Black Swan/Sucker

Trail Company

Cliff, Nests, Mine

Wanting to avoid the lightning storms of the high country, seven of us headed down the hill to a newly built trail to Black Swan Lake.  We were surprised when we turned on the Mooney Flat Road to find Karen hanging out in a parking lot.  She was waiting for the 9 o'clock group for a hike at that level as well. 

We hiked to Black Swan Lake, quite a beautiful place.  As we were ready to leave we heard someone calling out to us.  After a few attempts at answering, we assumed it was the bellowing of a large herd of cattle that we had seen earlier on the trail.  So we mooed back a few times, only to look up and actually see the 9 o'clock group along the trail. 

We left the lake on a roundabout route up through the Sucker Road subdivision known as Excelsior Ranches.  There used to a hydraulic mine there in those cliffs.  We were hoping for a viewpoint of the Yuba for a good lunch stop.  But that was not to happen so we ensconced ourselves in the shade of a Willow bush for lunch.  We watched the Red-winged Blackbirds and swallows or swifts that were nesting in the cliffs above us.  While we relaxed, John read us the sales pitch for the lots from their website which he found with his phone.  Apparently there is a pair of Peregrine Falcons nesting in those cliffs, but we didn't see them.

Black Swan Lake

After lunch we hiked up over the cliffs almost immediately passing another lake.  We wished we had known it was there as it would made for a better lunch site, but it didn't  show up on any GPS or map.  We followed a dirt road across a hill and heard rushing water.  In front of us was ditch water that was careening down the hill.  We crossed it and went up to the ditch where we hiked until it hit Route 20, very near Mooney Flat Road.  Since we didn't see cars from the other group, we assumed that they had left already.  Were we surprised when we returned to Sutton Way to find some of their cars still there.  They must have parked in another location but after Black Swan Lake, they hiked to the Englebright Dam. 

Next we will meet at 8:30 and hope to do Loch Leven from the backdoor or Long Valley Reservoir.