I headed back to El Dorado County for another overnight trip, only a few days
after the last one. The weather had taken the expected turn for the cooler,
making for a much better experience. Overcast skies, cool and breezy, quite
nice for hiking even if the views were more dull. I headed to the western edge
of the Eldorado National Forest to pick up near where I'd left off on the
previous trip. Driving through Placerville on US50 in early morning, I turned
off onto Mosquito Rd heading northeast into rural developments before
descending to the Mosquito Bridge over the South Fork American River. They are
currently working on building a more modern bridge that will span the river
hundreds of feet higher, removing the narrow, winding switchbacks that lead
down to, and up from the old one-lane bridge. I drove through more rural
developments on the north side of the river enroute to the day's first stop.
White Oak Point
This minor point lies just outside the national forest on private property. One
can drive within a few hundred feet utilizing White Oak Dr.
is near the roadway, in someone's yard.
Castle Rock
I headed north on Rock Creek Rd, also called FR12 and 12N70, into the NF. A
dirt road (12N70B) forks off Rock Creek Rd east of Castle Rock. The dirt road
is , but it appears folks have driven around it because
I found someone doing some with a trailer on the SE
side of Castle Rock. Where the dirt road turns briefly south, I left it to
follow of sorts with the short
distance to - less than 10min
from Rock Creek Rd where I parked. There is no castle, and no rocks bigger than
a baseball found at the summit - the naming of this one is quite puzzling. The
highpoint is in a thicket of manzanita and has no views.
Slate Mountains North
This is the second-highest summit in the diminuitive Slate Mountains, about 2mi
north of Castle Rock. More driving north on got me to a
major junction at a saddle NE of Slate North. FR12N82 forks SW to follow a
ridgeline in that direction. As it starts to to the main ridge
of the Slate Mtns, it turns to that was too narrow
and rough for the Jeep. I around the 3,200-foot level where this
transition is shown on the topo map, leaving me less than half a mile from the
summit. It took about 15min to follow up to the ridge, then
south to , found in a clearing just above the motorcycle
track. Not much for views with the surrounding trees and brush.
Sugarloaf
Sugarloaf is found north of Slate North, across Bald Mtn Canyon. I drove back
to Rock Creek Rd and the saddle, then continued north. An ominous
indicated I might get turned back at a washout, but luckily the washout was
beyond the next mile that I drove before turning west on 12N21YC. This road goes
to the east side of Sugarloaf and a TH for Trail 11E14. The road was blocked by
not long after I had started along it, leaving me about 3/4mi
to the summit. I spent a little over 30min hiking the remaining section of
, finding it now for foot traffic only. Once at
the base of Sugarloaf, I went up through moderately
brushy manzanita to find my way to the top. There is
and , and I left the only on the day under
a small cairn. I noticed there was what looked like a trail down
, so I followed that on the return. It landed my
where it passes through a saddle SE of the summit. I was
able to follow NE back to the road, but the trail itself
and doesn't appear to have been maintained for at least a
few years.
Bald Mountain
This one is essentially a drive-up. Back at the same saddle, I drove nicely
paved northeast and north to a spur road NE of Bald Mtn
that goes to the lookout at the summit. There is that I found
locked about a quarter mile below the lookout. is sometimes
manned by volunteers, but today it was closed up tight.
were beginning to enclose the mountain, leaving no views. A battered
is found at the base of the lookout, outside the chainlink
fencing.
Peak 4,764ft
Retracing my route back to Sand Mtn Blvd, I continued north a short distance to
its junction with Wentworth Springs Rd. This is a well-paved near-highway that
runs for many miles from Georgetown in the west to Ice House Rd in the east. I
drove only a small portion of this east where it passes through the Blodgett
Experimental Forest. The area is used to practice controlled burns and develop
new logging and restoration methods. Peak 4,764ft is the highpoint of the
experimental forest. There is NNE of the summit off Wentworth
Springs Rd, about 2/3mi distance. I found the gate chained but the lock
unlatched, so I opened the gate and drove in. I got within 1/4mi on
of the peak, going up to on foot in
less than 10min. There is a steel stake near some that
form the highpoint. No views. After driving back out to Wentworth Springs Rd, I
replaced the lock and chain on the gate as I found them.
Peak 4,780ft
I continued east on Wentworth, past the dam at Stumpy Meadows Reservoir to a
locked but at FR12N65. The north side of the pavement
here is private forest lands. Peak 4,780ft is a P300 about a mile and half from
the gate. I followed various to the reach
in 40min. I came across an elderly couple enroute, carrying
wicker baskets that I guessed were for mushrooms. They were happy to show me
their nice haul of Morels, an expensive variety because the foraging season is
very short. They said they were most likely to be found in burned areas, and it
so happened the main road I followed had been burned extensively on the right
side in the 2022 Mosquite Fire. I kept an eye out for them after we parted, but
I don't really know what I'm doing and didn't spot any mushroom the rest of the
outing. The summit is , from
logging operations completed in the last few years. I spent an hour and twenty
minutes on the 3mi outing.
Tunnel Hill
I drove back west along Wentworth Springs Rd, about a mile NW of where I had
first accessed it from Sand Mtn Blvd. Tunnel Mtn is also located on private
forest land, and at Wentworth about a mile from the summit. A
logging road goes fairly directly along a ridgeline to the summit. The first
half is , the second half inside the
. I spent about 20min to reach
on a rounded knoll with through the charred snags, and
an equal time for .
Buckeye Point
Buckeye Point lies at the western end of dirt FR14N352, a continuation of paved
Vocanoville Rd that goes from Wentworth Springs Rd to the community of
Volcanoville. The Mosquito Fire burned up from the Middle Fork American River
to the edge of Volcanoville, spilling into portions of the community. There
must be a lot of residents that got spooked by the fire because there are a
dozen properties there currently . The dirt road was in decent
shape, 4WD not needed, but high-clearance recommended. While the road is
publicly accessible, it travels through private property and is aggressively
signed for
No Trespassing. At , there are the
remains of a homestead. The topo map shows a mine here, but I saw no sign of
such. I did find , up in a tree, and
the frame of that makes it easy to guess what used to be
"mined" here. The place would make for a lovely campsite (good cell service,
too). There are some views across the American River.
Cock Robin Point
It was 6p and I still had some daylight, so I headed for Cock Robin Point, found
at the end of another dirt Forest Road (13N56) out of Volcanoville. This one is
similarly signed for
No Trespassing though is also perfectly legal.
Most of this ridgeline between Jesse Canyon and Otter Creek was burned in the
2016 Trailhead Fire, and those parcels on private lands were almost entirely
salvage logged after the fire. On my way out to Cock Robin Pt, I made an
accidental detour up the south side of Jakeys Hill. I had taken a wrong turn,
but it conveniently took me over the PB-only point of Jakeys Hill at the south
summit where a lookout used to stand. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Downfall about a mile from Cock Robin Point.
It was a nice walk along the in that
, up and over a few intermediate bumps, with soft
lighting, some , and a remote feel. is
found atop a rounded knoll near the end of the ridgeline in a quiet setting
with .
After to the Jeep, I drove a short distance back up the
ridgeline to where I could find a flat spot to park the Jeep and camp for the
night. It made for a really nice camp area, quiet and peaceful, and all to
myself...
Continued...