The 09ers

A couple months ago I wanted to go check out Euchre Bar from the south access trail head. Using the directions from the governments website, I thought it would be easy enough to find without getting exact GPS coordinates. We arrived at the access road about 15 miles past Forresthill. After what we thought was about 2miles down Elliot Ranch Rd, we stopped and found the entrance of an old trail with a gate that was swung wide open. It turns out the trail quickly disappeared and my friend Derek and I quickly realized we had the wrong trail/road all together. Thankfully, someone, sometime ago, put trail trail markers and metal stakes every so often. Below was when we realized we had the wrong trail. Good things did come out of that adventure, specifically, my claim.

But that is another story...(which I will hopefully post) I finally made it to the Euchre Bar this weekend. I thought the fourth would be a great day to make this day trip. It felt a little strange that I was -just- going to go for a hike. I guess it was a nice break from the back breaking work of gold mining.

This time around I was going to take the trail from the North, which meant a little longer of a drive up interstate 80. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to make the entire trail from end to end since I didn't have the extra five hours needed for the last leg. I wanted to try to be out of the canyon at a decent time so I could get back to San Francisco to partake in the holiday festivities. At the same time I was a little bummed out because many of the abandoned mines were on the south side of the American River. It will be a great excuse to try the trail again.

About 15 minutes past Colfax I finally arrived in Alta and could smell heavy smoke in the air. I thought where I was going to be able to find a small town market to load up on drinks and snacks. I was a little disapointed when I started driving Casa Loma Rd and saw the following.

This was probably a good sign that I wasn't going to run into any civilization any time soon. I didn't want to drive back to the interstate so I figured I'll make do. I knew this hike wasn't going to be a picnic when I pulled up to the trail head and captured this:

With the air already smelling heavy with smoke, my eyes were straining (and my legs wobbling) when I realized how far down this trail was going to descend in 1.5 miles. My initial assumptions were right. This was NOT a hike to take the ol' family for. Not only do your knees feel like they are ready to snap on the descent, but you find yourself begging that THIS would be the last switchback. Switchback after switchback, I found myself making pretend monetary exchanges to just be back at the car. "I would pay $250 if I could just be at the car right now." Quickly that number moved up exponentially, especially during the portions of the trail that were not covered from 90+ heat. At one point I thought I broke my camera from the sweat that was pouring down my face.

When I finally got to the river the sky was bright a blue, and besides the rumblings of helicopters and support planes, one would have no Idea the entire Tahoe National Forrest was ablaze. I was greeted with the Euchre footbridge that was dropped down by helicopter many years ago.

It's one of those bridges most only meet in their dreams, as it sways on the slightest footsteps. I probably stood on the center of the bridge staring down the length of the American River for a good 45 minutes. I was finally interrupted by my first sighting of people. It was a couple who looked like they were in it for the long haul, and that they were. After chatting with them for a bit they continued down an old mining ditch towards the Humbug Canyon, looking for a suitable camping location. I wish I had the energy and the time to continue the last 5 miles through the Canyon. Perhaps next time.

For the rest of the day, I did what any normal person would do at Euchre Bar Trail, swim!  The water there is incredible. You can see trout happily swimming around from on top of the footbridge. If there were not to have been a slight breeze to send ripples through the water, I wouldn't have even known there was a river a below. This is no exaggeration! Take a look at some of the photographs below where the camera cannot discern weather a pile rocks is exposed to air or water. There are also a handful of pictures where you can actually see large trout from atop the bridge. Talk about a fisherman's paradise!

If you are interested about EBT, check out this post on the Euchre George from one of my favorite authors, Russell Towle,  who  writes extensively on some of the most amazing trails along the North Fork of the American River.