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.

Ellis Peak

Along the Ridge

Since Barker Pass Road is still open, five of us drove up for the third time this summer for our hike to Ellis Peak.  This is a great time to visit Lake Tahoe as the crowds are largely gone and the leaves are spectacular.  The weather was chilly and some of the Aspens had already shed their leaves. 


duff trail

The trail was steep in places with a few patches of slippery packed snow.  Once on the ridge, the views in both directions were magnificent - down to what appeared to be Hell Hole Reservoir to the west, and east towards Lake Tahoe.  The ridge we were on was actually the crest of the Sierra, the PCT itself having gone down to the west a bit.  We followed the ridge mostly up but down as well which accounted for the amount of elevation we gained (and lost) on this hike.  The forest was beautiful duff underfoot and huge, moss-coated firs and spruce.  In some areas were gnarly twisted trunks showing the effect of the more inclement conditions of high elevation.  We crossed a dirt road cut-off to Ellis Lake, vowing to visit it after the peak. 


Rock sentinels

Approaching the peak was steep but no where near what we had done several times this summer.  There was a real trail and we did not have to use hands or crawl.  There were huge rock outcroppings lining the ridge like sentinels.  As we circled to the east side of the peak we came across a jaw-dropping view:  Lake Tahoe - almost the whole lake was right below us.  We could see past Heavenly and Mt. Tallac (we think) to snow-covered peaks in the south.  Mt. Rose and other peaks were to the east, and Castle to the most far north.  Twin Peaks, Squaw, Granite Chief, Tinker's Knob, and Anderson Peaks were all visible along the crest to the north.



Peak behind

Celebrating at top

After lunch we descended to Ellis Lake, which hadn't looked too exciting from the peak.  Surprisingly, it was lovely.  The lake was on a bench surrounded on one side by beautiful big trees. The peak with a bright rockfall reflected in the water.  At the edge of the bench was a great view down to the Barker Pass road and up to Barker Peak. 

The return hike was the usual steep ups and downs with fabulous views.  Once again, a fabulous new (for us) hike - the 11th one this year? - it was 8 miles with an 1800 ft. elevation gain - the highest peak being 8725 feet.



Lake Tahoe from lunch spot




Telephoto shot of Tinker's Knob



Ellis Lake

from bench at Ellis Lake



Looking out from bench

Forest City Bike Trails

With snow possible in the high country, we decided to follow our son-in-law's interest in some exciting new bike trails around Forest City. 



Lunch view

Turns out Frank had explored these trails before so he sent us a GPS trace even though he couldn't join us.  As we drove up Ridge Road towards Pike, Forest City, and Alleghany from Highway 49, we narrowly missed hitting a bear who was slowly sauntering across the road.  Not a lot to be afraid of up there.  No cars, no people.  We drove into Alleghany, pop. 12, by mistake and saw twice as many vehicles as the purported population.  The roads petered out and we realized our mistake so turned around and headed back up the road to Mountain House and Pliocene Ridge roads.  From there we stayed on top of the ridge to the "Big Tree Parking Lot".  The tree was not huge but did stand out as being by itself. 

We noticed 3 single track bike trails taking off so we were where we wanted to be.  To the left was "Ridge Runner", middle trail was Sandusky, and the one on the right was the Truckee Ditch Trail.  Our plan was to follow the one on the right until the place that was marked by Frank on our trace, and then head cross-country down to the Sandusky trail and return to the parking lot. 



different life stages

The going was easy enough, following the contours of the steep terrain with the usual big curves back and forth typical of bike trails.  Besides that, there were some moguls here and there to add fun for the bikers but they felt pretty silly to us.  It was a well-built trail wending it's way through dry forest.  "Nothing technical," as bikers like to say.  It took quite a while before we got an outlook but we were so turned around by then that we whisked out compasses and drove a stick into the ground to look at it's shadow to see which way was north.  We were looking south when we thought we were looking north.  In the distance we could see clouds dropping rain on some distant place but it was sunny with only a few clouds where we were. 



bike bridge

bike bridge

The cross-country section wasn't hard once we realized where a use trail seemed to be.  It was only slightly steeper than what we had experienced so far. Between the end of the trail (where a mine had been) and the Sandusky trail was a bit steep so we let ourselves down using small tree trunks.  Quickly we had a groomed trail back with carefully piled slash from the trail making.  There were quite a few piles surrounded by some clearing.  We arrived shortly at the piece de resistance:  a stone bike/hike bridge over what is now a dry Oregon Creek.  It was beautifully made with some biker challenges around as well.  Having seen the video, we knew that the rock for the bridge was procured from slabs high up the mountain.  They had been wrapped in plastic and let down the steep mountain sides during the winter.  Very impressive.



