stranger things

Our trails have oddities. Remnants of mining operations and dam building have left debris scattered and hidden throughout our canyons.

But when a friend posted a photo of the flying barrels, I had to check that one out myself. And even better, it was less than two miles from my house (as the crow flies).

western fence lizard keeps watch

maybe for measuring water levels as the proposed lake would rise?

This canyon has so many trails, most not marked or noted on many maps, but only found by exploration, word of mouth, and in my case, adventuring to find those crazy barrels!

seriously purple: purple larkspur (I think)

Down, down, down. I knew approximately where the barrels were. There were other finds along the way. But then there they were, floating above our heads, so many barrels on a wire! Kegger at the river!

barrels hanging in the sky!

strange, right?

tree isn't letting go!

Fascinatingly strange. The only clues I can find are people commenting they are from the long-derailed dam construction (it was halted in the late 1970s). The barrels would have floated on the surface of the water, to keep boats from getting too close to the dam. If so, they were WAY ahead of themselves with this project!

river stop, making stacks

After a brief stop by the river, what goes down must come up: 1000 feet in about a mile. Luckily there were lots of wildflowers to use as an excuse to stop and take photos.

taking a breather: look, fringepod!

American River below

This cliffside trail has seen better days, this winter created a lot of erosion, and there are too many low hanging branches for me to want to take my tall horse on it. But some do, as there were occasional hoofprints! I was content on my own two feet to take in the view.

Pardner's rock: Huge granite monolith alongside the trail

But I saw a lot of cool side trails, with more places to explore. And hopefully more places for stranger things.

what goes down...