Saturday, December 25, 2004

Bike - Malakoff Diggins on Christmas

On the Malakoff Diggins Rim Trail.

On the Malakoff Diggins Rim Trail.

We decided to go back down to Nevada City for another ride, but this time we went to the Malakoff Diggins State Park for more of a ‘touristy’ excursion.

The Malakoff Diggins is an area of historical interest due to its use of hydraulic mining in the 19th century. Streams were diverted into large tanks above the site, which fed large water guns—called monitors—that were used to blast away the hillsides.

We jumped on the Diggins Rim Trail, which is three miles long, mostly level with a couple of short, steep climbs. Unfortunately, it offers no viewpoints along the way.

On the Blair Tail next to Humbug Creek.

On the Blair Tail next to Humbug Creek.

The Rim Trail dumps you out into the Chute Hill campground, which leads to the Blair Trail. The Blair Trail follows Humbug Creek, where gold was first discovered in 1851.

Just like last week, we experienced dramatic temperature fluctuations. Parts of the ride had ice on the puddles and frozen ground all day, and other parts had T-shirt weather.

One of the many monitors used to blast the hills with water.

One of the many monitors used to blast the hills with water.

The North Bloomfield General Store.

The North Bloomfield General Store.

The Blair Trail leads into the ‘town’ of North Bloomfield, formerly known as Humbug, population 8 to 12. It’s actually a historical restoration of the old town, and it is deserted this time of year.

It felt odd to be the only people around. At one point an S.U.V. came down the road, but it immediately turned around before actually entering the town, as if fleeing a Twilight Zone episode.

Later in the ride, as I rode up to a monitor along the trail I saw a man combing the area with a metal detector. As soon as he saw me, he scurried away. Weird. Perhaps the little town of Humbug has its share of secrets.

The view of the Malakoff Diggins from the Chute Hill Overlook.

The view of the Malakoff Diggins from the Chute Hill Overlook.

Near the start of the Malakoff Diggins Loop Trail.

Near the start of the Malakoff Diggins Loop Trail.

A lone spire in the basin.

A lone spire in the basin.

Nearer my mud to thee...

Nearer my mud to thee...

After touring all one and half blocks of the town, we rode on the Church Trail out to the Diggins. The Diggins Loop Trail is not good for biking: you are either in gravel or sand or sticky mud that gums up your derailleurs. It’s kind of like riding in a big, used diaper.

The trail has posts every 100 feet and ribbons tied to the bushes to keep hikers from getting lost. The area is subject to a lot of erosion, so the trail is often obliterated by silt and mud.

In the Hiller Tunnel...the main drainage tunnel is 200 feet below.

In the Hiller Tunnel...the main drainage tunnel is 200 feet below.

The outflow of the Hiller Tunnel.

The outflow of the Hiller Tunnel.

There was no natural outlet capable of draining the site, so a 7800’ tunnel was drilled 200 feet deep in 1872 to drain the tailings into the South Yuba River.

There is a short drainage tunnel at surface level called the Hiller Tunnel that you can walk through when the water is low.

We only rode ten miles, stopping often to read the signs and explore the historical sites. Afterwards, we drove down to Roseville to have Christmas dinner with Nancy’s friend Linda and Linda’s family.

Sunday, December 19, 2004

Bike - South Yuba Trail

A half-mile into the ride.

A half-mile into the ride.

We drove down to Nevada City to get out of the snow for a short bike ride. There are a lot of rides around Highway 20 and Nevada City—it’s old mining country, with plenty of flumes, trails and old roads.

It’s also the Sierra foothills, which are like Appalachia, only steeper and drier. The road from Nevada City to the South Yuba campground is crazy, the kind where you can look out the passenger window and see switchbacks straight below you.

The South Yuba River runs through a canyon so steep that there are sections that never see the sun this time of year. It produces some dramatic temperature differences—up to 30 or 40 degrees in a half-mile stretch of trail.

The trail resembles the Tahoe Flume Trail in that much of it runs along a steep drop-off. You can’t let your mind wander or admire the scenery because you’ll wind up several hundred feet down a canyon.

After three miles, you get your first good look at the South Yuba River.

After three miles, you get your first good look at the South Yuba River.

