Cool, huh? Wednesday, 1/26/22

Yes, it's January, but you see it here:  Blooming daffies!

I'm still so not used to writing or typing 2022, though it's easier than 2021.  The other day I was relating something to someone and accidentally said 1982, or some such!  Guess that's what happens when you get older.  Besides, I've spent many more years in the 20th century than I have in this current one!

We still have a few small piles of snow on the ground from that huge Christmas snowstorm, but they won't last much longer.  Our daytime temps have been in the 50's and even touching 60 degrees, which doesn't sound very wintry.  No rain or snow, either, this month.  None at all.

Olmstead Loop Trail

Since the days are so fine, we go hiking.  Lucky us to have many choices.  If it's hot, we go to the high country.  If it's chilly, we head down the hill.  Today we met up with our friends, Laurie and Odel, who live south of us near Placerville, to try a new site in the Town of Cool, elevation roughly 1500'.  Part of the Auburn State Recreation Area, Olmstead Loop Trail, is an 8.6 mile loop that parallels Hwy 49 on one side and the American River Canyon on the other, passing through open, rolling hills dotted with beautiful oak trees.  We'll come back in spring when wildflowers abound, and those oaks have leafed out.  It'll be gorgeous.

Odel, Laurie and Jimmy on the move!

We started out with jackets and vests (a 45° morning), but shed clothes as the temp rose to rousing 64°! We didn't do the entire 8.6 miles, hiking a bit less than 4 miles today, but this loop trail is intermingled with lots of offshoots and cutoffs.  We ended up on the Knickerbocker Trail.  All of us plan on returning, 'cause we want to see the rest of the trail.

We found our way to an old cement foundation, with bits and pieces of another life in evidence, old pans, and a wire coiled box springs (bottom right).  It was a great place to sit and visit and eat lunch.  It had been a while since we've seen each other ... nice to play catchup.

We saw a couple of stately hawks in the distance and watched Acorn Woodpeckers flit through the oaks overhead.  Above is a foot-long piece of bark from a dead tree that shows the holes these woodpeckers drill in a tree, which they fill with acorns, though obviously, the acorns are long gone.

We jumped this tiny creek ... some more gracefully than others.

Not naming any names.

A road runs through the area, cutting into the hill above, which we believe was used for the potential Confluence Dam construction.  No vehicle traffic allowed these days.  Laurie and I both thought we'd like to climb the hill (next time) -- we just know the views would be great.  That tangle of brownish stuff?  Blackberry vines.  We made our way back to the cars via the horse trailer parking lot.

And we stopped to have a chat with two big dark horses.  The one above (can't remember her name) was BIG, part Friesian.  I don't know a thing about horses and, truthfully, am a little scared of them, but these two seemed kinda nice.  But BIG.

This guy was called Max, and he liked to paw the ground.

Max got his snoot sort of close to the camera!

Well, Jimmy and I are kinda wacky, I suppose.  Instead of driving straight home, we went on a bit of explore.  To the Town of Foresthill (noting trail signs along the way for possible future hikes), which we discovered is The End of the Line.  The road dead ends.  Phooey.  Rather than backtrack to Auburn and then home, we spied a tiny sign in Forest Hill that read:  Colfax - 15 miles.  OK, we'd go home via Colfax; we knew how to do that.  We crossed several streams in the process.

I'll just say that this road to Colfax turned into a dirt track!  Downed trees from last month's storm had been cut away so at least it was clear.  Twice we came upon forks in the track that baffled us since no signs were posted indicating which way to go.  We ended up taking Shirttail Canyon, which went on and on, up and down on switchbacks over hills and into canyons.  We were despairing of ever seeing Colfax!  This was the longest 15 miles I've ever driven!  Eventually it led us to Iowa Hill.  Iowa Hill?  Or did we just drive all the way to Iowa!  The sun was setting!

