dam climbing

The sun came out! But many trails are still a mess. I didn't feel like slipping along for useless miles, and wanted to make the conditioning count!

municipal yard starting point!

old sheds store rock cores from the dam site

So I headed up the hill to the dam roads. Not the damn roads, though Major may disagree. The roads left behind by the abandoned Auburn Dam project still mostly have gravel and drain wonderfully. A few are now Auburn State Recreation Area access roads, though they are not used in winter. Win for all of us cooped-up riders!

a snack alongside the yucky rocky portion of the trail

road erosion as we get close to the river

42,000 acres to explore: lucky

There is an easy access near a municipal area, and Major looked strangely at the equipment before heading down the hill. There are some old dam-construction remnants around (not the least of which are the massive blasted rock cliff faces) but it is lovely and green and little waterfalls spring from hidden creeks to run alongside the road.

a good climb

hidden Knickerbocker falls

the road less traveled

We hadn't done any hill work since before winter started, so it was a take-it-easy day. But we went up and down and around and about, taking different trails, repeating some for the value of the climb, and just enjoying our time out. We hadn't done these trails before except just passing though, so it was fun to explore.

damn fine view, river right

river left, we've ridden there too!

The river was roaring, and we did find one side trail blocked by fallen trees. But the roads were fun, and it was great to adventure out onto the concrete platform and stare both up at the blasted dam walls covered in anti-erosion wire, and below at the river, thinking that all of this nature was going to be buried under water…

more climbing

spaghetti of chosen trails

But it isn't, and Major and I could keep exploring. We could see Knickerbocker falls crookedly fall down the steep opposite canyon wall, and the road ahead was wide for trotting. So we trotted some, but mostly walked. And took many grass-snack breaks. And were damn happy to be out.

grass is the chosen one, hay bay ignored

some days

Some days the mud wins. And your horse just gets to eat grass and stand around dirty.

Some days, after five inches of rain, the trails are just too wet to venture out.

this is my apple-chewing concentration face!

And some days there is just enough time before the next storm. The fallen trees have been cleared, the mud is minimal, and the trail stretches before you like lost hope.

And the rain clouds loom. But refrain from adding to the morass, and ferns explode, and we stretch into a trot we haven't done for months.

clouds reflect on Avery Pond

ferns on moss on rocks

I hope for more of those days.

windshield ice feathers

finally a clear sunrise

crafty

Major is not always so crafty. Trying to get across the small ditch between the arena and his pasture was first impossible, now only daunting: requiring a giant leap (wish I could get a picture of that!), after which he is so proud of himself he gallops up the hill. Every. Single. Time. Sigh.

I however love to do crafty projects, when given the time. This rainy winter there has been too much time! There is only so much rainy-day hiking I can do before I am wet and cold and want to be inside, but even then a good book isn't enough to keep me entertained.

First I made a new saddle cover. After holiday sale fleece fabric and some elastic, done. And spray painted a mash bucket, it lasts for awhile and is certainly noticeable!

saddle cover and orange bucket, everyone knows my stuff!

But what else to make...a new stall sign! Major's cheap blackboard has seen better days. I found a photo to trace and selected a bold "Major" typeface. I am lucky enough to be able to use graphics software to do this, but tracing a photocopied photo would work just as well.

pick a good photo (wild west 2015)

wood tracing

I traced the artwork onto a piece of poplar wood (from the clearance section at the home improvement store). I took some liberties with his mane and tail, reality was too sad/boring! After that I traced all the lines over again with my cheap craft-store woodburning tool. Some lines are a bit rough, where the tool burns in really quickly, but it is a craft project, not a perfect specimen! (I'm too impatient for perfect.)

beginning wood burning

practice makes imperfect!

almost done

I practiced with paint and stain, I wanted the wood to show through a bit. I used stain for his body and orange (of course) for the type. I sprayed the whole thing with a clear outdoor sealant. After a couple eye screw and zip ties, it is a worthy addition to Major's pasture shelter (even if I am a bit concerned that it may become a play toy).

hanging from Major's shelter

what's this Mom?

Now they're forecasting another week of rain, including the now infamous "atmospheric river." I have a paint-by-number and a few other project ideas. I could also clean the craft closet, which is an erupting disaster, but where's the fun in that? I'll close the door and begin a new project. Or walk my horse in between rain drops…

what's this?!

What's this glowing orb in the sky? This lovely color above us? Blue sky!

