I kept scanning it for signs of a trail to see if we would have to climb any part of it.

During this level part, I decided to stop to pee. As I stepped off the trail, towards the boulder creek, a bear leaped out of the rocks below and ran off up the creek and to the other side. Commando ran off full tilt after it and only stopped when he got to the boulder creek. Poor bear, if it had only stayed still I would have peed and we would have been on our way without being any wiser.

The trail soon became extremly steep again, and hot. I couldn't believe how hot it was and poor Commando was really suffering too. He hates to drink bottled water, but he drank twice at our rest stops (although he spurned the water once too).

The next milepost was crossing the waterfall that we'd been following down and getting onto that ridge of rock I'd been eyeing. I could swear I heard ducks fussing and a loud splashing noise but couldn't see any pond nearby. Although I wanted to rest near a pond, and get Commando a good long drink and get him soaking wet I didn't want to go off the trail. We were now down in the forest and could get lost or wander around aimlessly searching for a teeny tiny pondlet and expending energy that I didn't have to spend. I was getting a blister on my left big toe and I hoped it would stay at the annoying stage and not progress to the "must take my boot off and limp home" stage.

The trail went down, down, down still with both toes jammed into the front of my boots. I stopped a few times to re-lace, but it wasn't any help. At least now we were (mostly) in the deep shade and I thought I could see level ground below.

Down, down, down. Switchback after switchback. Surely just a few more steps. Down, down, down, the bottom is just there, I can see it, why aren't we there yet? I slid down a dusty part. I slid down a pine needle part (surprisingly fast, perhaps scarily fast). Still the trail went down.

Finally, finally, the trail leveled out. The downhills were mild and short and we were headed due east-ish...or due Grover Hot Springs. We crossed a wet swampy area and Commando wet his paws and drank some of the water. We stopped soon after and had our lunch and finished the water. No more until trail's end.

I thought I recognized where we were from previous visits and got excited when we crossed a dry streamlet (hadn't the crossing been bigger?) and I thought for sure we would soon be on the flat meadow proper.

Oh no. Another steep, sandy, and hot hot hot downhill. We had just been on a plateau, not the floor. Ow. My aching toes. How can we be suffering so much from the heat? It can surely only be 80 and that's not so hot. More down. Stop and rest. Down. Stop and rest.

Finally, finally we're down. We're in an open forest and I can see the line of the creek that runs through GHS just off to the right. Then, at last, I can see other hikers ahead...soon, the Burnside Lakes trail joins the trail the trail to the falls. We are almost home! I'm not sure how far we have to go, and it's still amazingly hot, but I'm pretty sure I can stagger to the waiting car.

The trail soon gets very close to the creek and Commando cools his paws and soaks his belly in the cool, cool, cool water. I want to go down and soak my feet, but even the few short downhill steps seem like too much. I want to conserve energy at this point and rest my aching toes.

Soon, we come to the junction with the trail that goes to the hot springs, and I see that we only have 3 tenths of a mile to go. Whew. I can make that. Although, why does it feel so frickin' hot at only about 80 degrees F?

I make it back to the car. The temperature is 99. GHS is lower than Burnside (by about 2000 feet) and that explains why it is so hot...because it is.

We stop at the ranger station at the exit so I can wash Commando's feet with their hose. He had cut the back of his leg and there was quite a streak of blood. I wanted to make sure it was okay before we left civilization in case I needed to find a vet. He had licked the leg a lot, and perhaps favored it a bit when lying down, but he hadn't been limping and he had no trouble running off at full speed to chase the rodents and other critters.

Total miles for the hike is 5.5. I was glad mother was there to pick me up at the end, because there is no way I could have hiked back up! As hard on me as the downhill was, the uphill and the heat would have killed me!

Hmmm, next time maybe Charity Valley?

Bassi Creek by Red Peak Trail

My original plan was to head back to Schneider camp and try for the lake again, but as I drove up 50, I just couldn't get excited about the longer drive and the elevation. I decided to go up Icehouse road to Cheese Camp road and then hike to Bassi creek.

At the end of the paved part of Cheese Camp, at the locked gate, there are 3 options for getting to Bassi creek. I ducked under the gate and hiked up the road. This is an easy hike with a gentle grade up. Even this late in the season there were pools of water in Tells Creek.

There was no one at the horse camp, and I only encountered two fisherman coming down as I was going up. A little over two miles is the junction with the Red Peak trail and Bassi creek is right there. I took my boots and socks off and soaked in the creek while Commando ran all over like the lunatic he is. He chased a few sticks that I threw, but he was more interested in running full tilt through the water and wading around.

I put the socks and boots back on and we continued up the trail to where it officially crosses the creek. Just before the crossing is a gorgeous meadow, just turned golden for summer.

We turned back at the crossing and headed back.

The Crystal Basin area is truly magical!

Schneider Camp

I wanted to hike from Schneider Camp to Showers Lake but got a late start to the day and it was hot and I was really feeling the altitude. Turned back after a short distance and explored around the barn and the crossed the meadow and got back onto the road. It's late spring in the high country now. There are still plenty of flowers, but it's clear that they've seen better days and it's only a matter of weeks before everything turns golden.

