Hiking the Second Divide Trail out of Downieville
Heeding Dave’s emailed call for an 8:00 AM departure, five of us headed to Downieville and the trailhead above town. This involved driving through the very narrow (and fortunately deserted) back streets, up the Downie River. The road, now dirt, climbed away from the river and up to a saddle, called First Divide. Here we parked and began hiking the very well marked and maintained Second Divide trail. It was a chilly 36 degrees, but no wind and the steady climbing soon warmed us. The trail follows Pauley Creek, contouring along well above the water on the steep sides of the canyon. Rather soon we came to a side trail that plunged down to the creek and a cabin, the first of several we would see. It was a miner’s cabin, old but apparently snug and tight. It was boarded up for the winter and against marauding bears. I’m not sure how much gold is mined at this claim these days, but it appeared that good times were had aplenty.
Back on the main trail, we continued on for several miles, marveling at rock outcroppings and some of the largest old growth Ponderosa Pines I’ve ever seen. This trail is absolutely beautiful and in such good shape that we could make pretty good time. We came upon another cabin and claim on a large glacial bench in a couple of miles. This was a larger cabin with a separate storage shed.
Continuing on, we eventually stopped for lunch on another claim site and cabin, the fanciest yet with separate equipment building with two motorized wheel barrow contraptions. We ate lunch below on the creek, all perched on a log above the water. Although it was only a little after noon, the mid November sun was low and the hiking heat dissipated quickly into the air and damp log. We ate and moved on, stiffened a bit and huffed and puffed up to the junction with the Third Divide trail. Here we turned back on the Third Divide trail and steadily descended, contouring down the steep sides of Lavezzola Creek, beyond earshot way below us. The forest here appeared dry, with very little underbrush and a lot of down trees. But once again, the trail was in perfect shape, with no trees blocking it. In fact, in places there was evidence of very recent trail work, preparing it for the winter, I suppose. This is the trail which is part of the Downieville Downhill, a famous (in mountain biking circles) trail which starts at Packer Saddle and drops 5000 feet in 17 miles. We saw not a single biker. In fact, we saw no other hikers all day.
The trail continues along the steep canyon slope for several miles, crossing a couple of springs and getting closer to the creek. We glimpsed another cabin across the water, and, in a rare opening in the forest across the creek, a ranch operation (which the map identified as Lavezzola Ranch). We finally crossed the creek on a beautiful steel bridge and reached the end of the trail at the county road. We would follow this back to our car, but first we admired the Empire Ranch, a beautiful spread complete with what appeared to be a helipad. No helicopter was seen, but the windsock made us think that the rock star or internet tycoon we figured must own the place used it to commute.
The last mile or two was easy road hiking, passing beautiful emerald pools and not seeing a single moving vehicle. All in all, a perfectly beautiful day in what was, for me, all new country.
10 miles, about 2500 feet of climbing.
No talk about next week’s hike, but many can’t make it due to T-day.
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