Wednesday Ramblings: Second and Third Divides

lunch spot by Pauley Creeek

Seemed cold and windy at hike start

The 8:30 explorer group took its first hike of the season this week. Following Frank's directions but without Frank (eye problems), we headed to Empire Ranch out of Downieville. From there we hiked by Lavazolla Creek up third divide trail and over to the junction with second divide trail and on to Butcher Ranch trail, which follows Pauley Creek. All the creeks were running fast, probably due to the warm weather melting what snow there is in the higher country. Alder and dogwood were in their fresh spring stage, bathing the landscape in early green glow. They were set off by the dark green of the giant fir, pine, and cedar trees. Rushing creek water and distant rocky mountains completed the view. It was a magical combination and we didn't want to turn around.

OMG falls

Upstream from lunch site

The trail was quite steep in sections which was mostly up hill on the trip out and downhill on the return. The elevation gain was about 3500 feet and we hiked about 14 miles. These numbers were recalculated by Frank when he traced our route on the National Geographic map. Our GPS's showed 13 miles and 3 thousand feet elevation gain. This is the trail that the mountain bikers use in the summer. They are bussed up the mountain from Downieville and careen down the trail to town. Must be fun but we were sure glad that we didn't see any. The only other people we saw were wildlife biologists heading in at dusk to check on owl and goshawk territories. The woman even demonstrated the great gray owl call for us...sounded great and eery.

green rivulets joined trail down steep cliffs

found these characters still waiting

At the top of the trail there was a large, well-appointed campsite by the creek. We looked downstream and realized the creek flowed quickly over a precipice. Excited, we scrambled through downed logs and over steep rocks to place ourselves where we could see what we had guessed from the sounds we had heard on the way up. Sure enough, we were treated to a spectacular set of waterfalls. Since we couldn't stop saying, "oh my god", we named the falls OMG Falls. We probably hit it on one of the best days.

mammoth tree

It was a long hike and we didn't return until quite late, necessitating eating dinner on the way home. Guess we better remember to pack flashlights. Remember, if you want to hike with us, we are an explorer group and don't necessarily stick to the announced itinerary. We are often not familiar with the territory and quite happy to return to town at dusk.