This view is of the flapping door to the barn which Commando did not find as amusing as I did.

After that, drove to Burnside Lake and splashed around to cool off. There was a family of ducks at the lake, but the kids were almost grown and Commando gave them a cautious look, but didn't chase them. After we'd been splashing around for about an hour, another family of ducks came by. This time, the ducklings were small and cute so I hustled Commando back to the truck and leashed him up before he could commit a war crime.

Duncan Peak

Drove up to Foresthill to Robinson Flat and then to the Duncan Peak lookout. The road had been closed last weekend due to the fire and we wanted to see the damage. It's not too bad. There are plenty of live trees left and the forest should recover quickly.

Commando and I moseyed around the fire lookout, but didn't go actually up to very top. There was someone there, but they shut the door and didn't say hello or anything so I let them have their privacy. It's an interesting volcanic outcropping with some cool looking colored rocks.

Then we hiked the trail to Little Bald mountain which is the other end of the ridge from Duncan Peak. Neither of these are very tall...they are both right around 7000 feet.

The trail was easy but a fire a few years ago has left the ridge mostly bare of trees so it was hot and sunny. There were lots of fresh cow tracks (and fresh looking manure) so I kept scanning for cows ahead of us. Sure enough, just before we got to what looked like the end, we saw about 20 or so cows and calfs lounging around in the sparse shade. I put Commando on the leash and decided to keep hiking. I thought they might stroll off and we wouldn't disturb them too much.

Within about 20 paces, they leapt up (well, as much as a cow can leap up) and galloped off a few paces. I've been trained not to harass stock so we turned around and went back. Commando kept looking back because cows sure seemed like something that would be fun to investigate and maybe chase, but I kept telling him no and eventually he resigned himself to the small rodents that are really his specialty.

We then drove down to French Meadows Reservoir for a cooling dip. This is really one of my favorite areas to visit. Even with the lake down a good 50 feet and plenty of haze from the fires it's still a pretty lake.

Dog Mobile

Went to a dog mobile at the home show at the convention center. Took a dog named Michelin (gordon setter cross), two pit mixes (Abby and Brindle), and a dachsund mix who had an enormous personality. All of the dogs got lots of attention and were mobbed by potential adopters. I fell in love with the dachsund mix! Michelin was cute and will be rapidly adopted but the little dachsund (whose name I forget) was the best. Abby was cute too with an enormous bull dog head...really, it was GIANT. And she thought she was a lap dog too and spent lots of time licking people's faces.

I'm glad I went but missed taking my own dog for a walk.

Reno Trip

We stopped at the famous and excellent Ikedas in Auburn and had lunch. I also picked up peaches and tamari almonds. The fresh peach shake was outstanding!

Lost money the first night but it was good to see everyone.

Donna and I got up bright and early to hike the Mt. Rose trail off highway 431. I was hoping it would be less smoky than it was. The trail itself was relatively clear, but there was still a haze. We could see Lake Tahoe, but not clearly and we couldn't see across the lake to Mt. Tallac. We hiked up by the new trail...which is an excellent trail. Well graded, good route, great views (when the air is clear). Last time we'd hiked we'd gotten stopped too soon by huge snow drifts.

This time, we made it to the intersection of the Tahoe Rim Trail and the old trail. There's a small waterfall there overlooking a meadow overlooking the Carson Valley. We ate lunch, I cooled my feet in the stream and Donna scrambled up the waterfall.

To make it a loop, we hiked back on the TRT and the old trail. The new trail is much, MUCH better. The first part is good with a steep climb up the watershed and then across a flowery meadow. Once we reached the top of the saddle it was not nearly as pretty. The route down follows a hot, dusty road in full view of the sun with very little tree cover. If we'd turned up hill, we could have summited Relay Peak.
After a steady downhill of about 3 miles we were back at the car park and cooling off with the AC and the rest of our water. I would really like to summit Mt. Rose, but it will have to wait...at 9.8 miles, it's just a bit too far for me now...not even counting the 2000 foot elevation gain!

Dinner was pleasant although the steak was tough and gristly. I lost again at blackjack and the slots. We stayed up very late chatting about religion and the death penalty and Obama (we're all Obama supporters but have different views on religion and the DP). Di and Val left around 530 am for some family commitments and I went back to sleep.

On Sunday mother brought Commando up and we drove up the Burnside Lake road to Burnside Lake. Commando chased sticks in the water and then we both hiked around the lake. It can't be more than a mile around and there's no elevation change.

We drove back and can chalk up another successful trip!

Smoky and Hot Hike

Gas prices are keeping me from driving up to the mountains every weekend day to hike, but I haven't been up in about 3 weeks. Friday was the 4th and Donna's party at Malene's. Saturday I went in to work for about 2 hours. Sunday I was determined to go up. I wanted to go to the Carson Pass area and maybe hike from Burnside Lake down to Grover Hot Springs but Jodi called and wanted a ride to her cabin. She thought she could jog around the lake while I hiked.

