Trail Leader: Frosty

The Crew: Gordon B, Brian P, Gil L, Karen B, Scott J, Steve C, Homer O, and Jim H

Meet up at the Fordyce Trail Head at 7:30A.M.  

This run stages on Carlyle Road approximately 0.2 miles from Eagle Lakes Road. Staging is at 8:00 am… we will be departing at 9:00am.

This year we will again include the Pierce HOV loop before heading up to Signal Peak. The Signal Peak trail is considered moderate but is forever changing and there are a couple of obstacles to make things interesting. A recent change in accessibility to Rattlesnake Road will make it necessary for us to return to the staging area rather than exit through Cisco Grove.

Directions to Fordyce Trail Head:

Google Earth - Signal Peak trailhead location (downloads file)

1. I80 East to Eagle Lakes exit (about 1 mile east of I80 and Hwy 20 junction).
2. Turn left at the exit and continue on Eagle Lakes Road about 1/2 mile.

3. Turn right at the Brown Sign (Carlyle Road) for Fordyce Trail and continue about 1/8 mile to the trail head.

Eagle Lakes Road at Indian Springs Campground entrance looking toward brown sign turnoff to trailhead

Turn off from Eagle Lakes Road onto Carlyle Road, heading to Trailhead

If interested, sign-up sheets at the meetings, or talk to Jim L.

Run will proceed rain or shine.

Meet at the Bambi Inn, Butte Meadows, CA @ 2:00pm 8/15. Leaving for Campbell Lake no later than 2:45pm.  Fuel/ some provisions available at the "Tank House" down the road from the Bambi Inn.

We will camp at  Butte Meadows, CA area (exact location of camp site: 39.996624, -121.361060)

Trail Details:

Friday

We will leave the Bambi Inn up toward Humbug Summit Road. This is a paved section that will eventually turn to wide, dirt logging roads heading to Philbrook Rd. The road turns back to pavement for a few miles just before Philbrook Reservoir where it will become dirt for the remainder of the journey into camp. After turning up the mountain at the Philbrook Reservoir “Y” the trail becomes more rough, but still easy, logging road until reaching the T-intersection at Lotts Lake. We will air down (if not done so already) at the “T”; this is your last opportunity to make a call out on your cell phone as there is little to no reception from here on. After leaving the “T” the trail becomes a little more difficult with smaller rocks and off camber trail sections until we meet the Spring Valley “Gate-Keeper” (a fairly simple obstacle that keeps the lower slung AWD vehicles out). We will likely make a brief stop after the small creek crossing at Spring Valley Lake then proceed onward. From Spring Valley the trail becomes more rough as we make our way through rock gardens to the top of the ridge and the “Knievel” obstacle. This obstacle should be taken one at a time which will give people an opportunity to act as spotters and to be spotted as they make their way up the hill. After the Knievel overlook we head back down the hill and the trail will ease up as we make our way into the Campbell Lake valley. Hopefully we will make it into camp with plenty of sunlight to gather some firewood and cook dinner.

Saturday 

Saturday will likely involve a day trip/ Trail Run to one of the near by features.

-Morris Lake Trail- Short but extremely difficult and technical rock crawling (similar to the winch hills on Fordyce) trail leading down to Morris Lake. Prepare for carnage.

-Mud Lake Trail- Medium difficulty trail to a small lake. Some technical features on the way.

-Ben Lomond Lookout- All day trip (3-5 hours) to the Ben Lomond lookout over looking the towns of Belden and Tobin. A few tricky and tight spots but a pretty easy trail.

-Chips Lake Trail- similar to Mud Lake Trail with one extra obstacle for good measure.

There are lakes near by that can be explored, fished, hiked, or kayaked in and many people bring firearms to shoot for fun. As this is a club run I will leave the decision to bring firearms up to the discretion of individuals choosing to participate, but there will be some firearms present for use as wildlife protection. There is also the option of relaxing in camp all day, which is very fun as well.

Sunday

Sunday will be packing up camp and heading back to the Bambi Inn. Expecting to leave camp by 9:00am with some stops along the way, and a planned potluck lunch (light snacks, sandwiches, etc.) stop at Spring Valley Lake. We should arrive back to the Bambi Inn around 1:00pm.

If anyone owns the book Guide to California Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails this trail route can be found on page 26-27, trail #4

Meet at:

Golden Empire Grange
11383 Grange Ct
Grass Valley, CA 95945

Meet at:

Golden Empire Grange
11383 Grange Ct
Grass Valley, CA 95945

Topaz Lake; runs to Mt Patterson, Deer Valley, Hope Valley, etc. Jim C/Gary R lead

Meet at:

Golden Empire Grange
11383 Grange Ct
Grass Valley, CA 95945

Meet at:

Golden Empire Grange
11383 Grange Ct
Grass Valley, CA 95945