Rained Out at Empire Mine

what you missed

Seven of us hiked a  mile or so from the McKnight Way entrance on the new compacted rock trail but five turned back as the rain came in earlier than predicted.  Two of us continued and got several miles in before retiring to our home for the picnic lunch.  Wildflowers are blooming: bleeding heart in abundance, some kind of buttercup, creeping ceanothus, cat's ears, some kind of arnica.  Interestingly, someone has put white flags where wildflowers will be blooming.  We hiked up through very disturbed forest, some of the manzanita removed past the Conlon Mine diggins' to Osborne Hill and back. 

Quarry at the American

About a dozen of us hiked the part of the Western States Trail from just beyond the confluence on the south side of the Middle Fork of the American River.   We passed the cut-off up to the quarry and lingered (loitered?) at the mouth of the huge cave/tunnel with it's thick steel gates.  Although fossils such as mammoths and giant sloths were supposedly within it's mysterious depths, the only artifact we could see was an old water bottle.  We continued on until we were about 3.5 miles from the car.  Then we turned around and hiked down to the river for our lunch.  A few dipped their feet in before heading back to the quarry cut-off.   The quarry's massive rock faces dwarfed us as we explored areas toward the bottom, looking for the secret way into the tunnel below.  Perhaps they had blocked it by dynamiting slabs to form a rock fall.  We climbed around and did find the cave but it was disappointing, only going back about 20 feet.  The hike was about 8.5 miles.

Next week we will be going to the red rocks in Spenceville.  Pictures by Maureen and Elly