After looking at the smoke she decided not to jog. I was going to try for the top parking lot and Castle Crags peak but the road was very bad, it was late and lord it was hot and smoky so I decided to head down the forest service road near the lodge.

As soon as I let Commando out of the car he had several bouts of explosive diarrhea and then he threw up. Lovely. He seemed lively enough otherwise so we headed down hill.

There was no view and it was hot. We hiked for about 45 minutes and then headed back. A few off road bikes passed and a few cars. Commando was hot too and only chased a few critters. He did go after one set of bikes and it was kind of funny how fast he went...the bikes had to slow to go around a turn and I wonder if they were surprised to see him so close behind. Other bikes he ignored.

Strawberry Point Camping

Late Friday packed up the dog and headed for Icehouse reservoir to camp. Arrived about 7 pm or so and there were two spots left open in the Strawberry point campground. I picked the one in the center of the circle and had a great view of the lake and almost complete privacy.

I hadn't planned for it to be as cold as it was but I survived with the long sleeve fuzzy shirt over a T-shirt.

I got on the bike and headed east on the forest service road that parallels the Ice House. Commando had good fun chasing stuff and I enjoyed an easy bike ride. We did stop before the road ended because it was getting dark and I wanted to set up camp while there was still some light.

The next morning we headed up the same forest service road (in the truck) and it dead ended pretty quickly. When I was putting my boots on, I discovered that I hadn't brought any of the orthotic foot beds so I wasn't sure how comfortable the hike would be. We followed what seemed like a casual use trail up stream (Lyon Creek) and it was not very easy going. There was plenty of up and down, the hillside was steep and dusty (making it slippery) and there were downed trees. Still, I estimate we made about a mile at a gradual climb until we came to a narrowing of the stream bed through a small granite canyon. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep scrambling up stream (and risk a nasty fall into the snow melt fed stream) so we stopped and ate the hard boiled eggs I'd brought.

We sat on the granite fall on some huge slabs of rock. Commando did not like it one bit and laid down next to me and shivered every once in while looking down! I had to slide down first and then coax him where to put his feet. It's the first time I've seen him scared of the trail!

We got back to camp and lazed around the lake for most of the rest of the day. I let Commando off leash for some water splasing fun. We also took a short walk in the early evening and explored a closed road off the main road. This second night, we both slept much better.

This morning we got up and headed for a big meadow by the Wright's Lake road and Wright's Lake/Ice House Lake tie road. This time I'd brought my orthotics and the boots were much more comfortable. We headed on the west side of a creek that flows across the meadow to Lyon Creek which put us just inside the tree line on the uphill side. I wasn't sure how boggy the ground might be.

It's easy walking and we got onto what seemed to be an old, old overgrown road. We walked for about a mile or so until we came to some summer houses with no trespassing signs and turned back.

I looked at Lyon Creek to see if there might be a good place to dip a toe, but it was too fast and too cold. About 1/3 of the way into the meadow we did dip our toes into the cross meadow stream and Commando enjoyed the game of "fetch the stick then run around with it like a lunatic" very much. The water was cold but refreshing in the heat.

On the way back into the valley I looked at the Lyon Creek trailhead but it looked a little busy and Commando and I were both ready for a nap.

Great trip!

Random Update

The Jetta is deader than a doornail and it's parked in my driveway while I decide what to do with it. I just "bought" my cousin's 92 Chevy S10 pickup truck with no AC. It's good to have because I've been researching cars online and just can't decide. So far it's the Honda Element, Scion box (Xb?) or the Honda Fit, roughly in that order. I'm basking in indecision though and it's good to have a vehicle while I figure out what I want to do.

Commando is fine and ate a corncob the other day. I expected it to mess up his delicate digestion but he seems to have digested it okay. I didn't expect him to eat the cob, just perhaps taste it and maybe toss it around a little. When I came back in the room all but a few chunks had disappeared. I removed the largest chunks and Commando hoovered up the remaining small bits.

The falcons (peregrine?) are back at Paradise Beach. Last year they raised two babies and I just saw two of them back this year so it looks like they think the big pine was a good home and they should try again. It's good to see them and I can't wait to see them hunting later in the summer. Poor rodents!

I haven't seen the coyotes in a while although I do occasionally see what looks like it might possibly be coyote dung. It's a lot more crowded now along the river so perhaps they've gone downstream a bit to a quieter area.

No waterfall

Rented a car from Enterprise to run errands, go hiking and on Monday go to the dentist. They've got an incredibly cheap deal and it was a bargain.

Drove up to Mormon Emigrant, down the North South road (I think) and to Camp Creek. We hiked along a relatively level road that paralleled the creek and stopped at an unofficial camping spot to sit on some rocks and contemplate nature.

