Exploring Schneider Cow Camp

Hiked up to the saddle overlooking Meiss Meadows. WOW, what a view. The saddle has some nice rocks for sitting and really outstanding views. There's the whole Carson Pass area, Red Lake Peak, Stevens Peak, Elephant Back, and Round Top. There's the whole Kirkwood area including Thunder Mountain. A little bit along the ridge and there's Lake Tahoe including (maybe) Mt. Rose and (maybe) the Three Sisters. Spectacular. A bit of a rain came up as I was heading up to the top of an unnamed prominence so we headed back down. We were going to persevere, but the wind started getting colder.

As we were coming back down to the saddle two people on horseback were headed our way from the Tahoe area. Commando was quite interested although I was glad they turned off and headed into Meiss Meadows. I'm not completely convinced that Commando will act like the gentlemen he is around horses.

An older couple heading down overtook us as we were headed down. The man was way ahead and had a somewhat disagreeable dog with him named Pip. There was only barking and Commando acting a bit foolish to try and get Pip to play. Pip was extremely uninterested. I suspect he finds hiking serious business.

We stopped for a snack and water break and to watch the rain fall in this nice flat area close to the end of the hike. Commando refused water but scarfed his food down with interest. I felt a bit sorry for the hunters camped around the area. I have seldom seen fewer deer signs.

Trying to decide my next summit experience

Having somewhat successfully conquered Mt. Lola after only 4 tries, I think I'd like to try to get to 10,000 feet or 3048 meters. I need to be able to start at about 8000 feet or so and not have more than a 5 mile round trip. Also, hiking only, no scary slipping and sliding or falling.

I'm thinking Hawkins Peak or possibly Mt. Rose. Just some thoughts.

Group hike to the Enchanted Pools

A group of us from work met at the Costco in Folsom and grouped into cars to take the Enchanted Pools hike. Commando and Cheyenne (Mike and Angie's dog) came along too. Unfortunately for me, I slept in until 8 or so and was scrambling to get to the meetup place. I forced everyone to stop at the MacDonalds in Placerville so I could get coffee, breakfast and lunch. Good thing I happened to have some Vitamin water in my pack or I would have been really hurting.

The weather was great. We hiked pretty slowly up because I was the only one that knew the way and the trail is indistinct in several places. The dogs got along great even around food.

Alex and his posse stayed at the lower pools which were apparently the best. The rest of us went up higher to a not so scenic area and ate lunch.

There was a grumpy couple in a good shady area. I mean, they were really grumpy. Theresa walked by and they said they had hiked 4 hours to get here and wanted to know how long we'd be there. I had to wonder where they'd hiked from to take 4 hours. I certainly understand the desire for peace and quiet, but this is a pretty popular hiking spot and there are usually many other people there. It's better to bring your peace and quiet with you instead of relying on it from outside.

We hiked back on the Tyler Lake, Rockbound, Loop trail route with little problem. Once you're there, you're actually on established trails and route finding is easy. It was a good day.

I didn't take the pictures, Wee did and they are great!

Last morning at 157 Seacliff, Aptos

We stayed at The Tides of Life in Aptos and our visit was just what we wanted. We can highly recommend this as a vacation rental. We walked on the beach every day, relaxed on their comfortable furniture and tried to find the hidden bottle of wine!

This movie is from this morning as we were packing up to go.

More fun playing games

After several spirited games of Scrabble we decided to relax with a few lines.

Sitting outside at the beach rental

711 pm (Sat) I'm outside on the patio overlooking Rio Del Mar beach. There are many people heading to the beach to have bonfires and perhaps stir up trouble.

735 pm (Sat) Still sitting outside but getting a bit cold. Read the frugal traveler in the nytimes. I can hear the waves and folks laughing and talking on the beach.

739 pm (Sat) Just like home the neighborhood dogs are barking across the valley to each other.

541 pm (Sun) After a long day in San Juan Bautista we're watching some parachutists land, presumably safely, on the beach.

