American River Adventure 2009 ~ Day 1

Monday, August 24, 2009 North Fork of the American River, California - Wild and Scenic Area

Charlotte: Monday Evening - TIRED, TIRED, TIRED. Our friend Mo came over about 6:30 AM to make sure that we had a ride to the Stevens Trail in Colfax. She helped us finish packing; including pain pills (in case we break something) and Imodium D (good thinking, just in case). She made a quick trip home to grab more dehydrated food for us. We left the house by 7:15 with our friend, Arlene. Happy and excited good-bys at the trail head. "See you in 5 days".

It was a long hike in with Larry carrying 70 pounds and me carrying 40 pounds. The gear for prospecting is pretty heavy, including wet suits and tools. Larry has all of that gear in his pack. I have the food and toiletries.

I had read a description of the Steven's Trail that said, "It was not for the faint of heart." Boy, that was more true than I could imagine. The first 1 1/2 miles were pretty easy going. We found our first resting spot in an open area. There was a speed boat parked in the middle of the woods - how did it get here?!?! It proved a great spot to take off our packs and rest awhile. Once we reached the North Fork canyon the trail became fairly narrow and dropped straight down to the river below. I am guessing about 1000 feet. Since I have a terrible fear of heights, the sight of the the trail along the canyon wall was scary, to say the least. Larry turned and said, "OK, this is the deal. You keep your eyes on the trail at all times and only on the trail. If there is a wide place to stop and rest I'll tell you but otherwise just keep your eyes down and concentrate on the next step."

I never once looked away from the trail unless we stopped at a wide spot. Our next resting spot was back in the trees at a small spring trickling out of the hillside. It was nice to find some shade and there was a small ledge where we could remove our packs. When we headed out again it was a long, hard, hot trek to the river. As the morning wore on the temperatures climbed into the 90's. We thought we were in good shape but the heavy loads proved to be more than we realized. We were bone weary tired and hurting by the time we reached the river around 11:30. We were tuckered out. Our legs were shakey and weak and my back was screaming at me for the last 2 miles of travel. We rested for awhile on the bedrock in the shade of a small bush. It felt good to sit down without a pack on. Larry wound up with a blister on his big toe and I have one on the edge of my foot.

There was a miner at the foot of the trail. He lives down here! He finds some gold - not really sure how much. Apparently, he walks out about once a week or so unless people on the trail give him food. Amazing! He says he has been living down here a couple of years. Oh, my! We gave him some fruit and trail mix.

After resting and talking to Chuck we repacked all of our gear into the dry packs for our trip down river. Larry unpacked the raft and blew it up with the pump. We suited up in our wetsuits, packed the raft with our gear and tied it down and headed down river about 1 PM. We had a shallow set of rapids to navigate firt - HARD - lots of slipping down and banging of ankles and knees. After that there was a deep pool. It looked inviting but proved to be very strenuous going. The wind was blowing us upriver so swimming our raft through was almost impossible - really hard work. Larry was on the front and I was on the back. The pool was deep and only once in awhile, on the edge, could we get a foothold. We tried to hang on to the rocks and rest when we could. Our trekking poles proved to be the handiest last minute purchase we made. When we extend them to their full length they are about 6 feet long. They helped up keep our footing in the river and sometimes we could find bottom with the poles and push our way through the pools. Larry's pole broke as we made our last crossing of the river to what looked like a possible campsight. He really needs a stick.

We decided to pull out of the river about 3:00 because we were bone weary tired and Larry's treking pole broke into in the last pool. Our bodies were worn out and hurting. It was hot! We could see that there was another deep pool up ahead and now Larry has no pole. I spotted a sandy area down river just alittle ways so I hiked down to scout it out. There is a large pine tree so we'll have some shade. After a rest we portage our gear down to that spot. We get out our bedrolls so we can lay down and strip down to T-shirts and shorts. It feels good to just lay flat and be still. The air is hot but there is a slight breeze. It is interesting how aware of my body I am, the aches and pains, throbbing, perspiration, how the breeze cools me because of the sweat and how hot it feels when the breeze doesn't blow.

After resting for awhile Larry gets up to go look at something at the river's edge. When I ask what he is looking at, he announces "3 of the biggest piles of bear poop I have ever seen"!. I get up and pull our bedrolls up higher on the bank.

Later in the day Larry strips off and announces that he is going to hike back upriver and dive down in the last pool we crossed to retrieve the other end of his trekking pole. He thinks maybe it just came unscrewed. I get up and go with him. I have to see this! The water is very cold. Remember, we have had wetsuits on all day? His pole is black and silver. I do not see how he will ever find it. He jumps in the cold water and down he goes. He has to dive several times but finally he comes up with pole in hand. Unfortunately, it is broken. We decide to keep it and take it back to Big 5.

Larry: Monday Evening ~ Arlene dropped us off at the top of the Steven's Trail on the Colfax side just before 8 AM. Little did we know what lay ahead for us. The trek down to the river really stretched our physical endurance to the max. Our trip into the Grand Canyon comes to mind. Our legs shook from the exertion. My new hip/thigh held up pretty well though but both buttocks ached. I got a blister on my big toe. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to hike the 4 1/2 miles down to Secret Ravine. We collapsed on the bank of the river in total exhaustion. I don't think we could have gone another 100 feet! We just concentrated on our feet and our next step. It was far more frightening for C but bless her heart, she sucked it up and followed me along the narrow ledges that dropped off into space.

After resting awhile we slowly assembed our gear and inflated the raft. We loaded it up, tied everything down and headed immediately for our first rapids. Slowly, we inched our way through the rushing water until we reached the deep pool below. The deep pools are our hardest, as we can't touch the bottom so we just have to hang on to the raft and kick our feet. Very aerobic! We finally spied a decent looking camp spot and quit the river about 2:30. We were totally exhausted and decided to rest the remainder of the day. It was fairly hot so we had to follow the shade. Blessedly, the sun findly went behind the far ridge and it began to cool down. The water is very clear, the hillsides are dry and brown and the canyon walls soar to the sky.

It feels alien to be out here on the river bank, miles from civilization. It's been many years since we've slept beneath the stars beside the river. Our only concern is the 3 piles of bear poop in our camp - one pile being fairly fresh!

Photo Album Day #1  https://www.facebook.com/larryn.bacon/media_set?set=a.1162800984363&type=3