Crossing Humbug Creek.

Crossing Humbug Creek.

Just past Humbug, looking for Gollem.

Just past Humbug, looking for Gollem.

The trail starts about a thousand feet above the river and descends to river level about four miles in (so you’re going downhill upstream and uphill downstream).

At four miles you cross Humbug Creek. Its source is a mile upstream where it exits a 7800’ tunnel dug by miners in the 1870s, an example of how nuts the miners were in those days.

The trail is washed out at this point and we had to walk our bikes for a quarter-mile. The vegetation for most of the ride is typically California semi-arid, but when you get down to the river you suddenly feel like an extra on the set of "Lord of the Rings."

Also, despite the trail paralleling the river, there’s a lot of up and down, especially a lot of up going back.

The trail winds along the river for about twenty miles, with occasional side trails climbing out of the canyon. We only rode five and half miles in and had a nice lunch in the sun. It was so nice to do a ride where we weren’t racing back to get in before dark.

 

LINKS:

MTB Singletrack.com

Topo Map

Humbug Map

The scenery is wet and lush along the river, and a lot drier everywhere else.

The scenery is wet and lush along the river, and a lot drier everywhere else.

Our lunch spot, five and a half miles in.

Our lunch spot, five and a half miles in.

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Bike - Nov. 2004

Posing on Sawtooth Trail, just before the snow patches. I barely made it back before dark. My thighs were cramping like I've never felt before.

Early in the Sawtooth ride–looking over Truckee River and Hwy 89.

11/17/04 Wednesday

We tried to finish Linda’s house yesterday, but Nancy had a long, frustrating day under the house. She couldn’t get the backflow and irrigation connected without it leaking, so she left the water off and returned early this morning to get it hooked up.

There was nothing for me to do, so I rode Sawtooth Trail. The hardest part was getting there–there’s little climbing on the trail, but there’s about 700 feet of climbing on the way up.

Sawtooth is a ten mile loop with no tough sections (not counting the snow). It has some nice views of the Truckee River gorge and Northstar’s backside runs.

We rode it on December 1 of last year, and there was twice as much snow today. However, it was about 90-95% rideable. I was able to ride through most of the snow patches, but it made the ride much more tiring than normal.

I barely made it back before dark. My thighs were cramping like I’ve never felt before, possibly from the cold.

Riding Pioneer Trail outside of Nevada City. It's an out-and-back, starting at 3700' and climbing to 5100'.

You can do it, honey!

11/19/04 Friday

We drove down to Highway 20, near Nevada City, to do some mountain biking out of the snow. We rode Pioneer Trail, which follows an old trail on a ridgeline used by emigrants in the 1800s.

The lower part is a beginner trail, and the upper part is intermediate with a few brief steep or rocky sections. The section above the White Cloud campground is the most interesting, as it follows what seems to be an old flume.

Riding Pioneer Trail outside of Nevada City. It's an out-and-back, starting at 3700' and climbing to 5100'. Watch out for helicopters!

Staying on the alert for bears, cougars, and … oh yes, helicopters.

The ride is an out-and back, starting at 3700’ and climbing to 5100’. It’s a nice trail, but unfortunately it parallels the highway for almost its entire length, so you can never get away from the highway noise.

We got a late start, so we didn’t ride the whole thing. It was surprisingly cold for the foothills; the east wind must have been in effect. We rode 25.5 miles and got back at 5:05, just before the trails got pitch-black.

Finishing a ride by myself on Emigrant Trail.

After riding Emigrant Trail .

11/23/04 Tuesday

The last couple of rides had a negative effect on my nether regions—I felt like I’d been smuggling wood rasps in my pants.

But(t), the calluses are slowly building up again, so I rode Emigrant Trail out to Stampede Reservoir and back. Despite the blues skies, it was a chilly day. Maybe someday I’ll learn to bring warm clothes on winter rides.

The trail was free of snow, but surprisingly muddy. I rode the 19 miles in about two and a half hours, which means there are people who can run faster than I can ride.

Afterwards, I made dinner for Nancy, a Chicken Francese recipe from the Food Network. You know what they say: the best way in a woman's pants is through her stomach.

Riding Emigrant Trail on a snowy, rainy Thanksgiving.

