The Ride to Foresthill

On July 15, 2023, I wrote that the previous Thursday night I had the worst time camping at Placer Big Trees because of the mosquitoes. I also spent the whole night worrying about how I was going to get to Foresthill. The fire in 2022 (a.k.a. The Mosquito Fire) had caused a lot of damage along the Mosquito Ridge Road and the forest service had decided to close Circle Bridge during the recovery period, which I suspected was really just a logging operation.

Initially, I wanted to just go down to Circle Bridge but during the night I spent a lot of time thinking about it and realized that if there’s no way to get across the bridge, I would have to not only climb back up to Big Trees but I would also have to climb to Robinson Flat anyway. As the distance and elevation gain was similar I decided to just go to Robinson Flat.

When I woke up at around 6 o’clock, I packed without eating. The mosquitoes had never let up all night. I slept with a tarp on my face. I dreamt of a Twitter user, who would not stop posting in the background of my timeline, and when I woke, I realized it was because of the mosquitoes.

I rode out to Mosquito Ridge Road and onward until cell service was OK. Then I made a hotel reservation in Auburn. I rode to Robinson Road and refreshed myself. I made screenshots of the map because there was no cell service. As the climb got incrementally harder, I noted that while it would get progressively worse the rest of the ride was mostly downhill.

The road followed some old irrigation infrastructure but I couldn’t see any of it. The road got a little bit worse once I got to the end of Flat Ravine Creek which feeds Secret Canyon. After that the road became really hard to use and was practically powder. It was even harder when pickups passed me especially since much of the traffic was due to the Circle Bridge closure. I walked the last 100 feet.

After I took a few pictures from the top, I rode to the Robinson Flat campground and got water. I also took all my mosquito protection off and ate a little bit of food. It was 1130 and the ride to Foresthill was almost entirely downhill. There was a fire crew and some lady at the road intersection. I descended to a spot where I could catch my breath. I looked at the geology. I found some slate, but the road cut seemed to have a lot of different types of rock in it. I admired the view. I was passed twice by motorists.

My descent was epic. I had to climb about 300 feet at various points. The descent from Canada Hill was really steep. This section went east and west in a giant arc with a few turns. I was passed by cars about three times. Some guy in a pick up truck offered me a beer while I was looking at quartzite on a big descent above Secret Canyon. As I climbed out of the canyon on the other side, I noted that the area looked like it may have been a community at one time.

I noted every time the road would become steep, I would have to climb a little bit and that affected my average. However, once it leveled off through Westville, and during the approach to Hamburg Road, the road started trending downward on an easy grade. In fact, every uphill from then on was mountable and I really didn’t lose my cadence all the way into town. I think I rode the fastest I had ever ridden my bike in my life in this section. The ride lasted almost an hour here at an average of 20 miles an hour.

I passed forest highways 66 and 10 and entered residential areas. In total I was passed six or eight times by the time I got to Sugar Pine Lake Drive. From then I had traffic regularly and they were rude. In Foresthill proper I nearly passed my lodge – The Miner’s Camp. When I finally got in, the staff got me set up. They even ran a load of laundry for me, which was very nice. I went to the supermarket, which had a great view of the Desolation Wilderness. When I returned the staff were gone.

While my laundry was drying, I went to the Bar and Grill across the street to have a beer and got to know the local color. There were people dressed nicely outside and I noted a lot of people older than me inside with their families. However, the staff was all pretty young. I posted to Twitter as much as I could about my trip at that point. After I put my laundry away, I returned to the grill and had food. Then I stopped by my room for a while.

I went to the mountain club to finish my tweets and found they had a nice bartender who knows everyone in town. There was a gregarious lady playing pool who also seemed to know everyone. The locals ended up asking me a lot of questions about myself and eventually about my trip. I was back to my room around 1 am.

In the morning of the day that I wrote this, I was up at 9 am and went to the local breakfast place. I wasn’t impressed but it was a small town. Then I returned to my room and raced to pack. The staff was very nice. I looked at my maps in the common area. Then I took a series of back roads through town and ended up at the national forest service district office where I started writing in my notebook.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Placer County Big Trees Grove

On July 13, 2023, I wrote that the night before I spent a few hours writing for the night at my Wabena Creek campsite. I went to sleep at 10:30. My pen died and that was upsetting. However, I resolved to ask passersby.

