Extended by a day.

Friday, July 22, 2011
I woke up at 5:45 this morning but didn't feel like getting up yet. The next time that I checked my watch a whole hour had passed, I must have dozed back off.
I fixed my morning coffee and oatmeal and began packing up camp. I was completely finished by shortly after 8. 
I drove over to the Visitors Center and took advantage of the Wi-Fi to upload the last couple of days blogs. By the time that I was finished with the blog and had checked out the Visitors Center it was already 10. I didn't want to leave for home yet since I had never seen this park before. I hiked the North Grove Trail and followed the guide book like a good little girl :). While I was close to the car I used the tripod to take some pictures with me in them.

I have visited groves of Giant Sequoias before but it is always fun to learn the history of the place while you are there. There is a giant stump called the Discovery Stump that was cut down just because. It was used as the base of a bar and bowling alley at one time and they smoothed off the stump part for a dance floor. 

There was another tree in the grove that early settlers stripped the bark completely off to ship back east and reassemble to prove that these giants truly exist. John Muir said they skinned it alive. It was destroyed by fire since it no longer had the protection of the bark.

This park also has a drive through tree, it is called the Pioneer Cabin Tree. It was carved out to compete with Yosemite's drive through tree. This has reduced the tree's resistance to fire. The top of the tree has fallen off and the tree only has one green branch. It is still alive, but just barely.

When I finished my tour of North Grove I decided to drive the 8 1/2 miles down the mountain to check out the South Grove. I didn't take the hike because it is 5 miles round trip and I still had to drive home today. I also checked out the other campground called Oak Hollow. The campsites are all beautiful, I will keep this in mind for future trips.
I stopped at the Stanislaus River Bridge and ate lunch and then headed for home about 1 pm.

I arrived home safe and sound around 4:30. Back to work on Sunday and then I have to rest up (at work of course) for the Garlic Festival next week.
Susie

The scenic route home.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Today I woke up at 5:30 and got up to have my coffee and break camp.  I slept pretty well last night, nothing seemed to wake me. Maybe it was the couple of margaritas I had at bedtime.

Camp was broken down and I was showered and ready to go by 7:30. I didn’t make it on the road until 8 because I took the time to download my pictures to my computer and plan out my route home.

I decided to take an eastern route through the mountains. I headed back out to route 44 and hit 36 to Susanville. What a cute little town in the mountains. I am struck once again by envy of those lucky people that get to live here.

From Susanville I took 395 south to Reno. Now this is high desert and I really wouldn’t want to live there. The landscape is pretty dry and sparse.  From Reno I went over Mt. Rose summit to Incline Village and drove around the east side of Lake Tahoe. This drive is very beautiful and you could see the snowy sierras in the background. When I arrived at South Lake Tahoe there was road construction on the main road and it was taking 5-10 minutes just to travel one block. I pulled off at Denny’s for lunch and the traffic was cleared up by the time that I finished.

After lunch I stopped at Raleys hoping to say hi to Jamie but I only saw a total of 2 baggers and the carts in the lot were a mess. Good thing I’m not a secret shopper.  From Tahoe I took 89 south until I reached Highway 4 to Ebbetts Pass. This is a very long, narrow, winding and steep road. Some of the turns were so steep and I was going so slow that my car had to really try hard to climb. The drive was pretty nerve racking but totally worth it. I saw a cascading water fall and several lakes.  I went by Mosquito Lake, Hermits Valley, Lake Alpine, and Bear Valley.

By the time I reached Bear Valley it was after 4:30 and I was getting pretty tired. I pulled over at an overlook and texted Mike and Shelby that I wanted to find a campsite because I was over 3 ½ hours from home with no stopping. I pulled in at Calavares Big Trees state park and they had an available campsite so I took it. The site is pricey, $35.00, but really worth getting rested tonight.

Tomorrow I think I will take a short hike through one of the groves of big trees since I paid so much for the privilege of staying here then I will head home.

Susie

Plan as you go adventure

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

This morning I was really lazy. I didn’t leave for site seeing until about 9:30. My first stop was Subway Cave and it was only 3 miles up the road. This is a self guided tour of a lava tube that collapsed in a couple of places which is now the entrance and the exit. I think it is about 1300 feet long and has zero visibility. The cave actually is so smooth and rounded that is looks man made. I was kind of creeped out walking through this alone. Luckily for my piece of mind a group entered behind me and I never saw them but I could hear them.