Emigrant Trail on a snowy, rainy Thanksgiving.

11/25/04 Thanksgiving

Nancy called at 10:00, suggesting we go for a ride for the holiday. I said ‘sure,’ thinking that we’d ride into town and go shopping for potpourri and charming ’Welcome to the Lake’ signs to hang next to carved wooden bears.

Riding Emigrant Trail on a snowy, rainy Thanksgiving.

Early in ride, just starting to snow.

Nancy called at 10:00, suggesting we go for a ride for the holiday. I said ‘sure,’ thinking that we’d ride into town and go shopping for potpourri and charming ’Welcome to the Lake’ signs to hang next to carved wooden bears.

Riding Emigrant Trail on a snowy, rainy Thanksgiving. Looking at Stampede Reservoir.

The turnaround point: Stampede Reservoir.

Wrong! She wanted to ride Emigrant, despite the gray skies. Core, dude.

Riding Emigrant Trail on a snowy, rainy Thanksgiving. Lunch at Stampede Reservoir.

A quick lunch before the chills set in.

It snowed for the first hour we rode and rained during the last half-hour. There’s wasn’t a whole lot of sun in between.

One good thing, though: you can’t tell if your feet are wet if they’re numb.

No, I'm not wet....much.

No, I’m not wet … much.

Actually, it was a fun ride. There were a lot of people out, all headed the other way to get out of the snow. We took our time—or at least, Nancy did—and managed to get back before dark.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Landscaping - Nov. 2004

Nancy digging snow out of the trenches at Linda's house in Granlibakken.

Just diggin’ in the snow...

11/03/04 Wednesday

We spent a few hours at Linda’s house in Granlibakken laying pipe and backfilling the trenches. Nancy had dug the trenches with a backhoe a couple of weeks ago, but then two feet of snow fell, preventing her from finishing the job.

We worked most of yesterday digging the snow out of the trenches, gluing pipe and backfilling, and finished the bulk of the work today. Nancy had problems cutting pipe because the cold makes PVC brittle. Backfilling took a long time because the dirt piles had consolidated and were covered with a foot of snow.

A light rain in the morning gave way to moderate snow in the afternoon, so we stopped at 3:00, saving valve installation for a drier day.

By the time we drove back to Truckee the roads had a light cover of slippery slush. A tow truck was busy pulling a mini-van up the embankment of a corner of 89, halfway between Tahoe City and Alpine. The mini-van driver obviously didn’t recognize how slick it was and nearly landed in the Truckee River.

Wrapping trees to protect them for winter at the Nelson's house.

Despite the snow, some flowers are still blooming at the Nelsons’ house.

11/05/04 Friday

Nancy and I spent the day wrapping trees and shrubs. This is done just before winter to prevent the snow load from snapping limbs.

We staked and wrapped some trees at a couple of houses in Glenshire, and then worked for about four hours at the Nelsons’. It was a warm, sunny day, with a stiff east wind on Donner Lake.

The Nelsons’ front yard now looks like a forest of green mummies.

Wrapping trees for winter at the Korelitz' house in Tahoe Donner.

Step 1: Dig out the bushes.

11/08/04 Monday

Another day of wrapping trees and bushes. We started in Tahoe Donner, where the bushes are buried in snow because the roads are cleared with snow blowers instead of snowplows. (It’s an ordinance—less wear and tear on the asphalt.)

This house is besieged by snotty neighbors on both sides. Nancy got an urgent call on Saturday: an aspen, bent over by the snow, was almost touching the neighbor’s roof. He called the owners, demanding immediate action.

Wrapping trees for winter at the Korelitz' house in Tahoe Donner.

Step 2: Wrap ’em up.

You see a lot of this attitude in Tahoe. I think it’s because the second home owners come up here for vacation, not to be neighbors. As a result, their goal isn’t to get to know anyone, but to block everyone out.

We worked all afternoon at the Nelson’s again, finishing their yard for the season. Dick Nelson is at it again—his contractor has started tearing apart his dock, initiating another big project. It looks like the planter beds that we just overhauled (and the lawn we just repaired) are about to be torn out.

Dick can’t go very long without tearing out whatever’s been done and building something new.

Eating lunch on the dock at the Helgan's house on West Shore.