As I hadn’t gone camping by myself in a long time, I ended up combing through my thoughts and memories for quite some time. One memory of my mother really stuck with me that night. My mother and I had planted a sequoia in the yard of her vacation home and it had died recently – after my mother had passed away. It struck me as important so I made a mental note and searched for a picture of her to keep nearby as a reminder of that moment.

I had a hard time getting comfortable as I was going to sleep that night because everything was spooky but by the time I got into my bag I was pretty tired and was asleep by 10:45.

I woke up at midnight and three but mostly got a full night’s sleep. I got up at around 8:30 and noted that the pattern to my packing is to kind of do everything at once. I also noted that I can’t put anything on the bike until I’d eaten and gotten water.

When I was packed, I went for a short distance and reviewed my objective for the day – getting to the intersection of Foresthill and Soda Springs roads. I noted that from where I had been camping at Wabena Creek, I would have to do about three climbs with one light descent. Ultimately the climb was about 1000 feet.

I headed out at 10. I was half way by distance at 11:15. However, I made it to the crest of the Foresthill Divide at one. That spot is essentially the end of Soda Springs Road and the beginning of Foresthill Road but there is no signage or anything else of note for that matter. I passed some guys going to see the petroglyphs on an adjacent road. They gave me a mechanical pencil which wasn’t what I wanted but I thanked them since it was good enough.

At that point my spirits were pretty good but then there were quite a few unforeseen climbs between the crest and Sunflower Hill. I was following the ridge above Duncan Creek (which I couldn’t see) so the road climbed and descended a lot. It was only a drop of about 200 feet and all really. After that I quickly descended to Robinson flat. That was a drop of around 300 feet. On the way, I saw a California fire crew and I spoke to some campers who told me that the water at Robinson was OK.

I got water at Robinson and made myself some canned chili. When I had cleaned up and continued, I noted that Foresthill Road is paved heading south. However, my plan was to go to Placer County Big Trees Grove so I took Robinson Flat Road instead. The climb initially was through stressed, fire scarred forest with a climb of 350 to 500 feet.

From there the dirt road descended sharply. It was long too and I had no cell service the whole way. In fact, I was really concerned I was going the right way. The drop was about 1200 feet over about 5 miles. I could see French Meadows Reservoir and the Desolation Wilderness in the distance when I finally got to Mosquito Ridge Road.

I rode down to Big Trees then. The ride was really quick because Mosquito Ridge is paved. Two work crews passed me near Greekstore doing 60 miles an hour probably. The elevation change was less. Probably around 1000 feet.

When I got to Placer County Big Trees Grove, I was able to walk the trail and take pictures of the two most impressive giant sequoias. There was a grove of mature, but smaller trees. I spoke to a guy from the town of Foresthill who had come over via Robinson Flat. I was concerned because it turned out in Mosquito Ridge Road was closed at Circle Bridge due to the fire recovery activities which meant that my route out – on Mosquito Ridge Road – was also closed.

I contemplated going that way anyway and I was really really frustrated about it. I returned to my bike and set up camp. There were mosquitoes everywhere and noted ironically that that was why they called it Mosquito Ridge. The sun had just gone down while I was writing and I was really dreading not having a tent – probably for the first time in my life.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Soda Springs

On July 12, 2023, I wrote that I had stayed at a ski lodge in the high sierra the night before. I had done some laundry and enjoyed a quiet night before going to bed.

I woke at 8:30 and ate in the lodge’s mess hall. The cook an egg scramble and coffee with breakfast links. I chatted with the manager and packed a bit later. Eventually, I checked out and loaded up my bike.

The staff waved as I descended to the general store in Soda Springs. I had been there before a few times so was surprised that they had moved across the street. I got a couple cans of cold brew coffee, sunglasses and water.

When I was done shopping I rode my bike up to Serene Lakes to snap a picture of the house my sister-in-law rents every winter and send it to her family as a souvenir. Then I went over to Serene Creek outlet. I was really tired at that point from climbing such a big hill but on the other hand I was at 7000 feet.