849 pm (Sun) After a great chicken adobo dinner I decided to see when the House season premiere is on and knocked over the table next to the couch. Fortunately, nothing was broken.  Gary wants another video.

Altar at the beach rental

We hike to the epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

We drove to the Forest of Nisene Marks and up the Aptos Creek road. We were able to drive past the winter gate and park at the second gate. We hiked up the old road. We saw several joggers and mountain bikers. The turn off to the hiking only trail is well marked and is about 1 mile from the start. The foot trail goes along Aptos creek and occasionally goes along an old logging right of way from the early 1900's. There are two stream crossings.

I first hiked to the epicenter in the early 90's. It was pouring rain and I remember taking shelter under a redwood. My memory must be faulty, or they've moved the epicenter because there weren't any big redwoods there.

It's an interesting hike and brings back memories of the earthquake.

The picture is of Donna crossing a log. I crossed the same log a few minutes before she did.

First day at the beach house vacatioin

Well, we've been through quite a bit of wine. One of us is calling to complain about the "rosemary" she bought to garnish our chicken dinner.

Walking down the stairs and first view of the beach house

Exploring Caples Creek

On Friday drove up 50 to Kyburz and took Silver Fork road. Stopped at the Fitz Ranch bridge to hike up the trail to Government Meadows. I gave some thought to hiking across Caples Creek then up a trail to Forgotten Flat then back down a forest service road to Silver Fork and the car. It's a round trip of 5 miles. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling very good so once I crossed the creek and looked at the first uphill switchback I decided not to continue. I wasn't that committed to it so I wasn't disappointed.

Today we did the same hike, but continued on to Jake Schneider Meadow. I had wanted to stop there somewhere at Caples, take my boots off and cool my feet off. Caples is a lively creek busily trying to carve a canyon out of the granite so there weren't any good places. The banks were a steady 2 feet or more above the water level. The water was also moving pretty fast with many snags and really dangerous strainers so I didn't want to chance going in.

There was one place that had been made into a campsite with beautiful, soft sand and a bit of a calm area. I soaked my feet until a spider (I'm a bit phobic) decided that he wanted to share this exact same spot and he didn't appreciate my fat butt on his grassy home. I left.

We also stopped at the granite and sand beach just down from the nice bridge about a mile up the trail. No one was there and I soaked my feet for quite a while without disturbing any arachnids. Commando and I played some splash for a bit and he cooled down nicely.

It's a nice, easy trail with some good views. The meadow was dry, not quite golden but close. Grasshoppers and dragon flies were abundant. I'll definitely do this trail again.

Silver Lake to Granite Lake

As I was forced to take a furlough day in September, and couldn't take any day prior to today off I decided to take advantage of the lack of crowds by hiking to Granite Lake. Silver Lake has camping, two resorts with camping, and forest service cabins so it's usually crowded. I like to let Commando off leash but that means going to lonelier places so I don't bother anyone.

The trail head as described by the forest service is well marked. The sign says 1 mile as do the forest service directions, but I'm not so sure. After climbing a bit through a mixed granite high altitude pine forest there is a surprise trail junction. It says Granite Lake .5 miles ahead and the parking area 1 mile back. Even my math says that's 1.5 miles.

We reached the lake and I changed into shorts and waded around. The water was nice and cool. I did pick off something that looked like a leech though. Ick. We met some odd women with a Puli dog on a leash. They didn't know where Plasse's was and said they had hiked to Hidden Lake which was several miles along. Hmmm, I didn't think it was that far. Plus, didn't they look at a map?

Read a little, drank my drink, ate my sandwich. Commando waded, scared off the blue jays, and chased squirrels. It was nice and relaxing. Headed back and encountered no one so it was a perfect day.

More Mt. Lola pictures

 

My signature on the summit log. Commando refused to sign.

This is the box in which the summit logs are stored. It would have been interesting to read all of the entries...the box is stuffed with papers.

Bagged Mt. Lola - Finally!

A few weekends ago I decided to try and summit Mt. Lola. The trail from White Rock Lake is described as about 2 miles to the 9100 ft' summit. The first time I got on the wrong trail. I tried to follow a use trail that goes straight up and I gave up because it was too difficult. I did have a nice hike around the lake though.

