Moments in Dirt and Ink

Arcata Community Forest ( map link ) I got back to Arcata just in time to participate in a volunteer work day on the long awaited last segment of the Arcata Ridge Trail. It was a little closer to finished than the work solicitation email seemed to imply. In fact, there was a city worker along for this one who had placed a couple signs in the ground before we got there and the trail was officially open! It's also a little steeper than originally designed and a bunch of crushed rock got vibrated into place at the bottom to try to mitigate the worst of it on that work day. I came back a couple days later to finally, truly, hike it end to end. Not like that last time . There's still projects waiting to happen, like replacing these narrow steep steps that are meant to give a worker access to a water tank and have been pressed into service as main entry to the Sunny Brae part of the Arcata Community Forest So up the steps and past the signs with maps and rules and even a b...

Six Rivers National Forest ( map link ) It was a geocache that brought this spot to my attention. I didn't find it or anything, but sometimes there's more important things to a geocache than being there. Well, for me who is a hiker who geocaches rather than a geocacher who hikes, anyway. (I might be part of a very small minority.) There's also a Redwood EdVentures Quest to bring people here. I didn't have signal or the PDF nor are there any brochures provided, so couldn't do it. The map on it would have been nice since neither the Forest Service topos nor OpenStreetMap had any information on the trails. (Another on my list of things that need editing on OSM. At least that's one that can be fixed.) There's signs out on CA-299 for Gray Falls to help find this spot. Take the right fork on gravel too narrow for any attempt at passing 0.5 miles to the picnic area with tables and a toilet and a small trail system. Kiosk under the tall trees at the picni...

Lassen National Forest ( map link ) I had a hike planned with more miles than hours of daylight, which requires getting an early start. I know, some people just walk fast, but that's incompatible with taking way too many photographs, checking out all the flowers, trying to catch all the birds and lizards and everyone else out on the trail. So I got up in the dark and got moving before the sunrise. I had second thoughts about getting going quite so early, and ultimately started exactly 5 minutes late to get out to the edge of Hat Creek Rim for the best of the dawning light. Trailhead on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) a quarter mile north of the Hat Creek Overlook The area burned in the Hat Creek Complex in 2009 and there's hints that there was once a much larger forest here. There's a lot less burn and a bit more recovery to look at than on the last hike along the Bizz Johnson . It's still a bit, well, scrubby. Leaves the view clearer. Trail through the old ...

Lassen National Forest ( map link ) I enjoyed my time on the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail yesterday so much, that I decided to try the other direction. It's the same easy railroad grade until it gets to the crossing of CA-36. The train went right across this highway that didn't even exist when the tracks were built, but the people get the only piece of this trail that is not considered accessible as it drops down to cross under the bridge, then climb back up to the railroad grade above, both at greater than 3% grade. Gate upon arriving at the CA-36 right-of-way. Trail drops downward to the left. The actual old grade has already gone to the right. Looking up to the CA-36 bridge over Susan River (and the moon below it) The railroad bridge and the old Lassen Highway bridge Trail gets back on grade just before the biggest bridge over the Susan River. It comes with a lovely interpretive sign about the bridge that includes a lot of pictures. The railroad b...

Eagle Lake Field Office BLM ( map link ) The Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail is a rails to trails project following the Fernley and Lassen Branch Line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It travels 25.4 miles from the Susanville station to the Mason station on old railroad grade, then continues on county roads (modified grade) to the Westwood station. It would be a pretty easy thing to through hike. (There's even bus service to make a one way hike or bike easy.) I was interested in the segment between Susanville and Devils Corral (named for sounds the wind makes in the rocks, supposedly) where both tunnels and many of the 12 bridges (11 from the railroad days) are found. Additionally, there is the Southside Trail, which gives a secondary route for a little different experience along this section. There are multiple connectors between these two trails, so a number of loops are possible. Small train stop themed information kiosk at the Devils Corral Trailhead The tra...

Humboldt River Field Office BLM ( map link ) The Water Canyon Recreation Area is tucked away in one of the canyons of the Sonoma Mountains that happens to to flow with water year round. It's not a very big stream, but was one of the main sources of water for Winnemucca when the city was young. Today, it hosts free camping at designated sites, roads for off highway vehicles, and hiking. I went to the very end of the road and got lucky to find the last site empty. Mine! (For up to three nights, which is the maximum stay.) I decided to head out hiking on a combination of ATV trail and cross country. First up to an old mine, then the little bit more to the ridge to walk around the edge and back down the other side. There's a couple different options for coming down that other side. I let the canyon get a little bit of light before starting out. My future route down and the information kiosk on the far side of the turn around and parking at the end of the good road in Water...

