Monday, May 14, 2018

Mother’s Day Training Run Magnolia Ranch Trailhead to Movie Set loop 9.5 miles



As described by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Magnolia Ranch Trailhead is five (5) miles North of the town of Coloma along Highway 49 and the South Fork of the American River. From Rocklin, I drove East on 80 towards Reno, and exited at 119C to Elm Street. Then I drove down Highway 49 in Auburn, past Cool and Pilot Hill. A total of 28.2 miles just a little over 30 minutes in drive time.



At 7 am, there were a total of 19 of us at the Magnolia Ranch Trailhead. The weather was a bit chilly this early, but it was going to heat up soon. First, we followed the Gerle Loop Trail then followed the Down & Up Trail, so named because it is going up and down the green hills. On the trail were lupines, sun flowers, and other wild flowers of yellow and lavender that I cannot identify. I deeply regretted not wearing a hat, thinking it was early enough that the sun’s rays won’t be that fierce. But it was quite fierce and there is not much shade in the Conan Ranch area. Then we followed the route down on the Long Valley Trail where the yellow wildflowers covered hillsides. We reached the movie set of “Love Comes Softly” where there are 2 dilapidated houses and one of which had a warning. The structures were built in 2003 as a set and was not built to last. Ironically, there were two construction vehicles as well.


After a group photo, we took the trail by the South Fork American River. There were plenty of restrooms. You can access this area via the Conan Ranch Road and have a picnic. We followed the river all the way back connecting on the Down & Up Trail then onto the Gerle Loop Trail.

I was happy today, I was in keeping in step with the main group. I was running up and down the trail because I was taking videos with my GoPro. I was not lagging behind where I would normally be. And because I was not last, I did not get lost since there were people ahead of me to follow and people behind to guide me, too! It was a good short hike before Mother’s Day lunch festivities.


No comments:

Post a Comment