Aw, heck, the road became paved again at Iowa Hill, and eight miles later, we hit Colfax!  Altogether the 15 miles was more like 25-30 miles of total back country.  We survived another Nickie and Jimmy wild adventure, one we don't have to repeat!  Nice to learn new things, and now we know there's an old gold mining town called Iowa Hill, and the road to the Town of Forest Hill ends there.  Period.

Nevertheless, it was a fun day.  And we really weren't too worried about being lost and having to spend a night in the Prius.  Really.

Out of the snow! Sunday, 1/9/22

 

A fair day was in the offing today.  Notwithstanding Jimmy deciding to take his bathroom sink apart to look for a missing gold cross (not found in the drain) and making an unholy mess, I reiterated my request to get the heck outa snowy Dodge and head down the hill for a nice hike.  So, he left the yucky bathroom, we stuck feet into hikers, and off we went.  We had to add a few gallons to the Prius, which set us back a bit at $4.49/gallon.  That's the cheap stuff, too (haha).

Every morning I look out our windows and I see lingering snow ... six +/- inches remain, covering the driveway and most of the yard.  Plus, those BIG piles where we've shoveled.  Reminds me of winters in Niagara Falls. where I grew up!  This is the most snow we've had since we moved to Nevada City almost ten years ago.  Warmer temps are forecast for next week, and I hope this old snow (no longer pretty) will melt, 'cause I'm done with it! 

Look!  Here's the feisty American River confluence, where the Middle Fork (center, rear) meets the North Fork, at upper left, and together they're ripping downstream!  Not a snowflake in evidence!  What a beautiful sight!

We were dressed in layers, but the temp was mild, around 55 degrees.  You'd think we'd remember that parking would be at a premium on a sunny Sunday, but it didn't occur to us till we saw cars parked far from the trailheads.  We got lucky and snagged the very last spot (as in, the furthest-away spot), a quarter of a mile from the TH, and happily started out.  Our trail is to the right of Jimmy, with the North Fork below the bridge. 

We've been here before, on the Lake Clementine trail, with our friends, Laurie and Odel, back in 2015.  Seven years ago?  Seriously?  Time is flying by too fast.  You can read about that hike here.

All the rain and snow in December, even in Auburn, made for some muddy places to avoid.  This is a fairly easy 4.6 mile R/T trail, with a slight incline most of the way up to the dam, a roughly 700' elevation gain.  As usual, though we got a late start, we weren't in a hurry; it felt so good to be Out and About and on our feet in the fresh air.  The Foresthill Bridge wows everyone who sees it -- it's 730' above the river (just below the trail on our left).  Highest bridge in California and fourth highest in the US.

Of course, no wildflowers were blooming, not in early January.  This small tree, above, however, was in full bloom.  I'm not sure what it is, but the flowers had a slightly sweet scent.

I believe this is called Clark's Pool.  The water looks deep and cold, but back in the 1900's Clark's Pool was managed by the City of Auburn as a municipal swimming pool, complete with concession stands and lifeguards!  The water would be shallower in summer, and, hopefully, warmer!

Walking along in part sun, lots of shade, and the north-facing cliffs sparkle with dewy green ferns.  Taking pictures offers a brief respite from walking uphill, and I can catch my breath.  Smart, huh?

We could hear the thundering waterfall long before we saw it.

Being on slippery, wet rocks in the mist, no thanks.

I'm not sure how she/he got down there, but it seemed kind of dangerous to me.  I don't know how far above the river she/he is, but I wouldn't do it.  Everything was slippery, and a muddy mess near the dam.  Water seems to be flowing pretty good over the spillway.  After a few minutes, we turned around and made for the car.

I was sort of surprised by the number of people we encountered on the trail, even a number of large families.  Bicyclists, too, riding uphill, with a train of speckled mud up their shirt tails.  A sunny Sunday will bring 'em out.

I love the ferns on the cliffs, they look so refreshing.  If you look closer, you can see several different kind of ferns in this one spot.  Outdoor decoration!  While not an overly-long hike (5 miles), it was just what we needed.  