The second time I studied the terrain and decided to dispense with the trail entirely and go up a saddle on the dam end of the lake. Although I had a great hike, going cross country proved to be a bit much and I didn't make it.

The third time I determined to carefully follow the trail. Unfortunately, I skipped lunch and didn't bother to hydrate or eat while hiking and somewhere very close to the summit I became ill and had to turn back. This route was quite punishing once I got to Mt. Lola's final flank. The trail from White Rock Lake is not well marked and is a bit hard to follow, although, not impossible. There also seems to be a trail, not on any map, that seems to head over to Castle Peak area so be careful.

After more terrain and map studying, I decided to drive up a forest service/logging road to Cold Stream Meadow and take the trail from there. There also seemed to be a sort of road on satellite views that went to almost 8500 feet and put one quite close to the summit.

The forest service road is passable by most high clearance vehicles. It's narrow and overgrown so you'll get paint scratches. I chose to drive over the foot bridge and it felt sturdy but it was scary nonetheless. If it ever fails there will be a good 3 foot drop into the creek.

The road forks above the meadow. I didn't like the look of either and parked a few feet back in a logging clearing. I chose to hike the road that went up and this turned out to be a good decision. It goes up and up and up with several switchbacks and a few steep places. It finally ends at a logging clearing and I had to just go up through the forest, then across a boulder field, then through some mule's ears and scraggly manzanita to a saddle. Once here, the going is not bad. It's all worn volcanic rock with scrubby plants worn down by the wind. It's not very steep, but there is still a climb to a rounded peak, then a slight drop, another climb to another rounded peak, then a slight drop, then, finally Mt. Lola!!

On this trip I set an alarm every 1/2 hour and forced myself to rest, eat, and drink. It made a big difference in how I felt. Although I could tell I was at elevation, there was none of the nausea and dizziness of Friday's trip.

I chose to take the trail back to the meadow and the car. I'm really glad I took the road up because I think it was easier than the trail. It took about 3 to 4 hours for me to get up and only 2 to get back to the car.

Bassi Creek Loop

It's hot again! I decided to ignore the heat though and hike the whole Bassi Creek Loop trail. I'm not sure if I've done the whole loop before. I've hiked the whole thing in both directions but at different times.

My one concession to the heat was to carry a lot of water and Revive Vitamin Water (don't care if it's bad, it keeps me well when hiking in the heat) and stop at Bassi Creek and rest in the cool water for a long time. I even brought a book.

Commando doesn't like the heat either and he actually deigned to drink some of the water I carried when we stopped at about the half way mark to the creek.

The creek was higher than the last time but not so high that it was dangerous. The water poured over the granite in sheets and pooled up deeply in spots. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot of shade. I got soaked nicely and had a good rest.

We meandered to a few places with shade that had various kinds of bugs. A spider scared the shit out of me on rock 1. Some kind of fly bothered me at rock 2. Rock 3 looked good for a while and I rested and almost napped. Then I noticed a tick like insect, some ants, and some kind of tiny red bug.

This was the only place I saw people. As I was heading to a good crossing, some people were meandering up the other side. Three horses came down going the opposite way. I headed along the trail.

At one point I almost lost the trail. It was rocky and overgrown and there were a lot of likely looking "trails." Some people were camping and I asked them. They weren't sure but the guy said he thought I was on the right trail and that it headed up. Well, I knew that part.

Within a few feet I could see the horse hoof strike marks on the granite and a cairn and was pretty sure I was on the right path. After that I never lost the trail again.

After hiking a LONG time up and up and not seeing the intersection that was next goal I was starting to worry. Could I have missed a turnoff? My map didn't show a turnoff and I hadn't seen one, but that didn't really mean anything. We came in sight and sound of a creek. If I was where I thought I was that would be Bassi Creek again. I wasn't so pleased that we were so close to it though. I kept going up and up and at LAST saw the sign and the trail junction that put me back on impossible to miss trails back to the car.

