Hidden Falls

At the meeting place we divided into 2 groups: one went to Gray Lodge near Gridley to go birding. The othergroup, wanting more of a hike, went down to Hidden Falls in the regional park. Being in the latter group, that is the report you will get (unless I hear from the others).

We did the loop we followed last time although the time of year was different enough to afford a new look. The grass was green, the creeks roared to the cascades, pools, and falls. Buckeye trees were bursting their large seeds, sending a root to the soil and greenery upward. We collected a few to see if they would grow in various places. Our lively group of 10 consisted of Jo, Kim and her renter friend, John; both Marilyns, Akiko, Selma, Tiana, John, and Elly. We hiked a total of between 5 and 6 miles. The highlight of the trip was relaxing for at least an hour on the platform by the falls. The sun shone on us as the rushing water raced downward. Ah, one of our better destinations. For some reason it brought to mind food discussions stimulated by a mention of the movie, Julie and Julia as well as the book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

Chicago Park Ditch

Thirteen hikers thumbed their collective noses at the possible rain, deciding to take the chance. Luck was with us as nary a drop fell. We parked the cars at the corner of Burma and N. Meadow View roads (our garbage pick up spot), and walked up N. Meadow View to Hwy 174. We must have been a sight as the traffic actually stopped so we could cross. There we continued up Meadow View to the top of the hill and the ditch. After the steep hill to get there, we were rewarded with the relatively level trail alongside the NID ditch. The forest was predominantly cedar and oak with some houses at the end of roads. Although we were in search of a rumored lake in Chicago Park, all we found was an ugly reservoir so that was hardly the highlight of the hike. We continued on and did find a meadow which supposedly would have given us a round trip circle hike but we didn't know how to do it. So we retraced our steps back up to the ditch part and sat down to eat lunch. Meanwhile a group of 5 had taken an alternate single track route to a "lake" and ended up climbing the back side of the reservoir. Back on the main trail there was some yelling and whistle blowing to unite the two groups. Returning to our cars, we found we had walked 7 miles. Present, were Karen, both Barbaras, Selma, Clarence, Jim, both Franks and Ellen, Tammy, Tiana, John, and Elly.

After the hike John and Elly toured the Barbaras, Karen, Tammy, and Tiana to see the alpacas and the spectacular ladybug swarms in our meadow.

Next week there is still the possibility of the Gray Lodge birding trip but an alternative will also be available.

PS. We just previewed Frank's video - sure is fun to watch our hikes to the tunes of Nutcracker from our armchairs. It's amazing how the music works for the pictures.