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ( map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2 The morning wasn't nearly as cold as I expected it to be. I packed up my gear, that which was needed to hike in my pack and that needed for camping into my liner bag. I crossed back over the dam and found a spot to tuck it away among some bushes and a log. Sunlight touches the peaks over Griswold Lake I found the trail again and started climbing. There were a few more sites people use for camping up that way. I'd been hoping for morning sun when I made my location choice. While the light is approaching where I camped, it still isn't there or anywhere else near Griswold Lake There was a little bit of hope involved in finding the trail climbing again, but once it was climbing it was easy to follow until things got rocky. It was also steep. Once in the rocks, there's choices. I ended up climbing a bit I wasn't sure I'd be comfortable going down. It was something to worry about later. ...

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ( map link ) DAY 1  |  DAY 2 I wanted to go to the top of Ruby Dome which, by a stroke of luck, happens to be at the end of the Hennen Canyon Trail. The other end is on the other side of a private campground from a nice county road. Summitpost suggests you are risking a ticket to park by the road and hike in. I couldn't see what the ticket would be for and "risked" it. There is a no parking sign on one fence where parking could, with a wild imagination, hinder movement through the gate, although not nearly as much as the fact that the gate is kept closed and latched. The fence on the other side has room for at least 4 cars that is getting regular use. Some take a campsite overnight to be able to drive to the trailhead, however the sign is clear that non-owner campers need to be the guest of an owner. They save 1.25 miles and 500 feet climb by doing that. It's the easiest miles of the hike and wasn't worth it to me. There...

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ( map link ) This area was burned in the Range Two Fire in 2018. It also got the first half mile or so of the previous hike up Thomas Canyon , but was not particularly noticeable. It is very obvious along the Right Fork. The other nuisance for this canyon is that there is a piece of private property making trail access more difficult than it should be. This seems to be a common problem for the Rubies, albeit one of the lesser cases. There's a parking area (no camping allowed) and signs next to the gate for Camp Lamoille to make it clear that you can use this trail so long as you walk through the camp. I was only ⅓ mile down the road and couldn't be bothered to drive that little way down the road. Lamoille Creek under the bridge Trail parking beside the gate for Camp Lamoille I followed the trail around the gate and off into the camp. The sign says it is only open through September, so was abandoned except for maybe a caretaker. ...

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ( map link ) This trail is found in a campground and parking for it is next to the fee collection station. There's a sign so you know. From there, you get to walk halfway around the circle to finally find the actual trailhead. There's no parking there unless you take a site. The only sign to identify it is "please stay on trail" but it's well established and hard to miss once on it. All that marks the Thomas Canyon Trail Steps seem to mark this certainly as built trail into Thomas Canyon There's a lot of trails that access the creek early on. There's a nice swimming hole and some waterfalls, so no wonder, especially as the campers probably wander a bit.

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ( map link ) There's no sign on the road for this interpretive trail, but it is easily spotted as the one paved turnout along a section of road marked "no overnight parking". That might be because this bit of canyon isn't quite stable enough to safely park for that long. Further down, there's a 2 mile segment where they don't even want you to stop due to the falling rocks. In between, the road is single lane because a recent fire followed by a debris flow took it out. It was scheduled to be under construction at this time, but that got delayed. Had it not, I wouldn't have been able to visit this part of the forest. Seasonal changing seen up Lamoille Canyon from the turnout Water erosion has smoothed the rock on the far side of the canyon It's all part of the changing canyon. The focus of this trail are those changes as well as slower and regular changes. There does not appear to be an electronic version of...

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ( map link ) I had a big day planned and got up in the early cold. That first dim, dawn light played in a band across the western peaks of Lamoille Canyon. The edge of it diffused downward into the rest of the canyon and then the band was repeated, this time with the first light of sunrise. It took a lot longer for the edge of this light to travel down into the bottom of the canyon and I was long on the trail by the time it did. Trailhead at the end of the road. Detailed signs about possible destinations are a short way down the trail on the left. Looking behind to a long canyon of shadow A pleading to stay on the trail in this fragile environment There are two trails to choose from for going up. The hiker trail travels the east side of the canyon, so would be cold longer, but would look across to the lit part of the canyon, which I hoped would make for better photographs. The stock trail climbs the other side and I could see it sitting...

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest ( map link ) The desert was nice and temperatures pleasant, but the fall colors were on and nothing there was turning. I headed off to the Ruby Mountains to see what they might have. They've been on my list to visit for a while. Something like 10 years ago, I signed up to Caltopo to dump all kinds of information onto a Ruby Mountains map . It's surprisingly easy to find information about both on and off trail routes in the area. I got no takers for the Ruby Crest and canyons loop I wanted to take, so it sat there. No takers 5 years ago either. I hadn't reviewed it recently enough to do it now. There are cross country segments that can be hard in the northern section if you get going in the wrong place. I guess that means no takers once again, but I was going to see a bit of the place. Given that the tarn of Island Lake is east facing, light considerations meant I wanted to do this hike on a morning. It was so early in the afternoon whe...