Back at the road, I looked upstream and could see that almost immediately, our path would be blocked by a cliff. We drove up to the dirt road and parked. This time, I couldn't really hear the waterfall from my last ill fated expedition but we headed off cross country (down) anyway. After crossing a granite slope, we saw a probably seasonal stream that might have been the source of the waterfall noise. It might make a good picture next year when it's gushing fully because it seems like it might have 2 cascades, 1 over the rocks and 1 undercutting some rocks.

Still it was an undemanding hike with the constant sound of the creek to still the thoughts. Commando scraped his leg and I'll keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get infected.

I hate my VW Jetta!

Drove up Mormon Emigrant gap on Saturday. I was in a bad mood and had to force myself to go. The road is clear up past Light Canyon road but there are some rocks and snow berms along the way.

I drove until snow completely blocked the road (at least for my sedan). Then I turned back to North South road and took it. The road goes almost straight down into a watershed leading to Camp Creek and eventually the Cosumnes River.

I took a side trip onto Pebble Canyon road (dirt) and that may have been the problem. I wasn't much into hiking because I've still got the cough from hell and it's a little hard to hike when you have to stop every yard or so to cough up a lung and lower your head to avoid passing out. That's maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but now much of one!

We parked at a scenic spot and the faithful hound chased rodents into the forest. Someone has been trimming the forest and there are slash piles everywhere. I can't believe that there's not some economic good to be had out of these downed trees...most of the slash piles were easily the size of McMansions and contained plenty of big trees.

From the map, it looked like Pebble Canyon met back with Mormon Emigrant but I was stopped by snow. I did drive over several branches and sticks and even had to get out and move a shattered tree log that had fallen over the road. Fortunately it was rotted and light and easy to move.

I was forced to retrace my steps back to the North South road and drove down, down, down to the little bridge over Camp Creek. I would have strolled along there, but several other people had had the same idea and were camped around and about the place.

I headed back up. There was a bit of a road (75?) and we strolled along that road. I briefly considered going off trail a bit down to the stream because I could hear a waterfall but it was getting late and the cough wasn't improving. Commando had a few good runs and terrorized many rodents and had even eaten some snow balls on our little stops so even he was willing to call it a day.

On the steep hill climb, my car suddenly redlined and the idiot light came on and I was overheating. I didn't even try for the cell phone because I just didn't want to wait an hour for a tow truck to find me. At least I was on the paved road. I just drove and every time the car overheated I stopped and let it rest.

We finally got to the top and Mormon Emigrant is mostly downhill so I babied the engine and it stayed at 190 (normal) most of the way. I was hoping to make it all the way into Pollock Pines but I stopped at the Sly Park entrance and called for the tow truck. This was another hill climb with no shoulder and plenty of traffic.

I was towed into the Shell station and the garage was closed already (of course). The driver wasn't even sure they worked on VWs. It's there now and I've left my pathetic little note in the key drop.

If I've blown the head gasket or cracked the head I will be so pissed.

Surprisingly, the trip put me in a slightly better mood...or maybe it's just resignation.

Sick

Got a cold that has everyone at work down. Major cough and chest rattling. Called in to the doc this morning to beg for codeine cough syrup and got that and antibiotics. Walked Commando on Saturday, a very windy day, and thought I was going to faint or die from coughing. Can't walk him by the river for a while because the ducklings and goslings have hatched and he thinks they look like a lot of fun to chase and probably eat if he catches one. The mother duck demonstrated the effectiveness of the "fly just ahead of the predator leading him away from the chicks" ploy and Commando fell for it in a big way. I like walking him by the river because he's discovered how fun it is to retrieve sticks. He'll even swim for them now! But having him shred an innocent little duckling (especially in front of witnesses) might not be so fun. Plus, they probably make good coyote and perhaps hawk and egret meals and why deprive them of the protein?

Dental Hike

Had another crown prep done at my dentist in Cameron Park and then drove up to Jenkinson Lake to hike. We drove all the way to the end of the pavement and then hiked about a mile to the artificial falls on Park Creek. It was a lovely hike although cold. Commando chased some Canada geese. I keep hoping that the geese or ducks will turn on him one day and teach him a lesson about prey not always being so fun to chase but so far it hasn't happened. It really is a pretty lake but my impression of it in the summer is that it's too crowded. Maybe I should visit in the summer and see how bad it is. It does look like there might be a fun hike following park creek uphill (maybe to Park Creek road?). I'll have to study the maps.

Killer Fang Falls

What a name! I didn't make it to the falls...the road was as bad as advertised and I didn't feel like walking too far as it was hot. This is a good time to go because later in the summer this road will be covered with 4WD folks and dust as well as people enjoying the Yuba river (read crowded). Today happened to be hot and down in the canyon it was really hot. Commando normally runs for the entire trip probably doing 4 or 5 times the distance I do, but he doesn't like the heat either. We stopped at a scenic spot and he chased sticks into the cold water. I frightened the birds and took off my shirt and got it wet. The water (barely melted snow) was COLD...even wringing out the wet shirt was cold and putting it back on was even colder.

Took one picture of a wild iris which I'll include later.

