We met up in
Stockton with the Sacramento folks and headed up Highway 4
towards Bear Valley. Our plan had been to run
Slickrock Road, but as we passed 6000 feet it looked like we
had a little problem. There was still snow on the
ground. Lots of snow. It was June! We
ended up passing the trailhead and stopping at Lake Alpine.
We ran into a game warden who told us that the trail was
completely impassable. The snow drifts were 3 to 4
feet high still. We started checking our maps and
trail books for other trails in the area. We went to
the Corral Valley trailhead but it was snowed in too.
We checked out a nearby fire road, but it too was snowed
over. Things weren't looking good until one of the
guys suggested a road that he knew that led to the Wolfeboro
Scout Camp. He described it as an easy forest road but
we found when we got there that the winter storms had done
some work on the road.The road started out pretty easy
with a couple shallow water crossings, some fallen trees,
snow drifts. Nothing exciting. As we started to
head downhill towards the river, though, the road became
really washed out and rocky. Nobody had aired down so
we slowly made our way down, past some fallen trees, through
a mud pit, until the the trail finally ended at a gate.
We made our way over to a nearby picnic site near a huge
granite outcropping. There was a perfect line up the
rocks so with a little spotting, I made my way up to the
top. From the top you could see out over the North
Fork of the Stanislaus River and across a little valley.
Perfect spot to pose for some pictures. I made my way
down off the rocks and we parked next to a quieter section
of river and stopped for lunch.
Once we finished eating and chatting we headed back up
the trail to Highway 4. Not sure where to go next we
headed south back towards Angels Camp. Our "new guide"
remembered another trail he had done on a dirtbike and
suggested we head there. Turns out this trail was part
of the Sourgrass Recreation Area. We headed up the
trail, across a small stream and quickly found out this was
going to be a great trail. First we hit a good sized
boulder coming up out of the trail. We made our way
past that and came upon a big granite slab. We worked
our way up that only to get to a long rock garden.
Once we made it past that the trail narrowed and got really
brushy. Finally it opened up into a huge camping area
along the river which had already been occupied by a big
group and their trucks. We continued on a little ways
through the forest until the trail dead-ended at a gate.
We drove back to another big campsite next to the river and
stopped to take some pictures and enjoy the surroundings.
Recharged, we headed back down the trail and back out to
the highway. We made a quick stop for some burgers in
Arnold. Then it was back on the road and headed for
home.
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