* * * * *

Lest you think I'm getting grumpy in my old age, look below.  Yesterday, we finally shoveled a path to Jimmy's shop, almost two weeks after our Christmas snowmageddon.  The snow there was so deep, we couldn't tackle it till now.  A snow "bomb" out of the Incense Cedar high over the shop door broke the plastic out of the awning.  We continued shoveling till we had a cleared path all the way around the house, except, of course, not in the back yard, which is still buried.

And, now we can get the Prius in and out of the driveway easily, but still not into the garage.  I guess the snow is shrinking, and melting, but I'm ready to look out a window and not see white!

Auburn Quarry Trail, Monday, 3/1/21

On Monday, we returned to Auburn to stomp along one of the many interconnecting trails in the American River confluence area.  What began as a routine hike -- one we've done before -- ended with a circus-like or festival-feeling finale.  Sometimes you strike out; sometimes you hit the jackpot.  Today was a bonanza ... at least we thought so, since we were entertained, though we hardly expected a show.  

A couple of years ago, we spent a few hours on the Quarry Trail, hiking to Brown's Bar, but this time we wanted to trudge up to the quarry itself.  These late winter days lend themselves to layering ... no jacket or overshirt in sun, but necessary in the shade.  A cool breeze felt good while we walked in the sun, but it sent a chill over me in the shade.  Hey, hi Jimmy!

A lone fisherman with his faithful dog, Spot, sits on a rock outcrop at a bend in the Middle Fork of the American River.  A trio of Common Mergansers (below) swims nearby.

The Quarry Road Trail follows the Grand Flume, a 13-mile-long gold rush era wood and canvas flume that was built annually by private mining companies to extract gold from the river during the late 1850's.  Mountain Quarries RR also used the first one-and-a-quarter miles of the trail in the early 1900's to transport limestone from the quarry up to Auburn.  Remnants of these activities can be seen, but it isn't easy to figure out what went where or why from the stuff seen.  Like above.  You see Mountain Quarries Hawver cave gate in the background (above) and blow up (below).

Hawver Gate A, locked up tight.  Standing in front of the gate is like standing in front of an air conditioner.  Nice in the summertime!  They pulled limestone from this cave.  At this point Jimmy and I started the short uphill trek onto the PG&E Road switchback trail, which led to the quarry.

At the quarry, I exclaimed, "Oh My!" when I caught sight of the spectacular amphitheater before us.  The carved limestone quarry was (or so I read) one of the purest limestone deposits in the US.  Then we spied a couple at the base of a cliff and a person at the top, plus a line stretched across to an opposite cliff.  (Three red x's)

Looks like the duo at the bottom are fixin' to climb!

We watched for a bit, but I wanted to continue exploring toward the rear of the amphitheater.  Then Jimmy (back to the pic) called out to me, "look up."

These pictures represent a (maybe) half-hour span, while we watched a guy haul a hammock out onto the line, attach and unfurl it on the line, and eventually the guy and a girl crawled in, all the while dangling high above us!  That was pretty exciting to watch.

While that was going on, this couple climbed to the top and rappeled down.  Soon more climbers arrived, to use this cliff face and others.  Bicyclists arrived and left.  Other hikers came and went.  Yet we never felt overwhelmed by people.

Fascinating to observe their maneuvers. 

This lovely canyon remained empty.

As I continued toward the back of the amphitheater, a heard a terrific screeching, coming from the opposite rocks.  I figured it was a bird, but I couldn't see it ... till a raptor finally flew overhead, squawking the entire time.  Aha.  A nest in a rock aerie, with a baby (above).  Yup.  I couldn't/can't identify the adult or baby, but I certainly could hear it.