Why Engineers are Hot

Love the deadpan delivery and the very funny cutaways! The cat yodeling is amazingly funny too. I had to let my cereal go soggy while watching this to avoid any unpleasant collisions between my keyboard and spit out cereal and milk.

Fork's House - Not

Drove up the Foresthill road with no particular plan other than to go as far as the snow would let me. The road was snowed in and blocked with the gate at China Wall OHV. I decided to explore the Fork's House Nature trail. Although there was lots of snow, there was also plenty of bare dirt and I decided not to break out the snow shoes. When I got to the trail, it was snowed over and the path was not obvious. There was also someone shooting in that direction and I try to assume that they are dumb asses and not paying careful attention to where their bullets end up. Most of the shooters I've encountered have been courteous and safe, but it only takes one bullet to make my day very bad.

I think the trail is at Mitchell Mine road, but the map I have access to in not clear. The shape is right but the elevation looks funny. The road was clear of snow until I had committed myself and then it was all snow, sometimes up to three feet deep. Fortunately the snow mobile crowd (or someone) had been packing the snow down so it was relatively easy going with only a few instances of break through. We dropped down to what looks like a year round creek that was bursting with snow melt. Then we started climbing up a steady grade. We reached the heavy equipment that was responsible for packing the snow and continued on for a bit before returning to sit on the bench at that back of the snow vehicle to enjoy a light snack and some Vitamin water. This is a relatively pretty trail and will be nicer a bit later in the spring when the snow is more melted. It doesn't look there are any spectacular views though.

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.

Snow Trip for the Kids

Went with Donna's family and a passel of kids to Icehouse Lake. We commandeered the boat ramp and colonized the area to the left of the ramp up to the trees. There is a nice slope there, but not too scary for the kids.

A lot of snow had melted from the last trip, and the pristine surface was marked with multiple boot, ski, snow shoe, dog and ski machine tracks.

Donna, Janine and I went to the top of the hill with most of the kids. Donna and Janine took some of the kids down on saucers while I hung out throwing snow balls and getting snow balls thrown at me.

The kids soon discovered Commando's love of catching snow balls so he spent most of the day leaping into the air.

The weather and views of the Crystal Range were spectacular. The sun was hot and the breeze didn't stir until after lunch.

Kayla learned to stand on a plastic toboggan and surf down the hill. Little Jackson (3) trudged up and down the hill several times and even rode a saucer all by himself. Everyone else had a great time whether or not it was their first visit to snow or their second or their "so many they can't count any more-th" visit.

Good Weather?

Drove again to Jenkinson Lake in Pollock Pines. It was sunny in the valley, raining by Placerville, and snowing so heavily in Pollock Pines that chain controls were on a mile east on 50. The roads were relatively slushy and looked good, but who am I to judge?

Got off the exit and followed the snow plow in a long chain of cars toward the lake. I was hoping to park at the little store, but they have figured out this plan and peppered their lot with "No Lake Parking" signs.

We parked in the slush at the entrance, which was relatively free of snow. For some stupid reason, I wore my heavy full cotton sweater. I also had to stop and take my right boot off. I'd worn the shoe insert and a pair of unfamiliar socks that I should through away. My foot was cramping badly. With the insert gone, it was fine.

The lake was pretty and there were quite a few people snowshoeing. That's one of the reasons I avoid this area, it's too crowded with people. The sun tried to peep through the clouds, then it darkened up again and started with fat, puffy and heavy flakes. I turned back. The day was nice enough, but I really didn't want to get my car stuck.

By the time I was committed to heading back, the snow stopped. I could hear the cars swishing along speedily on Sly Park road so apparently the snow plows had gained pavement. My sweater was heavier with water and if I'd had to stop it would have been cold.

Made it to the car and had no problem driving home.

Lovely Hike in Freezing Rain

I was hoping to get a quick snow shoe hike in before the storm, which was scheduled to arrive late Saturday. Around noonish, when I got to Pollock Pines, it was starting to snow quite heavily. I cut back down to Placerville and then took 49 north to Growlersburg (Georgetown). Commando and I played in the snow at a school baseball field, but it was still snowing quite heavily and I did not want to get stuck.

On the way north on 49 to Auburn, we stopped at the Auburn State Rec Area near Cool and walked around some at the Olmstead Loop Trail. It was freezing rain, the trail was muddy, and there were a few swollen creek crossings that sent freezing water over my boot tops to dampen my socks.

Still, it was pleasant, and I was reasonably warm. Commando certainly enjoyed running around the open pasture land terrorizing hidden rodents so it was worth it.

Commando 2, Squirrels 0

I was pottering around the house wondering if it was going to stop raining long enough to get up to the mountains for some snowshoeing. Suddenly, I noticed Herkeimer trotting around with a limp and very dead squirrel in his mouth.

I swept the squirrel into a grocery bag and dumped him in the trash. It's not like I touched him or anything, but the squirrel looked dry, well, aside from the dog drool. Commando was also dry.