Once I was rested enough, I descended into the American River on Soda Springs road. Only about three trucks passed me as I was riding. I stopped a few times but mostly to adjust the bike. There were big Cedars everywhere. I stopped at the snow station at Onion Creek.

At this point I noticed a lot of people coming in and going. There was even a pick up parked with a dog sleeping under it. I also noted that it was very obvious that people were living nearby in the census designated place of The Ceders but I had kind of known that beforehand. I was still surprised to discover that the place is populated in the summer by hundreds of people.

I had had an easy enough time riding up to this point and it was only three but I was dreading the climb ahead. I knew it was a traverse to The Cedars. When I got to Cedar Creek, I had to find a Crossing. I also asked the guy for water from his house. I almost forgot my hat.

I rode to the American River then and parked next to a barbecue pit at a makeshift amphitheater. When I got in the water, it was really cold. Then I crossed the river and was surprised to find a tennis court with a dedication to Warren Laurance

I had to fjord a creek then as it had somehow flooded the road – some lady was driving the other way. Then I climbed about 3 miles passing a bunch of locked gates along the way. I ended up passing a road that was marked not maintained.

After that I occasionally rested or walked because I had to climb about 750 feet to a saddle above Wabena creek. I got photos of Point Mariah, Serene Creek, and even Tinker Knob. I had started captioning my photos because I was not in a place with cell service.

I rode into Wabena creek then and found a campsite at the bottom of the valley where the roads meet and the main road continues to the Divide – where I was planning on going the next day. I used my water filter and made a bunch of water. Then I set up my campsite with a sleeping area for the night. I noted that the mosquitoes were horrible. However, the creek was nice.

I had started eating. It was around 830. My pen died.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

A Break on Donner Lake

On July 11, 2023, I wrote that I woke on the second day of my Trans-Sierra adventure at 7:30 at my coworker’s house in Truckee, CA. My host had made me a coffee and when I was done drinking it, I started packing. I barely made it out of the house before he and his wife had their first meetings, but we made our goodbyes just fine.

I rode my bike to the Legacy Trail and continued towards downtown Truckee. The ride was impressive as the trail was well made and direct. I stopped at a nearby bike shop to get a tune up. At first it seemed straightforward but when I returned to the shop we concluded that my barrel adjuster and the derailleur cable needed to be replaced. I speculated Amtrak was likely at fault but it didn’t matter at that point. A call to a shop across town sent me on my way.

The ride through downtown was a bit difficult because of the traffic and my maladjusted cables but when I got to the bike shop they told me that they had the supplies to help me out.

I swallowed my nerves and walked to the hardware store and grocery across the freeway and got supplies for my trip. I found a nice hat, batteries, fruit and snacks. Then I got coffee from Starbucks and walked back.

Back at the bike shop they told me that they had fixed the derailer just fine and even gave me a spare cable for my trip! I refilled my water, had some delicious tacos at the local corner store next door, rode the bike around and decided everything was just fine.

At this point it was a bit late in the day and I was a bit concerned about my climb up Lakeview Canyon to the tunnels and onward to Donner Pass. However, my estimates said I had enough time though I would probably miss dinner at the lodge I was staying at that night.

I took the new bike path up Cold Stream and then passed through Donner Campground before taking a break on Donner Lake to get some water. Then I followed South Shore Road and climbed up Red Mountain Road through the neighborhood. Eventually I found a water utility footpath which I had identified while planning the trip. Following it brought me, after a lot of exertion up 100 feet of hillside, to a dirt road headed into Lakeview Canyon.

The road was not in great condition but it was level. Following it I reveled in forests below Shellenberger Ridge and the great views of Donner Lake before eventually finding Lakewood Canyon Road. I had trouble climbing the hills due to the altitude so I took my time and didn’t rush. I crossed two streams before getting to the old transcontinental rail route. I rushed over to the Donner Tunnel at Eder then. Unfortunately, there were no trains coming out of the active tunnel on the UP main line but I still ended up taking a bunch of pictures and video to commemorate the event.