As I clambered up the path on the left and rounded the corner, I was stunned to see a HUGE square cave at the rear of this canyon.  I turned around to get Jimmy.  To me, the cave doesn't appear as big in the pic as it did in real life.  I didn't want to try climbing up to its base.  (A rope dangled from the cave opening to ground level for the strong and brave.)  I'm not positive, but this might be Hawver Gate B.  Below you see me coming down, returning to where Jimmy was taking the pic.

When we'd seen enough of the quarry and its activities, we headed down to the main Quarry Trail and followed it upriver for a while, then descended toward the river and eventually we ended up where we started.  I don't know anything about the gizmo, above.

But I do know what this was!  These cement structures were used to load the limestone from the quarry above into railcars for transport out.  The quarry trail we're using today follows the old railroad bed.  Seems like we've come full circle!

Back to the American River, here with rapids shimmering like liquid silver in the late afternoon sun.  Not a strenuous or long hike.  Altogether we put in somewhere between four and four-and-a-half miles, thoroughly enjoying our time on the Quarry Trail.

Robie Pt Trail, Wed, 02/10/21

Time to dust off the trail books to find another new place to exercise our ol' bodies!  Near or far, we have hundreds of options, many of which are seasonally-dependent.  We found this one in Auburn, roughly 20 miles down Hwy 49 from our house and 2000' lower in elevation.  Perfect for a blue-sky, sunny and cool/ish day.  Most of the trails in this area involve the North Fork of the American River, either up close or within view.  Other than that, we didn't know diddly squat about the trail ... which is good, 'cause we're always keen on surprises!

Descending from our parking place on Hwy 49 (above), we made a 3-mile lollipop loop, with elevation gain/loss of 300+ ft.  All those dashed lines on the map are more trails, offshoots and interconnected ups and downs and who knows where you'd end up.  So, we stuck to the red line -- a short and easy hike.  The solid blue line is, of course, the river.

The red Prius is right about where the red check mark is.  As you can see, we started our descent to the river as soon as we got out of the car, though we didn't make the strenuous hike way down to the river 'cause we didn't wanna hike up again! 😉

North Fork of the American River, zipping through the canyon.

At upper left is the Foresthill Bridge, which we've hiked under in prior years.  This bridge is the fourth highest in the United States, a whopping 730 ft above the river.  It was originally constructed to replace a river-level crossing of the American River that would have been flooded by a reservoir created by the unbuilt Auburn Dam.  We discovered much more about this today.

When we arrived at a trail crossroads and didn't know which way to turn, we went straight (haha), and found a "ruins" at the top o' the Point.  No signage, though.  When we returned home, we were curious enough to google Robie Point ruins, and came up with nothing, nada, nil, so we are no wiser.  A mystery.  It appeared to be an old homestead.  Maybe I'll call Auburn's Chamber of Commerce and ask the good folks there.  Whatever it was, they had a stellar river view.

Plus some fishy graffiti.

Look, we spotted wildlife!

Western Fence Lizard

Notice the Fire Break Trail has many spurs.  Since it's mid-winter, we spied no wildflowers, but top right are Pyracantha berries, followed by Manzanita with pretty-'n-pink blooms, and Bitter Cherry's bright red berries.

Looks like it's been in place a long time.

Here's where we were really intrigued.  The Auburn Dam I mentioned was first proposed in the 1950's and construction work commenced in 1968.  Yet the dam was never built for a number of reasons, including limited water storage capacity, geologic hazards (seismic), and potential harm to recreation and the local environment.  Much of the original groundwork can still be seen (above), and the next hike we undertake in Auburn will be to the Staging Area where more of this dam nonsense can be seen.

T'isnt very visible in this photo, but our Prius is still parked up on Hwy 49 at the red check mark.  That Foresthill Bridge?  The Prius up there?  If the Auburn Dam had been built, its reservoir would've flooded all the canyons and up toward the bridge height and our Prius.  Imagine that!  Hard for us to fathom.  Our hike would be flooded, too.  Glad it wasn't -- very enjoyable day.