The reason I'm so interested in the dryness of the critters? It's been raining for hours and hours and hours. That means he's stashed the squirrel somewhere in the house until both dried off.

Eeew. I tried to indicate to him that my desire for dead squirrels was less than zero, but he just seemed to think I was being a spoil sport and maybe if I just tried tossing the squirrel up the air so he could catch it I might see how fun a dead squirrel could be.

This is the second squirrel. Should I be looking for some recipes?

Commando and the Arachnid

Early this morning I was trying to decide whether or not to get up and Commando started a low, vicious growling. He kept it up for a while and then went outside. He came back in almost immediately.

He was soon growling again, and looking at the glass door to the outside. It was a really scary growl and he was even shaking a little. I figured it was time to get up and see what the problem was.

There was a huge, ugly, black spider on the ceiling near my computer chair. Commando was really growling at it.

One good thing about being over 20 is that I couldn't really see the spider. It was just a dark spot on the wall. It wasn't moving so it didn't trigger my arachnophobia. I moved the chair and got the broom and dispatched the spider.

So, Commando has arachnophobia too!

Blizzard Defiance

I was not going to let the great storm of January 2008 keep me housebound all weekend, especially with reports of up to 10 feet of expected snow falling in the Sierras. Saturday I was grounded. Sunday there was a little bit of sun in late morning and Commando and I hastily drove up to Foresthill.

It was beautiful but overcast. Everything...trees, powerlines, mailboxes...was covered with fresh, powdery snow.

We stopped at Chicken Hawk road a little bit past the Michigan Bar road. It had started snowing and my car isn't equipped for that. Also, there really isn't a place to pull off and the signs (and common sense) warn you not to park at the road side lest one impede the snow plows. Someone had driven down CH road and left nice deep ruts to follow. These were filled in and softened with a good 6 inches of powder. I didn't even bother putting on the snow shoes as the walking was so easy.

We didn't stay out long. I really didn't want to get stranded and snowed in. Commando and I played several games of "toss the snow" where I flick loose snow at him and he leaps up to catch it. This is one of his favorite snow games. He also loves catching mini-snowballs.

Can't wait for next weekend!

5K and Loch Leven Lakes

On Thanksgiving I did the Run to Feed the Hungry with Donna, Teana, her roommate, and Kayla. We had fun although I put a big blister on my heel. I decided to wear a different shoe insert and it wasn't very good. I took it out at the first mile, but apparently the damage was already done.

On Friday, Andy and I drove up the the Yuba Gap exit off 80 and hiked the Salmon Lakes trail to the Loch Leven lakes. I was still pretty sore from yesterday. We made it easily to Middle LLL and were planning to have lunch. Oops, we left the sandwiches in the car.

It was a lovely sunny day with good views all around. There was a stiff, cold wind that blew steadily all day so I was glad to have my coat and hat.

As usual, Commando had a great time and is snoozing now on the rug.

Martis and Andresite Peak

To celebrate the extra hour woke up early and drove to the new Martis Valley area off 267. A nature group just purchased some property (Waddle Ranch) and it's now public land and safe from development. This looks like a great place to snow shoe (once it snows) but a little boring for hiking.

Drove a bit up 267 and took an unnamed road that turned out to be the Martis Peak road. At a gate, maybe a half mile from the summit, I donned boots and Commando and I headed up. The road is paved and there was only one noisy dirt bike. Several mountain bikers passed. There is a fire lookout and the view is spectacular!

You can see all of the Lake Tahoe basin and all of the Truckee basin surrounded by all of the big peaks. Someone has carved a map of the peaks above the windows and on a clear day you can see Mt. Lassen. Beautiful.

We took a short jaunt (100 feet?) up to the actual summit where the fire lookout used to be. Other than congratulating ourselves for summiting, the view was just not as good.

This hadn't been much of a hike so we drove back to 80 and then took the Castle Peak exit (Boreal Ski area is also here). We drove up a very, very bad road and didn't quite make it to the top. Commando and I once again set forth and hiked up to the saddle, then took the Hole-In-The-Wall trail back down past Andresite Peak. I was certainly tired and didn't try for the scramble to the top but enjoyed the view of Castle Peak.

This is really a mountain bike trail (although all are welcome to use it) and it had short cement sections to protect the terrain. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's nice to protect the terrain. On the other hand, the short cement sections seem to take some of the wildness out of the experience.

Or maybe I was just jealous. As I was coming down from the top, 2 mountain bikers came up the trail. They were moving relatively fast and one guy was telling a boring story about an eye exam as they pedaled past. So, legs of steel and lungs of steel.

Great, great day. Commando met many dogs and sniffed them all. He played chase with only two dogs.

Loch Leven Lakes

We drove up 80 and exited at Yuba Pass. We took a right and then a left along Lake Valley Reservoir. The road isn't paved but it's not a bad road. Continue up and then there's a left to take at a sign to Huysink Lake. Just past the tiny lake is the marked trailhead to Salmon Lake.