Lunch on the lake.

11/09/04 Tuesday

More wrapping, this time on the West Shore. We stopped first at the nursery to get three more plants for the Vandertoorns (planting in November?).

We had lunch on the Helgans’ dock. No boats anywhere, glassy water–all you need is a good wetsuit and you could waterski your butt off.

We finished off at Ken’s house in Timberland. Practically every house we go to has a broken aspen. The big storm two weeks ago did a lot of damage.

Moving cobble from the front yard 'stream' to the back yard. Nancy is building planter beds.

Building terraces.

11/12/04 Friday

Last summer we built an artificial creek in the front yard of Lynn’s Mom’s house in Brockway. This work was TRPA-mandated; something needed to be done to control water runoff.

(The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency is in charge of maintaining Lake Tahoe's clarity and appearance. They have a zillion regulations, from banning dock building to deciding whether or not a homeowner must/must not pave their driveway.)

Eating take-out from Mr. T's near Sand Harbor after working all day at Lynn's Mom's house.

Mr. T’s rules!

The size and number of rocks we put in last year overwhelmed the yard, so we moved a lot of them to the back yard to build terraces. I pushed about 50 wheelbarrows of cobble up the hill while Nancy built pathways and rock walls.

Since we were so close to Incline, we went to Mr. T’s after work for chicken tostadas. They have the best Mexican food in Tahoe.

We went back out to Brockway to finish reducing the artificial creek at Lynn's Mom's house

Gotta love that cobble.

11/15/04 Monday

We went back out to Brockway to finish reducing the artificial creek at Lynn’s Mom’s house. Fortunately, all the rock moving was done–all we had to do was knock down the dirt berms, chop up the sod and cover it all with pine needles.

We went back out to Brockway to finish reducing the artificial creek at Lynn's Mom's house

Leveling the sides of the ‘creek.’

After that we went to Linda’s to start hooking up the irrigation. I backfilled trenches while Nancy put in the valves. It was a lot easier working in the yard without a foot of snow covering everything.

Nancy finally got all her plumbing work done, which means she's done landscaping for the season.

Celebrating the end of the landscape season.

11/18/04 Thursday

Nancy finally got all her plumbing work done, which means she’s done landscaping for the season.

I spent the day reading weird post-modern fiction.

Monday, November 01, 2004

Misc. - Nov. 2004

Nancy modeling the interior of our new digs, the condominiums at the Boulders.

Our new digs … sunny and warm.

11/10/04 Sunday

Nancy finished up a job in Tahoma while I did some errands. I wanted to go swimming, but the Truckee High School had a major renovation and the pool won’t be open for another month.

Our condo gets a lot of sun, and is so well insulated that we have yet to turn the heat on. That’s pretty amazing for Tahoe.

The living room has a gas fireplace, so I say, “Honey, could you build a fire?” and Nancy answers, “Sure, hon,” and flicks a switch on the wall.

“Thanks, hon.”

Nancy eating a truffle at our second annual Tahoe Chocolate Festival at the Biltmore Casino.

Portrait of a chocolate ’ho.

11/11/06 Saturday

I took Nancy to the Tahoe Women’s Services Chocolate Festival for her birthday. The Chocolate Festival is an annual fundraiser for the local women’s shelter.

There was only half as much chocolate as last year, so it was twice as hard to eat yourself sick. In addition to the chocolate, it’s also a wine tasting, with an emphasis on Cabernet Sauvignons or anything resembling a Cab.

In addition to chocolate and wine, there is also chocolate wine. It’s called Chocolate Amore. The chocolate wine is interesting as a novelty–kind of like drinking wine flavored Nestle’s syrup–but I wouldn’t go out and buy a bottle.

Nancy getting spanked at chess on my computer.

Getting spanked at chess.

11/11/04 Thursday

We only worked a couple of hours today after spending yesterday wrapping up the PUD. We wrapped up another house in Tahoe Donner, waited twenty minutes for the sheriff to respond to an alarm I accidentally set off, and then spread a bunch of rat poison at the Nelson’s to try to control the vole explosion.

Nancy has gotten into the chess game on my computer. She keeps playing, hoping to beat the computer, but I don’t see that happening in this lifetime.