Foresthill Bridge

Auburn, CA

July 2018

Out of the blue, my phone started alarming with notices from the Sacramento Bee. There was a traffic situation in Auburn, approximately 20 miles from our house. The police had blocked traffic around the Foresthill Bridge because there was a jumper situation. 

We had driven across the bridge and even hiked under it, but until I received the alerts, I never realized the bridge towers 730 feet over the North Fork of the American River, making it the highest bridge in California and 4th highest in the United States. 

Two days after the jumper situation had the bridge closed for 4 hours, Kellisa and I had a few hours with nothing to do. It was only 81F outside, so we wanted to be outside, but didn't have enough time for a trail. My thoughts went back to the bridge. We've flirted with the idea of walking across bridges in the past, but many don't have lanes or walkways for pedestrians. The first and only bridge we've crossed was the Francis and Mary Usina Bridge back in St. Johns County, FL. A quick Internet search revealed that you could walk across the Foresthill Bridge on both sides. We now had a plan.

Lake Clementine Trail

Auburn State Recreation Area

March 2018

It felt good, real good to get out on a trail that was not blazed for wheeled mobility devices. It's been awhile.

The Clementine Trail starts out for the first .18 of a mile as an old paved road and it just gets rougher and narrower from there to a trail filled with rocks barely wide enough for Kellisa's Hippocampe in some areas high above the North Fork American River. We also encountered some minor, but challenging elevation changes. As always, the bumpier the trail and more of a struggle for me...the more Kellisa loves it and she had a great time.

Several hikers who passed us mentioned how they noticed Kellisa giggling during the roughest sections and shouting for more when the trail leveled out a little. Most offered words of encouragement to Kellisa, "Love it" and "You're awesome" are two that I remember.

I always brag about how well Kellisa is treated out on a trail and love the compliments that fly her way, but my favorite quote from our hike belongs to an exchange between a mother and her young son (in a picture below). We had been leap frogging them along the trail and as we passed just before our turn around, the mother asked her son, "Do you need a break?"

"NO! We need one of those!" as he pointed to Kellisa's Hippocampe Mobility Chair.

Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail

Auburn State Recreation Area

January 1, 2018

This is how Kellisa rolls into the new year while Laurel was at the park and movies with mom. It doesn't matter how much research we do on a trail in advance, we are always surprised. For the most part, the Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail is a Rails to Trail which means it is now a hiking trail on a former railroad path. This usually means wide and mostly obstacle free for Kellisa's mobility chair. Several trestles have been removed and a rough trail has been blazed to connect the rail trail around these gaps. The first couple weren't too bad to navigate, but as you can see in the picture to the right, the trail around the missing trestle over the Black Hole of Calcutta Falls is anything but accessible. But, I've jumped ahead to the crux of our first day of the year hike.

It was a beautiful and sunny afternoon when we arrived at the trailhead. Every parking spot was taken and vehicles were parked on the shoulder of the road in all directions. This trailhead didn't have any disabled parking and even if did, I'm sure those would have also been taken. We drove back and forth hoping to find a spot. After many U-turns, a spot only a few cars from the trailhead opened. This was fortunate since we had to negotiate around all the parked cars by walking (pushing) out into a lane of fast approaching cars.

I Hate Irresponsibe Dog Owners!

Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail
Auburn State Recreation Area

January 1, 2018

I really do hate irresponsible dog owners while out on the trail. Read that first sentence again before sending any messages or leaving comments. I hate irresponsible dog owners. I don't hate all dog owners or dogs, just irresponsible dog owners. Read on to see how I define irresponsible.

Most, if not all trails that allow dogs require them to be under control and on a leash. I know there are dog parks that allow dogs to run wild, so you have places to let your dog be free and a trail which requires a leash is not the place for many reasons.

Too many times we've encountered dogs not on a leash and they come running up aggressively. Sometimes the dogs are face level or even higher than the kids which scares them...and me. The most common response from these owners is laughter, "Oh, they're harmless" or "They're part of the family". The owners need to know their laughter doesn't help us feel any better or safer. Keep your dogs under control!

Another pet peeve about irresponsible dog owners- at the trailhead to our recent hike of the Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail, there was a nice little box with baggies (Top right picture) for dog owners to use for their dog's waste. A large boulder (Top left picture) not far from the trailhead seems to double as an open air trash can for the whole world to see and smell while out trying to enjoy nature. 

To make matters even worse, not all owners cleanup after their dogs leaving a mushy mess on the trail. Unfortunately, with all the leaf debris covering the trail, we wheeled (Bottom center picture) through a well camouflaged pile of dog waste. This is impossible to thoroughly clean from the tire treads while out on a trail which means we need to load the smelly tires in the car for the ride home. Once home, I need to use the hose to spray the disgusting mess from the tires. 

Our only silver lining is Kellisa doesn't have to use her bare hands on her soiled tires to propel herself. Not every wheelchair user is that fortunate. Think about that for a minute.

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Black Hole of Calcutta Falls

Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail

Auburn State Recreation Area

January 1, 2018

You will find the Black Hole of Calcutta Falls only 1.1 miles from gate 150 off of Highway 49 just south of Auburn, CA. While not the biggest falls in the world, it is a nice goal for families that want to be rewarded with a waterfall that flows all year. 

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The Crux of our Hike

Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail

Auburn State Recreation Area

California

January 1, 2018

We planned to start the new year with a 4.2 hike on the Mountain Quarry Railroad Trail. The parking area off of Highway 49 just south of Auburn was jam packed with cars for at least a half mile in both directions. Unfortunately, there wasn't any spots for disabled parking. Most of the cars were sticking at least a little into the paved shoulder. We drove back and forth several times before we got lucky to be in the right place as the 5th car from the trailhead was leaving. The trail we had chosen was in a mountain canyon with steep drop-offs, but by far the most dangerous part of the entire hike would be going from the car to the trailhead and back after our hike. The only way to get Kellisa around the parked cars was to enter the roadway. You had to time your walk around the fast approaching cars from around the bends in the highway. I was thankful to only have a few cars to circumnavigate.

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Murphy's Gate to Robie Point

Auburn State Recreation Area

California
October 2016

Kellisa and I found this awesome trailhead only 15 minutes from our house. We had the Hippocampe in the car, so we pulled over to explore a little. The trail looked wide and flat (flat doesn't have to mean level, it just has to be free of major barriers that prevent our forward movement) as it descended into a little side canyon of the American River. The picture above shows the start of the trail and how it's blocked by a locked gate and large boulders. I had to lift the chair over the boulders and then carry Kellisa to her chair. This effort would have been unnecessary if they would make the trail opening just a little wider, but I guess they want to keep ATVs off the trail along with all other wheeled devices. This minimal effort would be more than rewarded as we pushiked 1.8 miles from Murphy's Gate to Robie Point and back. If we had more time, we could have continued farther. According to the website, the Auburn State Recreation Area has over 100 miles of trails and we look forward to returning many times to explore.

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