I really don't know why this isn't the popular trail to the Loch Leven lakes. The road is relatively easy to drive...I took my Jetta up here on an earlier trip. The trail is only 2 miles to Lower LL, and, it's relatively level with just some mild, short ups and downs.

We made short work of this section of trail and stopped on some rocks at Lower LL for a snack. I was tempted to visit the other lakes, but I'd made such a late start that I didn't want to risk it. Although the remaining 3 miles was downhill, I hadn't gone that way before and if I missed the trail I might end of spending time getting back on it.

The main trail, the popular, heavily used trail was not very nice. It's well marked until the train tracks, but it's very rocky so you have to watch your step. After the train tracks the trail isn't particularly well marked. Also, I personally would have followed the creek down to the road. There are certainly many granite slabs to scramble over, but not many spectacular views because of the trees. The Salmon Lakes section has a lot of great views.

I don't mean to say this is a bad hike...I would just recommend coming in from the other direction!

SPCA-Bad Day-Good Day

SPCA Saturday took Ruby, a brindle pit mix to a Lutheran church fair. She is a lovely dog and really enjoyed the day. She accepted belly rubs and sniffed everything and enjoyed treats from the kids. If she hasn't been adopted by the weekend I think I'll showcase her for an hour or two at the shelter on Saturday.

Bad Day I was in a bad mood of Sunday and couldn't really get around to anything. I forced myself to head for the mountains with the hound. I was bored with highway 80 and 50 so I decided to see if I could make it to 4. I ended up driving around somewhat aimlessly, taking first one road and then another. I ended up on 88 (also bored) and took a turn to Salt Springs reservoir. It's 12 miles from 88 along a good dirt road. It finally ends up along the Mokelumne River. The reservoir itself isn't much to see although it looked like the trail along the northern edge (Blue Hole) might be fun on another day when I have time to do 8 miles. Commando did some rodent chasing but didn't get too much exercise. We also stopped along the river and he did a little more chasing and sniffing there.

Good Day On Sunday I was feeling a little more cheerful so we drove up 88 to see if the aspens in Hope Valley were in full fall color. They were nice, but not quite ready for prime time yet.

At the intersection with 89 we drove up Burnside Lake road to...wait for it...Burnside Lake. This is a beautiful, beautiful lake at about 8100 feet elevation. Commando and I hiked around a beautiful meadow at the upper end of the lake and then hiked around the lake. It was a pleasure to stroll along without having to climb or drop.

We had passed some people on horseback on the way up and I spied them across the lake on my way around. One of the horses decided to kick up a little and there was a bit of a rodeo catching it and getting back on and headed out. They were long gone by the time I got back to the dirt road, but I could see the extra scuffed up marks as the pinto was apparently still kicking and prancing.

I took off my boots and waded into the water while Commando played in the water and thought about chasing some mergansers. There was a chewed up old tennis ball in the water and I tossed that for him as well. The view was beautiful, sunny, cool breeze but hot in the sun (but not too hot). I could have stayed longer.

On way back headed over Luther Pass to South Lake Tahoe and drove through the Angora fire damaged area. It wasn't as bad a fire as it seemed, the earth wasn't particularly scorched and I figure if there are still pine needles, it wasn't that hot. Quite a few homes were destroyed though and there was a lot of construction. I might feel badly if my home didn't burn because everyone else will have a beautiful new home and mine will still be that tiny little 2/1 cabin built in the 40's.

Drove up the Angora Lakes road...wow. It passes along a NARROW ridge overlooking Fallen Leaf lake and the Angora fire area. It was a narrow ledge for hiking let along driving along it with oncoming traffic.

It's about a 1/2 mile to Lower Angora and that's as far as I went. I will have to go back and try for Upper Angora (about another 1/2 mile) but as soon as the snow gets too deep, no more hiking here.

Lake Margaret Success

On Saturday the hound and I drove up through Placerville. There was a big traffic jam getting through the lights and I snapped a pic of a No Pedestrians sign. Obviously it's dangerous!

We turned onto the Mormon Emigrant Trail to Highway 88 and pulled off just past Kirkwood at the Lake Margaret trail head parking lot.

The parking lot was full although some people were sitting on some rocks eating lunch. My recommendation, move to another location if you're not going to be staying for a long time. I was resigned to parking along 88 when I noticed some people getting into a Jeep. I drove back up. They appeared to be futzing around so I went up and politely asked if they were leaving. They seemed to be eating lunch and decided to drive off leaving the parking space open. I felt a little guilty as I kind of forced them to leave, but there are prettier spaces overlooking Caples Lake just a bit ahead.

Commando and I hit the trail around 1 pm, a little later than I'd planned, but still earlier than last weekend. I was worried that with the parking lot being full the trail would be busy. Not to worry, I encountered almost no one. There was one big, big group at the mini-summit after the log over Caples Creek and then only 4 people at the lake. If we'd gotten an earlier start, we would have seen many more people.

The trail is pretty easy and there are a few pine forest duff level spots as well as some soft meadow spots as well. The craggy granite bits are not too difficult, although they are more challenging than on some hikes.