From there I set off for the abandoned tunnels which constitute the original route of the rail line’s Donner Crossing. For some reason, because this was the second or third time I’d been through them, the tunnels seemed shorter, but it was probably because the last time I did the trip I had gone through twice. I noted too that it was probably just because I had taken in so much the first time. Either way, I took photos and tweeted.

At Donner Pass Road I went to the Old 40 Lodge and had a whisky to celebrate. After that, I rode to my lodge. I noted that the cook had just made me a hamburger! For the rest of the evening after I ate I was lazy and drank some of the beer the lodge has on offer. I also chatted with the cook and another staffer for a while.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Truckee Pyramid Bike Path

On July 10, 2023, I wrote that the day before I managed to sit in the Amtrak café car until the train entered the Truckee Canyon but eventually I had to collect my bag and get in line with the other passengers to get off the train in Reno. I had to run to the back of the train to get my bicycle which is not a lot of fun. Once I had exited the station I took a picture of myself downtown Reno and then rode through blistering heat along the river path. I had to put on sun protection halfway.

At my sister’s house I sat in the living room until I had recovered from the heat. Later I tried to look at the map for my ride over the next few days but was interrupted by dinner. My niece had made chicken tenders. After that, we watched the movie National Treasure. I had recently taken a liking to these kinds of Hallmark movies. I was up with my laundry until late.

I woke at 7:30 and had cereal but was mostly lazy until nine. My sister had gone to work and my nieces said bye after I finished packing. My nephew was asleep.

I rode to Mayberry Park then and spoke with a cyclist on business 80 about the route. We passed each other a few times. I passed a construction site and a few other things. Google didn’t send me through the town of Verdi but along the bypass instead. I stopped at the River Belle store and accidentally went to the Verdi Casino.

I decided to get coffee and fill up on water. A short while later I was able to trace the Truckee Pyramid Bike Path (TPB) through Crystal Park. Once I had left Verdi, the trail began in earnest and it was really hard. The first leg was to the California border. It was on water company property, so there were a lot of irritating grates and other things forcing me to get off of my bike.

There were two canals which the trail (a dirt service road) kept crossing so I had to make multiple unnecessary climbs over it. At the Fleish canal I had to go over the intakes station and a beautiful suspension bridge. There were steps everywhere. The trail was too narrow in some places too.

After crossing the river and tracks, I connected with the ruins of old 40. Then the trail alternated between narrow dirt tracks and potholed roads. I passed the Farad Intake Station and there were annoying stairs there too. Then I crossed Floriston Road.

I rode along a novel and interesting wooden causeway at that spot. Eventually it ended at a 60 foot stairway where I had to take my bags off the bike and exert myself beyond anything I was capable of in that hot weather. At the top an angler assured me that there would be no more stairs.

The rest of the trail all the way to Hirschdale was a climb. I had to take several breaks – one I replaced all of the clothes that I was wearing that had stickers all over them. I followed Hirschdale to Glenshire.

From there I climbed up Glenshire Road to visit my coworker at his house. The climb was fully an eighth of the total for the day. My coworker brought me to see his wife and after I had rested we visited his favorite Mexican place in the town of Truckee.

We discussed work, our homes and home. Later, when we returned to his place. I texted with family and tweeted.

 
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Excited about The Trip

On July 9, 2023, I wrote that the night before I had had a hard time packing for my bike trip from Reno to Placer County because my boys’ birthday party was a lot of work.I went to bed pretty late but still woke at six. I brought my bags down with my bike and rode away. I later had to re-pack a bit and felt like I still had forgotten a few things but the issues were minor.

At Civic Center I was dismayed to discover BART had 30 minute headways. it didn’t occur to me that we can schedules were not very good. I did the math and found I still had time to check my bike – however, it was going to be close.

At MacArthur the margin was even closer. Needless to say, I was really frustrated when I found there was a line to check bags at the station. However, I was able to do everything, even get coffee, just fine. I had to buy it from the Station Cafe because Polaris was closed for the holiday. The bike went to baggage and I didn’t use straps on my panniers so I was overburdened.

