Continued...
The second day of an overnight trip in El Dorado County had me camped in the
Eldorado National Forest on a ridgeline between the Middle Fork American River
and Otter Creek. Rising early, I had some driving to do back through
Volcanoville and other parts for about half an hour. After doing some
minor summits on private forest lands, I moved closer to civilization for some
additional ones, none very challenging.
Little Bald Mountain
This one is located in the Hornblende Mtns SW of Volcanoville, on the south
side of Otter Creek. Though it was less than a mile from where I camped on the
north side of the creek, there is no bridge across the creek, requiring a
good deal of driving for Little Bald. I was surprised to note that Barbara and
Gordon had been to the summit in 2001, though it has little prominence. Forest
Road 13N58 gets one within half a mile to a saddle on the east side of the
mountain. A spur road to gets one even closer. I parked
at the gate and went up the continuing road, used to service
that runs across the SE shoulder of the mountain.
The summit was burned in the 2016 Trailhead Fire, and most of the mountain on
private lands was logged around the same time. There is much
enroute to the summit once one leaves the service road.
Lots of crowding the summit as well. If the
dynamic duo had left their usual register, I saw no signs of it amidst the
clutter. About 25min for the roundtrip.
Bottle Hill - Cement Hill
Back at the Jeep, I continued west along 13N58 which appears to have been used
as a firebreak to contain the Trailhead Fire to the north. Bottle Hill and
Cement Hill are two minor points along the broad ridgeline running west from
Little Bald Mtn. Bottle Hill's summit is found in just south
of the dirt road. Cement Hill is 1/4mi southwest of Bottle Hill with
amongst a collection of . No views
from either.
Mameluke Hill
From Cement Hill, I dropped drove south down 13N97 which crosses Canyon Creek
before climbing up to Georgetown, passing over Mameluke Hill. Mameluke Hill is a
large, flattish area in a rural community on the outskirts of Georgetown. The
highpoint is difficult to discern, but appears to be in a yard off Morgan Ranch
Loop. There is no parking on this loop that I found, but one can park on
Mameluke Hill Rd and walk the short distance to explore for
. Trespassing might be required to stand atop it.
Hotchkiss Hill
This is a drive-up east of Georgetown. Chipmunk Trail, the access road off
Wentworth Springs Rd, is signed as a private road and
No Trespassing.
The road is not accurately depicted on Google Maps which shows it going through
someone's property, but one just needs to stay on the main road to Chipmunk
Ridge Rd which will take you past a home to
at the summit. A locked gate (no fencing) leaves you about 100ft of walking to
on the west side of the installation.
Peak 2,125ft
This is the highpoint of Auburn Lake Trails, an upscale rural development west
of Georgetown. You won't find ,
but you will find nicely paved roads, neat homesteads and the occasional
. The entrances to the development are gated, but it is easy
for outside pedestrian access. There is an extensive trail network on the steep,
wooded slopes leading down and along the Middle Fork American River north of the
development. Access to the TH is found just outside to the
community on paved Sweetwater Trail. The TH is signed for
No Parking, but
there is parking to the south . Kerry Breen describes
an excellent day hiking some 14mi of trail and roadway that took in the peak. I
was here just for the summit which amounts to about 3mi roundtrip. The hike is
entirely on without sidewalks and not very interesting. The
summit is found at the end of in .
There are at the summit for hiking trails off either side of
the cul-de-sac, but in exploring them briefly, it appears the trails have been
abandoned and no longer maintained.
Pointed Rocks
This was the most enjoyable summit of the day, found on BLM lands as part of
the Auburn State Recreation Area. There is parking available at the TH in the
town of Cool, near the junction of SR193 and SR49, with a $10 fee. Alternately,
you can park for free elsewhere (I parked along SR49) and still access
. The distance to the summit is about a mile and a
half, traveling through with lovely green grass at this
time of year. The trails are a combination of ranch roads and
with portions of the passing
through. The summit requires a short stint of , no real
bushwhacking, but unremarkable. There were no pointed rocks that I could find,
just that looked like a small cairn that had
been kicked over. I spent an hour on this one, time well-spent.
Clark Mountain
This summit lies above the South Fork American River on BLM land, but a public
access route looks difficult without fording the river (which seems dangerous).
David Sanger found a route from the south starting from aptly named Clark Mtn
Rd. I parked at the same turnout (it's not really a turnout, just a bit of
sketchy ) he used and followed
up grass and oak-covered slopes to the summit, no negative
signs or fences to be crossed. is found at a defunct
electrical box just off the trail. I did not find the register David is said to
have left. I spent just over 20min on this, finishing shortly after 1p. This was
enough for the day as I'd run out of prepared summits, so I headed for home in
the afternoon.