Rice's Crossing

South Fork meets Englebright



Five of us headed off to Bridgeport to take one of the sunnier hikes we could think of.  It did not disappoint and although we started with warmer outerwear, we found we discard the jackets by mid-morning.  Our route was down to the crossing, back up and then down to Point Defiance for an early lunch.  Then we walked back to Bridgeport along the Yuba.  We cross-countried up the steep hill at the end to meet the trail that leads back to the top.  6+ miles, -1K elevation gain. 

Middlefork flowing fast

Englebright

S. Fork

S Yuba

E

From last week: Gracie Ditch, NC

Big Bend

 Eleven (?) of us went on a short quick hike down to the S. Yuba from the campground on the other side of Edwards Crossing.  It was disturbing to us that the river was so low. 

Dead but propped up: Varied Thrush

Ice Lakes to Crow's Nest

fingers courtesy of Frank

Seven of us went up to explore Royal Gorge further on the opposite end from Devil's Peak.  We passed Ice Lakes Lodge and found ourselves on a well-maintained dirt Forest Service road.  Not knowing where to start the hike, we explored some areas by car, enjoying the long view into the deep gorge of the American River.  Anderson Peak and Tinker's Knob were before us, as were many other unidentified peaks.  A pick up and a rented U-Haul van passed us so we thought that it would be fun to explore that road further at some other time.  We started the hike on an unnamed jeep road that headed steeply up the back of the ridge I wanted to hike on.  Sometimes bush-whacking, we kept wending our way to the ridge and were rewarded with incredible views.  Unfortunately there was heavy smoke to our northeast, beyond Castle Peak, which we hoped was a controlled burn. 

We decided to eat lunch on the ridge near a dramatic volcanic extrusion.  The rocks were weathered much in the same fashion as the rocks on the trail between Castle and Basin Peaks.  The forms are sculptural, resembling sentinels.

Devil's Peak

We went on towards the Sugar Bowl peaks between us and the PCT.  We only made it up to the nearest one, called Crow's Nest, a steep climb in snow that offered incredible views all the way up.  At the top there was a rock scramble to the very top and much to our amazement we were right on top of a brand new looking ski lift.  Mt. Disney, Mt. Lincoln and Mt. Judah were in front of us, giving us ideas for another hike. 

This was another exciting exploration hike in a summer full of them. And it's mid November, for heavens sake!  If we hadn't spent so much time exploring the road at the beginning, we would have had more time for getting up Disney as well.  Next week?

We hiked about 7.5 miles with an elevation gain of 1826 feet, highest peak being 7849.

Blue trace is today's hike

From the top of The Crow's Nest

Canyon Creek

 Seven of us hiked the approximately nine miles RT to Canyon Creek on the North Fork of the Yuba.  At the Cherokee Creek Bridge a use trail departs sharply uphill.  Tiana thought she remembered at charming pond surrounded by ferns that would be up that trail.  So we took off letting ourselves up and down some steep terrain as the trail avoided downed trees that littered the way.  Although the group was ready to retreat, I persisted, always interested in a beautiful spot.  After a while the trail went down to the creek at a waterfall

and deep swimming hole.  It was conceivable that with more water, the beautiful ferns would be right down to the water. 

 Luckily, Ken and John went searching for me and when I showed them the "pond", Ken ran back to retrieve the others.  After hanging out for a while, we decided to return to the main trail and continue on to Canyon Creek for lunch.  It took a while but we sat down where Canyon Creek met the North Fork.  Unfortunately, there was no way we could avoid killing ladybugs as we walked and sat as they were thickly coating all surfaces.  Looks like a good ladybug year. 

Hidden Falls

lunch with a view
 

Snow having arrived in the high Sierra, our group joined forces with the rest of the Wednesday hikers to explore about 9 miles of

 new trails in the park at Hidden Falls.  Within the past year, this park has been upgraded so that there are lots of new trails, beefy bridges, and overlooks.  A quad dragging a scraper was grooming the trail even as we arrived.  Mountain bikers and horse trailers were also arriving in the large parking lot.  We took the trail past the falls to the overlook before turning down the creek on the other side.  To our surprise, the trail we had wanted to take said that it was one way the other way.  We changed plans and went up Squirrel Trail to parallel the creek at a higher level with the intention of taking the Creekside Trail the correct way later in the day.  We got to the edge of the park and looped around down Squirrel trail to the creek crossing for lunch.  Crossing the creek, there was a row of rocks near the water which was perfect for lunch.  While we ate we watched horseback riders and mountain bikers come down to enjoy the water. 

After lunch, we re-crossed the bridge and headed back up the Creekside Trail.  While hiking, one of our hikers became dehydrated and overheated, slowing him down to the point of resting.  A fellow hiker provided him with a lighter shirt and some water.  The day had started out quite cool and was quickly becoming warmer than anticipated, especially apparent during the long hill climb.  As the hiker joined the rest of the group his discomforts appeared to be worsening, necessitating him to stop even as he was going down hill.  It became apparent to him and the rest of the group that this could be turning into an emergency.

We tried to call 911 for help but quickly realized that there was no phone service.  Figuring we could get service further up the canyon, two of us ran forward while continuing to check the phone.  We ran across someone with another cell carrier who said that they, too, did not have service.  About 1/4 mile before the parking lot we finally got through to the dispatcher.  Once at the parking lot the EMT vehicles arrived about 15 minutes later.  Oddly, the young men seemed completely unfamiliar with the territory so one member rode with them to the spot.

Thankfully, the stricken hiker had recovered sufficiently to be out of immediate danger, although the hike back up to the parking lot was not something he could handle.  He refused medical help, but was thankful for the ride.  He assures us that he will calling his doctor the next day. 

This is a cautionary tale not only for us but for the park.  They've put in a gorgeously groomed recreational setting that is obviously being well appreciated and used.  Emergencies can and will happen and there has to be a way of contacting help.  Either they need to add cell towers or emergency phones.  A ranger interviewed a couple of us and will write this up in her report. We will forward a link to this blog to the Placer County Parks. 

From Frank:

Our Odd View from air

Omega Road

Unable to make the usual 8:30 meetup, we decided yesterday right after lunch that we needed some exercise, and since we unexpectantly had the afternoon free, we jumped in the car, heading to Omega Rd.  We quickly found the group's cars, parked, and as we were about to begin hiking, along comes Kit in his truck.  He had hiked on his own with his dog and was heading home.  He said the main group was about a mile down the road coming our way.  We soon came across them and had a mini reunion.   We continued on to Omega, saw the view and the cemetery, and returned.  It was a fast 8 miles with some beautiful colors, albeit a bit faded.  We did get our exercise, and managed to avoid inhaling too many bugs.