Deer Creek

Five of us plus 2 fur hikers idiotically braved the weather report and set out to follow the new Land Trust access trail for Deer Creek. The trail started in Pioneer Park, Nevada City - wound around and through NC, crossing Broad St. twice until it got serious and followed the road past Miner's Foundry and along Deer Creek. Many interesting creekside homes can be seen on this route which finally headed down through a series of switchbacks to the creek, itself, which was raging towards itsWildwood and Engelbright destinations. We saw members of the Land Trust moving dirt around, packing the trail and getting it ready for the Saturday opening. Some clever half-log benches were scattered along the trail, as well as at least one small bridge across a gap. At one point we took a detour to Stocking Flat. The well-engineered trail switch-backed down to a newly restored area with a lovely bridge that unfortunately was blocked off at it's end due to that part of the trail not being developed yet. The denuded (thanks to the miners) vegetation near the river's edge was being restored with natives and a retaining wall partially built with petrified wood. Since we could go no further, we returned to the trail which continued along an NID ditch. After a while a familiar white truck passed on a road up the hill. Hmmm, we wondered...could it be? A few minutes later the truck appeared on it's return and stopped! Clarence! We invited him to join us but he demurred, inviting us to return in his truck.

Well, we should have. At the end of the trail, the first drops appeared. The winds picked up, the temperature dropped, and the rain diddled around until it poured in cold hard drops. No shelter for lunch so we just high-tailed it back...sopping and sloshing...longing for some hot soup but too wet to go sit in a restaurant. We dripped into Frank's car, raincoats (for what they were worth by that time), and dog fur, all glomming together.

Sometimes you just don 't win the bet with mother nature.

Note: Tiana, ever the exercise enthusiast, had a bike accident on the Pioneer Trail. When she hit a root, the fall resulted in the handle bars hitting and fracturing her sternum. Ouch. She is taking it easy for a while. We wish her a speedy recovery.