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