It was lovely to get a break in the storms that have been hitting Northern California hard this year. And while trails are still muddy, we needed to get out and explore. Major spent one evening walk as a snorting dragon on the end of my lead rope, I was anticipating a horrible ride.

trails disappears into the lake

muddy lake, but green grass

But I think the slippery trails mollified him. Even he isn't usually stupid in deep mud. There were a couple tiny trotting places, though our lake trail is completely underwater. But the green grass is a good consolation prize. Our ride was shortened by too many downed trees, and muddy trails we did not want to damage further. It was still worth getting out.

girth is evidence of a muddy ride

But the next hike I left the horse at home. My trailer is still stuck in a solid driveway of mud, but the sun was still out, and trails were ready to explore. The parking area was packed, but far above the canyon and No Hands bridge very few hikers make the trek. I explored the aptly named Flood Trail.

above No Hands and the muddy American River

I hadn't hiked this trail before. In summer it is too hot, but a sunny, winter day was perfect. Remnants of old homesteads, nature great and small, and a view that couldn't be matched. In a few places the trail was a rutted or muddy mess, but the top of a mountain drains pretty quickly!

nature large: epic oak

nature small: trapdoor spider web covered in dew

a lovely old wall

More rain is forecast. We got out while we could. I'm trying to remind myself that there is time enough when Spring arrives. Until then there is green grass and puddles to splash through. And more light at the end of each day. Spring is coming.

time to graze is time enough

enough already

Atmospheric river. Pineapple express. Deluge. Flood. Rain.

Whatever you call it, I'm done. Does Northern California have no concept of moderation? I know we were in a terrible drought, but this is overdoing it.

I managed to sneak out between storms and "ride" the lake trail. Really I slip-slided between debris piles, then argued with Major the whole way home. Ten slow miles does not take the edge off a fit, bored horse.

there is a trail under the debris

And a quick hike with Major yesterday in the mucky forest made me very proud of myself for not falling in the inches-deep muck. I did not take his suggestion to go home down the steep, slippery hill trail. I took the longer but flatter way home. I'm so smart! Until rock hopping across the water, slipping with my muddy shoes, and ending up IN the creek. I think Major just laughed. I walk/squished my way back to the stable.

Major: I'm not laughing at my drenched human...I'm not...

I'm happy the reservoirs are filling. I'm happy the mountains are covered in snow. I'm happy that maybe our Spring grasses will last longer. But with at least three more days of rain on the radar, I'm gritting my teeth (that may still have mud in them) and settling in for a long winter.

bridging troubled waters

The muddy, churning water rushes by. And No Hands Bridge watches. It’s not the tallest (that would be the Foresthill Bridge, at 730 feet ), it doesn’t carry cars home every day (two other nondescript bridges complete that task), and it no longer carries railroad cars, just hikers and horses. It isn’t even straight: angling across the river from bank to bank.

lake No Hands!

But it has lasted. Built in 1912, officially the Mountain Quarries Railroad Bridge. At the time the longest concrete railroad bridge in the world. It is old (for California). This state is so new to permanent structures. And has so many ways to destroy them: earthquake and fire, flood and heat. Beneath this water rest the bones of other bridges, concrete and rebar, twisted and broken.

old bridge abutment

It has lasted through an upstream dam breech in 1964. Through countless storms, including the floods of 1986 that covered the bridge and swept away a downstream dam. It has seen droughts and drownings, and of course, Tevis (both directions even!)

full confluence

The American River confluence is full for the first time in ten years. Rain has finally arrived. But this rushing water is barely a test. Even 105-year-old old cement can handle this. There will be a day when it crumbles, and is deemed unsafe, and we will mourn its graceful lines.

But until then No Hands Bridge looks down on the muddy waters, remembers its reflection, and stands tall.

rain delay

Start the year off as you want to continue: I did a short, uneventful New Year's Day ride, the best kind.

But I don't know if it has stopped raining since then. Major stands forlornly, looking out at the wet. He has chosen to remodel his shelter during the rain! Guess he was bored because he chewed and pulled off all the protective corrugated pipe around the posts. He has to stay under the shelter: didn't you know he will melt out in the pasture? Sigh.

not a scary bag since it always carries goodies!

A blue bag of alfalfa and a new orange grain pan keep him occupied for a little bit. An afternoon hike yesterday was cut short by threatening clouds opening up and dumping on us!
 

The adventures of Captain Major and his orange feed pan

Since the riding trails are a slippery mess, (and Major would melt anyway) I managed to get out and do a short hike. The river was rising quickly, and everyone else was hiding inside.

lovely path

rushing: South Fork of the American River

gray and wet and lovely

But it was so gray and green and lovely. The mossy rocks are happy with all this rain, and the muddy river sped by. 

stick and raindrop still life

tiny mushrooms grow on a mossy rock

The trail I hiked is now under the rising water. I think I'll stay inside and watch the cat.

Jack on his throne