Big Tree Parking Lot

Realizing we were still far from the parking lot, we high-tailed it back on the Sandusky for about another hour.  We had hiked over 9 miles with an elevation gain of about 1500 feet. 



Beautiful Forest City

We decided to explore Forest City  which is off Mountain House Road.  With the fall foliage in the maples and dogwood, we were totally charmed.  What used to be a population of 1400 people, was now 40 but once again, we saw no one around.   There appeared to be a dusty museum and many artifacts from mining days lying around the area.  There was even a working steam-driven stamp mill.  There must be some time during the year when you can see (or hear) it in operation.


Forest City






Fire station being held up by heavy chain



For Sale By Owner

Devil's Peak 2013

It was finally time to attempt Devil's Peak again.  Five of us drove up and into Royal Gorge to the Devil's Outlook warming hut.  Devil's Peak loomed in front of us as we emerged in the cool sunlight to begin the trek towards it.  We knew from last year's experiences that we could not get up the gravel chute on the north side and that we would have to hike around to the SW side.  We followed the trail across the dam and up a ways before heading west off trail, following a poorly ducked route in and out of some very large rock outcroppings.  We came across a beautiful unnamed lake with a granite wall and talus forming its opposite shore. 



Small lake

Rounding the northern flank of the mountain, we went through an area of yellow-colored willows that we remembered from last year, and a forest that had been groomed to reduce its fuel load.  Soon we hit the paved private road that comes in from Kingvale.  When we got to the next warming hut we knew to turn left and head up to the south side on a road which ascended to the southern ridge of the mountain.  We left the road to continue up the ridge in fairly open country and easy climbing.  We encountered some faint trails and old roads which petered out as we headed due north along the ridge.  The going got steep but not too difficult as we went around downed logs and such.

After a while, suddenly the peak appeared and was surprisingly close.  Soon we got to talus and the footing was treacherous, requiring the use of all fours.  At the end of the negotiable talus we were at the base of the columns that formed the peak.  We headed around to the left, hugging the steep walls.  In a short time we figured it was high time to sit and eat lunch.  Some of us attempted to climb a few feet higher and sit in rock alcoves just big enough to wiggle your bottom in for a seat.  It was no place for those with a fear of heights.  The climb from here looked difficult and dangerous as it would be easy to either slip or dislodge a rock slide on your companions below.  We'll leave further exploration to the younger generation.



From North (note chute)

After lunch and some further exploration we cautiously headed back down the talus.  Quickly, with Peter in the lead, he got into a yellow jacket nest and was stung as they defended it.  The rest of us made the decision to bypass the exposed rock sheltering the nest and bushwhack down the talus that was covered with brush.  Not very comfortable but it beat being stung. 

 We went back by Wagon Trail ski run but it quickly turned very unpleasant: hiking over river rocks.  Those wagons must have shaken to bits.  So once again we went off "trail" cross-country to the reservoirs below our car.


 We had hiked only 8 miles with a 1300 foot elevation gain but were completely exhausted.  Uneven footing and talus climbs are tedious and hard on the feet.  We ate lunch 91 feet below the actual peak, which we will probably never set foot on. 

We are still working on next week's hike.  Possibly we will go to Beyer's Lake or check out the PCT off Highway 49 at Sierra City. 

Driving home, we hit something on the road in Nevada City that is probably responsible for the complete tire destruction we experienced on Sutton.  Lucky the tire held until then. 



One of un-named lakes



Okay - let's ride up this sucker...



Base of pillars



Lunch spot



Good -bye mighty outcropping



We have to climb what??



 

 









 

 

 

 

 

Doubt we will ever get to the tippy-top