Had a great pizza and Commando is snoozing heavily in his basket. I guess it is possible to hike his paws off after all!

alea iacta est

Tom Stienstra's thoughts on getting out and hiking.

Good hike, Meh hike

Today we drove up 50 to Wright's Lake road and then parked at Dark Lake to hike on the Barrett Lake Jeep Trail. The gate was closed. That's bad for the jeeps, but good for hiking. It's definitely a road that requires special outfitting on your rig. It's a lot more like a trail than a road. There are still trees down across the trail. For hiking it's quite nice. It's relatively level. It climbs a bit, then is flattish, then drops a bit, then climbs a bit, then drops. We stopped about a mile in at the crossing of the Jones Fork of Silver Creek. The trail is mostly dry and dusty with a few muddy spots. The creek is great. It was running nicely but the snow has melted and the water was warm enough to soak my feet. Commando fished for sticks and spent most of his time hunting rodents on the surrounding granite.

The trail has lots of fabulous views of Red Peak, Taylor Peak and the rest of the Crystal range.

Saturday we drove up 50 again to Wright's Lake road and then turned up the Wright's Lake tie. Just after crossing the cattle guard near the Wilson Ranch meadow we turned left onto a forest service road. From the maps, it looked like we could explore Lyons Creek from some unusual angles. It wasn't much of a hike. We parked and walked along the very bad road and could occasionally see the creek below, protected by steep canyon walls. There were some dusty, rocky, brushy places to scramble down but we didn't try any of them. The road eventually just disappears.

We turned back the other way. The road dead ends at Lyons Creek and the land to the left is marked private property. We scrambled around on the Eldorado side and eventually found shade a nice granite and a sandy pool. I read until deer flies forced us to leave. Commando chased rodents.

Visited Donna, Malene, and Gary for dinner. Donna and Malene were having a quilt fest and I borrowed their sewing machines to do some much needed repairs.

I can recommend the Barrett trail for hiking but Lyons Creek is a bit of a hot, dry scramble without much payoff.

Forgotten Flat Trail Fail

According to various maps, including new maps, there is a trail about a mile up a dirt forest service road. The road is undriveable just past one of the creeks because there has been major flood damage. At one place, they have removed giant culverts leaving a hard to cross gash across the road. It's easily 10 feet deep with steep sides. I went up stream to where the natural banks were more gradual and crossed there. I hiked up about a mile and saw where the trail should be according to the map, but no easily identifiable trail. I hiked up the dirt road a bit more, but it was hot so I turned back.

It's a nice area, the pine forest before getting high enough to be all granite. There are lots of streams and some might even have water in them all year.

I'm not sure I'll try this again unless I check with a ranger to see if the trail is passable. It's one thing to follow a road, but I really don't want to follow a faint trail that gets lost and then dead ends at an impassable creek.

Sat in the creek where the car was parked and cooled my feet.

Dinner in the City

Left Sacramento a little late and was the last arrival at the Eureka Lounge near the Castro in the City. It was a very nice place with a homey feel to it. Before I'd even said anything when I entered the guy said, "Oh, you must be the long-lost last member of the Victoria party!"

It was great to see everyone and rehear or retell all the old stories and catch up on whatever we're each doing now. Mrs. Robinson, the Hartman, the Peeps, our plethora or lack of "friends" on Facebook, the famous artist's ceramic pots, J Bird, the kids, the grand-kids, the pets, etc.

Sutter's Landing Dog Park

The town is really putting up a lot of dog parks so Commando and I headed to the one downtown. It was a hot day and we wisely went just at dusk when the temperature was below 90. The park is nice enough and Commando like it. There's not much shade but I'm not hanging out when it's hot anyway. There are some hills covered in bark to add an interesting place for the dogs to run. It's also got a distinctly urban feel to it. The hipsters were out in force and one guy was sitting on the ground trying to play his guitar. I didn't actually SEE any dogs go and pee on the guitar case, but I know they wanted to. Supposedly we can go down to the river here so we'll have to check that out later. We'll be back.