When I was done with the cave I got on the computer and mapped out how long it would take me to drive to Warner Valley. You have to go all the way to Lake Amador to head up the valley. There was a fork in the road and one went to Juniper Lake and campground and the other to the resort and trailhead in the Warner Valley.

I decided to check out the camps at Juniper Lake. This turned out to be a real adventure. The road became a dirt and gravel road 7 miles before the Lake. I went ahead and braved the narrow dirt road but got pretty nervous when it was getting into muddy snow. I went ahead and got pretty close but the road was getting narrower with deep snow on each side. I finally saw only puddles on the road so I turned around in one of the few places wide enough. As soon as my car was pointing the other way a couple of guys came along in a big truck and told me I should be able to make it. I turned around to follow them and we only got maybe an eighth of a mile before the road was blocked completely by pickup trucks. These trucks probably belong to the snow removal workers because there were signs saying road work. When I turned around this time I had to back up onto the bank, but I was careful to keep my front wheels out of the snow so I wouldn’t lose traction. I had to leave just a couple miles short of the lake.

After my adventure in the muddy snow I decided to head up Warner Valley. There is a campground and resort at the end of this road and of course it ended up being a narrow dirt road also. When I got to my destination it was already 3:30 and I was at least 2 hours away from camp. I hiked to boiling springs lake which is a little over a mile and a half round trip. I couldn’t see the springs boiling but I could hear them and smell the sulphur. On my way back to the parking lot I spotted a deer and just after that some kind of ground bird, maybe quail? 

It was close to five when I left. I stopped for gas and headed for the south entrance to Lassen. It was only two days since I had been there but there was noticeably less snow. I tried to take pictures of the same places as Monday so that I would have something to compare.

It was 8 by the time I finally got back to camp and 9 before I ate. My nice juicy barbequed rib steak was worth it. I sat at the fire until it went out and headed to bed.

Tomorrow homeward bound.

Susie

McArthur-Burney Falls State Park

Last night seemed to last forever. I was cold. I'll wear an extra layer tonight. 
Today I went to McArthur-Burney Falls State Park. That was one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen. 
To get to the park you drive north on highway 89 through a beautiful valley. This road is a scenic volcanic byway and you can see evidence of lava flows along the side of the road.
I arrived at the park about 9:30 this morning and found out that mid morning is one of the best times to take pictures of the falls. Even a point and shoot girl like me was able to take pretty pictures.

I decided to do the head-water loop hike but I ended up following the trail along the river that the fishermen use. It was a pretty rough trail with lots of rocky area. I went up creek as far as I could go and still didn't see the foot bridge to cross over. I was about to backtrack when I spotted a narrow trail climbing up the bank. I followed that trail and found the main trail and it was much easier to walk on. The bridge to cross was .08 miles from the falls. It is a good thing I thought to bring my aqua pack. 

I finally got back to the parking lot and decided to check out the campground and lake. I would camp there anytime, they also have primitive cabins to rent that are also in the campground. 
I followed the main park road and came to Lake Britton. The lake is downstream from the falls about a mile and half.

This lake is stunning. It has boating, including rentals, a swim beach, and it is surrounded with ponderosa pines. The City of Burney is only about 10 minutes away so if the camp store doesn't have something you need it isn't far to town.

I haven't decided what to do tomorrow. I might go back to Lassen and hike Bumpass Hell or I could go on a self guided tour in Subway Cave. I think I will decide later.
Susie

Snow, snow, snow!

I drove up to Hat Creek today. The campground is gorgeous and I have a site right on the creek.
I arrived early afternoon and set up camp. I then drove down to Lassen to see how much snow was there. One of the campground workers told me they just reopened the road last week. Helen lake, just below Lassen is still frozen and so is Emerald lake.
I am thinking of hiking the Bumpass Hell trail but the ranger told me it is very slippery. I didn't try it today, maybe Wednesday.
Tomorrow I plan to go see Burney Falls. I hear that it is very beautiful. I will try to upload some pictures tomorrow.

Susie

Last minute decision.

Well I am on vacation again and didn't make plans ahead of time.
This morning I got on the internet and tried to find a spot to go camping. I ended up making reservations at Hat Creek Resort just north of Lassen National Park. The web site says the resort has internet so hopefully I will be able to blog.
I've been to Lassen before but I may still at least go there again for a day. I really want to head north and see Burney Falls. We didn't get up there the last couple of times we camped at Lassen. I will research where else to visit before I leave tomorrow or just play it by ear when I get there.
This will be the first time I ever camp using my car instead of the truck or Shelby's Escape. It is plenty big so I should have plenty of room for my stuff.
Susie