I got an OK seat and then sat in the observation car with my computer to catch-up on work. I also chatted with a cyclist on his way to Reno. By the time I had arrived at Baxter I was listing out some locations along my prospective route and noting their relative elevations.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t noted any locations in the Truckee RIver Canyon but it did include half of my travels through the Tahoe National Forest. For instance I had noted that the drop from Donner to Soda Springs was not huge but the drop from Soda Springs to The Cedars was 1000 feet. Likewise, the climb from The Cedars to Wabena Creek was around 500. After that there seemed to be a big climb to Red Star Ridge on Foresthill Divide.

I was clearly excited about the trip.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

Dad at The Playground

On June 26, 2023, I wrote that I got my boys dressed and rode my electric cargo bike with them on the back through the annual Pride Parade taking pictures of ourselves as the floats went by. However, we quickly headed out to the Embarcadero because we had tickets to the Giants’ game.

We headed to the deli in Bayside Village which my family always visits before the game and miraculously made it before my brother got there with his friends. I got something for each of us and then we headed over to meet Dad at the playground next to the stadium for his 83rd birthday.

My older sister’s family was already there with a few cousins and family friends. I had a drink and we ate sandwiches. A little later my boys played in the playground with their cousins as they arrived.

I let everyone go into the stadium with my boys and waited outside until their mother arrived. We were with my younger sister until her husband had finished parking. Then we stopped at the valet to park the bikes and went inside.

The boys were ecstatic to see their mom. I sat with my older sister and my brother’s friends - near my dad. My nieces appeared in the second inning with their college friends. I had resolved not to drink inside the park because it is so expensive.

I got a chance to coach the boys on the pitch clock and we counted outs, etc. My brother’s buddy and I noted the pitch clock really speeds up the game. The Giants were losing by the sixth inning and there was a lot of tension heading into the ninth.

Austin Slater had four fouls all of which had been 80 mph. One was a line drive into our seats which I tried to catch – I nearly broke my thumb! After it bounced off my hand, it landed in some guy's lap behind me. My niece got a great photo of my boy after the game with the ball. His mother took the ball home in her purse.

After the game 10 of us walked to the bike valet. However, I ended up out on the field somehow with my two boys running the bases. Their mom texted that she had caught a ferry home to the East Bay.

Back at the valet. I got my bike and walked with the party to Willie Mays Plaza, where we all said goodbye to each other. I rode home on the cargo bike.

Later everyone showed up on Valencia, and we all went to have pizza which was great. I walked home with the boys and we quickly wound down. My brother’s friends stayed with us in the Mission and arrived at the apartment after we had all gone to sleep but they had a key.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.

All The Way to Watt

In the morning of May 29, 2023, I woke my boys after my alarm at our hotel room in Rancho Cordova. We went down and had breakfast in the cafe. The waffles were great and the boys were very enthusiastic about the experience. After we went upstairs and packed, I let the boys go swimming. I checked out and jumped in the pool with them.

We got the bikes out and left for the American River Path. We rode through the neighborhoods to my old classmate‘s house, where we hung out long enough for a soda, and when their toddler went down for a nap we took off for Hagan Park. Then we rode quickly to Riverbend and had a Dr Pepper. Later we rode the levees all the way to Watt. The boys had no real problem riding their bikes on the trail. The path is mostly flat and the wind was manageable.

We had another snack and headed to Howe Boulevard and Sacramento State. By this point the trail was under construction so we only stayed on the levees. I mostly paced the boys until I needed speed. When we got to the local rail mainline near the Capital City Freeway, I noted that we were only about 20 minutes late to see Amtrak train five come down from the Sierra‘s and go into Sacramento. On previous trips we actually got to see the train pass over the river.

We went through the Exposition Center then and one of my boys told me that he wanted to attend the State Fair someday. I noted the old Sacramento Northern Railroad Bridge as we passed over it. Otherwise, the ride through town was unremarkable – aside from it going so smoothly. We finished off the snacks outside the Blue Diamond Factory.

We were perfectly on time for the 455 train but it left nearly 45 minutes late. The train trip from Sacramento to the Bay Area went really smoothly too. I started falling asleep on the train and we got some chips. When we got to the city, we went to Gott’s for dinner and I was pleased at how well the ride home turned out. We even worked together to bring stuff up the steps and watched TV.

This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.