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Showing posts from 2017

12.08.17 ... Stevens Trail

Hike Details: Elevation range - from about 2300' down to 1300' Location - from Eastbound I-80, take the Colfax exit (135), turn left at the stop sign to get on to the frontage road called North Canyon Way, drive .6 mile to the parking lot on the left. Bathrooms: Yes, a pit toilet (better than nothing, just barely) Mileage - 7.5 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 4 hours (including stop for lunch)

11.18.17 ... Codfish Falls

Hike Details: Elevation range - about 800' (lots of little ups and downs but no huge elevation changes) Location - from Eastbound I-80, take Exit 130, W. Paoli Lane. From the exit, turn left onto W. Paoli Lane, then continue straight on Paoli Lane (don't go back over the freeway on W. Paoli Lane). It ends at Ponderosa Road, then turn right and just keep going! It becomes a dirt road, single lane, and is SUPER bumpy! We drove my husband's truck and we were still worried about all the bumps! Definitely not a place I'd go with a sketchy vehicle as there's also no cell coverage down in the canyon. Just keep driving down the windy road until you get to the river and there's a small parking lot. Bathrooms: Maybe? Might be a pit toilet at the trailhead, if there was we didn't use it. Mileage - 3 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 1-2 hours

10.6.17 ... Training Hill - Auburn

Hike Details: Elevation   range  - 600' to 1630' Location  - Auburn State Recreation Area at the intersection of Highway 49 and Old Foresthill Road, also known as the "Confluence" of the American Rivers - parking is free along most parts of the road, but there are also a few fee area parking lots Mileage   - 4.5 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 2 hours 

9.29.17 ... Round Top and Winnemucca Lakes

Hike Details: Elevation  - 8210' up to 9410' Location  - Trailhead is located off of Carson Pass Highway 88, take the turnoff to Woods Lake Campground, which is a mile or so past Caples Lake Mileage   - 5 miles roundtrip Hiking time -  3 hours 

8.25.17 ... Frog Lake

Hike Details: Elevation  - 8550' up to 8875' Location  - Trailhead is located at the Carson Pass Ranger Station on Carson Pass Highway 88, about 5 miles East of Kirkwood Ski Resort Mileage   - 3 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 3 hours 

8.4.17 ... Johnson Canyon/Donner Lake Rim Trail

Hike Details: Elevation  - 6400' up to 7630' Location  - On I-80, take the Donner Lake Road exit (not to be confused with Donner Pass Road), go north of the freeway to Billy Mack Rd and the trailhead parking is just up the road on the right. Mileage   - 6 miles roundtrip Hiking time  - 3 hours

6.29.17 ... Bassi Falls ... it's my birthday so I'll hike if I want to!

Hike Details: Elevation - 5,075' - 5,575' Location - From Sacramento take Hwy. 50 East. About 20 miles past Placerville take a left turn on Ice House Road. Follow this road (very windy, but beautiful) for about 18 miles. (At about 12 miles is the Crystal Basin Ranger Station on the right--nice bathrooms, worth stopping!) Continue on until you cross a bridge over a creek. Big Silver Group Campground is on the left, and the turnoff to Bassi Falls is immediately across from it on the right. Take the turn, then when you reach a fork in the road, you can go left and drive up to within about a half mile from the falls. But we drove to the right and parked in a big open area where a trail headed down to the right towards the creek. It's about 2 miles to the falls from here, see the picture below with the sign. Mileage - 4.5 miles roundtrip Hiking time - 3 hours I didn't make this map but it's pretty close to what we hiked. The green arrow is the turnoff from I

6.6.17 ... Carr Lake

Hike Details: Elevation - 6600' - 6800' Location - from I-80, take the exit for Hwy. 20 East, drive about 4 miles then turn right onto Bowman Lake Road, follow it for about 8 miles, watching for the turnoff on the right to Carr Lake. This is where the gravel road begins--sometimes fine, sometimes super bumpy. Then it's about 2 1/2 miles to the trailhead/campground parking area. Mileage - 3+ miles Hiking time - 2 hours I was so happy my friend Melinda could hike with me! And not just because she always brings homemade chocolate chip cookies as trail food. ;) So our plan was to hike past Carr, Feeley and Island Lakes and on to Penner Lake. But piles of snow changed that plan. We chatted with a Scout leader who was hiking in to meet up with his group. He told us the trail was about 95% covered with snow all the way to Island Lake. We had to cross a little creek/waterfall to get over to Feeley Lake. One side of the lake looked like summer.

6.10.17 ... Hidden Falls Regional Park (again)

Hike Details: Elevation - 600-900 ft. Location - Hidden Falls Regional Park, Auburn, CA Mileage - 4-5 miles Hiking time - 2+ hours Route - map and information here Just a quick Saturday morning outing with a group of kids from church as a pre-hike for a much longer "Pioneer Trek" (which will be 19 miles over 3 days in the Sierras). This was just a warmup to get them out on the trail doing some walking. Fortunately, it was a mercifully cool morning because otherwise Hidden Falls is a little too warm for summer hiking unless you plan to get wet in the creek (which one of the boys did accidentally, oops!).        

4.21.17 ... South Yuba River State Park

Hike Details: Elevation - low of 575' to high of 935' Location - South Yuba River State Park - Bridgeport Covered Bridge Mileage - 5 miles Hiking time - 3 hours (lots of picture taking!) Route - We parked in the lot right near the covered bridge and Visitor's Center (fee area). There's also a fee area parking lot across the river. Weather - Not too warm, not too cool, sunny and perfect for hiking! I'm so lucky to have fun friends who are willing to follow me along on these hikes! It's hiking season again! Our main goal for this hike was to see some wildflowers. With all the rain we've had, we were hopeful there would be plenty of them. We did see some pretty flowers, but I wouldn't say it was bursting with them. But we also loved the view of the river throughout the hike and the beautiful green hills. We started on the North side of the river near the covered bridge and hiked up the hillside following the Point Defiance Loop T