Independence Trail (Nevada County, California)

 

Today, I spent the morning tramping around the woods at the Taylor Ranch Preserve as part of REI's Backcountry Navigation class. It was fun and educational, but certainly not much of a workout. We probably covered 2 miles, at most, during the 5 hour session. And with the day being young, I made plans to meet up with my friends Bill and Linda to do a short trail along the Yuba River, the Independence Trail.

The drive from my class location was only about 20 miles and finding the trail head was a piece of cake. I have hiked with Bill a few times before and I know he's an animal out here, but this was my first time hiking with Linda, who is relatively new to the area. We started the well-marked trail at a moderate pace, but Linda quickly proved that she was up to it, as we traversed a couple of wooden trellis walking bridges. We increased our pace. The trail in this area is pretty unremarkable, but pleasant nonetheless. The vegetation is thick, but still offers the occasional view of the magnificent river below.

As we continue along the trail, we walk across a couple of steep ravines and past some small waterfalls. Eventually, we reach the end of the main trail and Bill suggests heading down a rugged dirt road that he knows leads to a mining shaft below. The road is really steep and we all discuss how much fun it would be to take our jeeps up and down this gauntlet. Reaching the bottom, it's obvious that some other folks have beaten us to it, as the make shift parking lot is full of 4x4's. 

The view from this spot is outstanding. White granite boulders the size of cars and houses below, make for a obstacle course for the crystal-clear bluish-green waters of the Yuba. We maneuver around on the slippery rocks, making our way down to the entrance to what Bill refers to as a mine-shaft. I'm sure he's right, but it's unlike any other mine-shaft I have ever encountered (and I've seen quite a few). The shaft is a long, straight circular tunnel of a roughly 20-foot uniform diameter. The river, or at least an off-shoot of it, runs along the base of the tunnel and at the far end, it opens up to the daylight. Not having the proper shoes to go do far along this slippery surface, we turn back around and precariously make our way back to the 4x4's.

While Linda stops for a quick break, Bill and I head around to the other side of this small point we are standing on. Below, we find a gorgeous blue pool with a granite lounger sitting right in the middle of it. It would rival the man-made pools at any vacation resort. Meeting back up with Linda, we turn and begin making our way back to the parking lot. The return trip is uneventful, but good company always makes a trail more pleasant. All in all, we covered about five miles. Overall a great trail with good friends.