Tahoe National Forest
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Euchre Bar Tahoe National Forest |
April 27, 2012
It's that time of year again, when my desire to get out onto the trail outweighs the current desirability of the local hiking options. Not only is it impossible to access the high country so early in the season, but this year there aren't even any flowers out in the lowlands as April comes to a close. Go figure.
This is not the most popular of trailheads
Typical of trails around here, this one dates back to the gold-mining
days of the mid 1800s. It plunges straight down to the river and up the
other side. Nearby is Iron Point, which I suppose could have been a
worthwhile scenic lookout at one time. In the olden days, the railroad
used to stop near here to allow passengers a look at nearby Giant Gap,
which now is a giant smog trap.
The trail is easy on the feet
I won't be getting lost in here
The gradient is steep enough to cause me to take smallish steps; my knees are feeling the strain as well. Even though I am going downhill, my legs benefit from a couple of short stops.
The route is shaded all the way down
There is so much tree cover that at no time is there an unobstructed view of the canyon or the river. It takes little more than an hour to reach the bottom, however. The handsome suspension bridge is the only crossing on the entire length of this Wild and Scenic River section of the North Fork American.
The only worthwhile photo-ops are from the middle of the bridge itself.
Looking east
Looking west toward Euchre Bar
That rope swing could be useful at times of reduced water levels
This is where miners by the dozens hung out and played euchre, a popular
card game at the time. I suppose that there is lot of history around
here in the form of old mining equipment and whatnot; but I am disinclined to
do any exploration. Instead, I steel myself for the coming uphill grind.
The 25% grade does take its toll; I seem to be progressing at about one
mile per hour including rest stops. About two-thirds of the way
up, I discover that I have left my hat somewhere. Oh, no!
I really don't want to lose it, because that special model has been
discontinued and is no longer available.
So I head back down the slope, hoping that I don't have to descend too
far. After negotiating several switchbacks, my little hat does indeed
appear. Although this backtrack has taken just ten minutes, I have
dropped nearly four hundred feet! Bummer. Oh well,
I really am going to get a workout today.
North Fork American River
As I retrace my upward steps, there is a spot where I almost can see the river below. It's the best photograph I can manage on this trail.
While I am stopped for a breather, a lone hiker saunters down the trail. He asks whether I had gone all the way to the bottom, then asks whether there is any water down there. Very strange.
Not the type of scenery I had hoped for
§: Well, I got my exercise, as expected, but little else.
I did make it up the hill in just ninety minutes, excluding my duplicated
effort, which was a lot less time than is suggested on some blogs.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty |  |
| Personality | |
| Solitude |  |