Toward the end, I was wondering why the trail didn't just go along the bottom of a dry creek when suddenly the trail cut across the creek and headed toward a forbidding cliff. I assumed the trail would cut along the base of the cliff but I was wrong. Instead, the trail headed right to the cliff and then, quelle horror, headed right up a relatively steep granite slab. This is looking up at the climb. There is a round boulder almost in the top center just at what looks like the base of the pine tree. After scaling this steep section, I would have to scramble over this really, really big and fat Mastiff sized rock wedged in between two granite thighs.

I made it up and over the boulder just fine. This is the view looking down. It's a little scarier in this direction isn't it? Commando of course scampered up and down repeatedly and even poised at an even higher granite rock to stare down at me and wonder what was taking me so long. I was apprehensive after this climb, and looking at the surrounding cliffs because I really didn't want to add a hard climb to the end of the hike. It was getting somewhat late and I'm not the fastest hiker in the world. I certainly didn't want to get here and then decide I couldn't make it the rest of the way.

Not to worry, just over Mastiff rock and about 50 level steps is a cut in the cliff and through the cut is the lake. I strolled along and thought I might have the lake to myself when I noticed some people fishing. I sat and ate the remainder of my snack and drank some Vitamin water and then headed back.

The hike back was not quite as fun. The Advil was beginning to wear off and my foot started bothering me. I just took it slow and stopped to rest and made it fine back to the car.

Maybe next weekend if the weather holds I'll try for Lake Aloha again near Echo Summit.

Bad Haiku

Commando the dog

Snoring in his soft basket

Dreams not of his name.

Summer trees leaves rustle

Squirrel stops to flick his tail

Go away! My nuts!

Gaudy pink and flame

Flares the tired sun out west

More west sun awakes.

Granite beats the feet

Climbing beats lungs with no air

Why is hiking fun?

Random walks at Carson Pass

Saturday I cleaned a bit and rearranged the living room. It rained part of the day here and was raining in the mountains.

Sunday was supposed to be overcast but dry, and was supposed to get drier as the day progressed.

I ignored the solidly gray, rainy-looking, ominous, dark, sky and decided to go hiking anyway. I meant to include my warm coat, but forgot it. The drive up 50 and over the Mormon Emigrant Trail to 88 was very nice, if you like rain and fog. On 88 at Silver Lake the sky began to clear, although it was still easily 80 per cent cloudy. I was determined to make it to Hope Valley to see if the aspens were golden yet.

Made it to Hope Valley and the aspens were still green, although, perhaps they are thinking about turning golden any minute now. There was fresh snow on the highest peaks, at least what I could see of the peaks with their rain cloud hats.

Drove off a forest service road in Hope Valley and poked along a stream for about 1/2 an hour. Commando didn't really consider this a great hike, but he did hop back into the car.

Just over Carson Pass I decided to take the service road to Schneider Camp. It soon turned into dirt and with about a mile to the camp I decided to finish by walking. Commando and I got out and were about 10 yards from the car when some guys on ATVs came down. I noticed that one had a rifle holder stowed away (and a hunting dog). I stopped him and asked if it was hunting season. He said yes. I said I'd better go back because I didn't have any orange on and neither did Commando. He said I'd be okay if I stayed on the road and if Commando was a "good dog" and didn't go in the woods. Well, Commando is a good dog, but he's going to go into the woods, plus, I'm not so sanguine about the safety of the road so we headed back to the car.

Near Caples Lake there is a turnoff for the Margaret Lake trailhead. I took that and Commando and I headed off for our third excursion. This is really a pleasant trail and I'll have to take it when it's earlier in the day and I'm properly outfitted. It heads down, then is flat across a very nice meadow with a stream (almost a river) and then heads down again. I stopped at the second down place because it was getting late. The sun started to come out on the hike and was out for most of the hike back. Great!

There is a log crossing of the stream which is a little scary, but I made it.

New walk

Left work early to take care of some business. Picked up Commando and drove up 5 to 99 and exited at Howsley road. If you turn to the left it dead ends and you can walk along a canal levee. It was a good spot...very deserted but scenic at the same time. Commando tried to give some jackrabbits some exercise, however, he's fast for a dog but slow for a jackrabbit.

I'll definitely be back for this walk.

Pilling the Dog

Commando had an ugly bout of diarrhea Friday night so we went to the vet on Saturday. I feel sorry for the techs who had to get a fecal sample from the paper towels, regular dish towel and washcloth in the double bag.

I'm going to bet a parasite, but we'll find out for sure on Tuesday.

In the meantime, I have to dose him with Flagyl twice a day. The vet tech recommended opening his mouth and shoving the pill deep in his throat and then holding his muzzle closed and pointed up and stroking his throat until he swallows. She says the pill is very bad tasting and the dog won't eat it again if he tastes it.

Last night was a bit of a circus and he spit the pill out once. Some slobber was also spread around liberally but I think the pill got downed. This morning was easier although I'm guessing as the days progress it will be harder to trick him into coming over for some affectionate petting.