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| Yuba River, North Fork |
Date: May 28, 2023
Place: Sierra City, California
Coordinates: 39.567654, -120.604078
Length: 1.3 miles
Level: easy
After the lovely hike we had on Canyon Creek Trail, Pappa Quail and drove east to our next hiking destination - Loves Falls. The trailhead was much higher up the mountain, just outside Sierra City. It rained on us on the way there and for a little while and we wondered if we'd even go on the hike if the weather wasn't cooperating. By the time we got there the rain ceased, however, and we were ready to go. We took a little time to find the right trailhead though, because there are a few trails that go out from the Wild Plum campground area and the falls trail wasn't labeled. As it was, the falls are merely a spur coming out of the Wild Plum Loop Trail.
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| Mountain Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii |
I eyed the gorgeous dogwood that was blooming near where we parked and promised myself to give it a closer attention when we returned from the trail. As we were getting ready to go we saw a sole hiker coming down a dirt road that connected to the parking area near the trailhead. The hiker told us that the foot trail was flooded but that the dirt road didn't lead anywhere. We decided to chance the foot path and see how far we could go on it.
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| Our hike as captured by my GPS |
The first thing I noticed about this trail was that spring there was at it very beginning. There were much fewer wildflowers blooming along the trail. But there were those few, and I kept on the lookout for them.
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| Feathery False Lily of the Valley, Maianthemum racemosum |
The forest around us was of mostly conifer trees. It was pretty dense and dark, although the overcast weather contributed to the darkness.
There were some broad leaf trees here and there, mainly dogwood and oaks. The dogwoods were fully foliaged and in bloom already, but the oaks were still spreading their new leaves, and didn't have their flowers out yet.
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| California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii |
We quickly reached the trail section that the other hiker told us about. It was adjacent to a wetland area and was indeed partially flooded and very muddy. We did wade across however, and got our shoes really muddy in the process. The marsh area looked like it would be really nice to see later in the season, but as of the time of our hike, nothing was blooming there yet.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing the little oak sprouts with their delicate, light-green leaves, establishing themselves as the upcoming inheritors of the forest land.
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| California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii |
In one place the trail became a full-flowing creek and we hopped across on the strategically placed step-stones.
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| Wild Plum Trail |
Pat the marsh area the trail pulled away from the water and was dry the rest of the way. We shook off as much of the mud as we could and moved on. I was glad to see ephemeral bloom already happening at the forest floor.
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| Moosehorn Violet, Viola lobata |
In fact, there were quite a few little ephemeral wildflowers. Not enough to cover the earth, and certainly they were not easily standing out against the background of the soil and the fallen leaves, but they were there in good numbers.
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| Turkey Pea, Sanicula tuberosa |
Some of the plants were just beginning to but out. We were there too early in the season to see the full spring display of that region.
We came into view of the Yuba River. It was considerably narrower than the Indian Valley area where we hiked the Canyon Creek Trail earlier that day, but it was much faster and steeper, with whitewater cascades almost its entire visible length.
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A small trail spur jutted out of the Wild Plum Trail. We followed that to the river bank and searched for the waterfall. There was n way t cross the river. Not there, and not that season.
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We found it. Or at lest, at the time we thought we did. A narrow side creek connected with the Yuba River on the other side, and coming down it, the water jumped a series of cascade drops, one of them high enough to be considered a waterfall. It was hard to see however, hidden behind the trees.
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| Not Loves Falls |
We sat there and stared at the gashing water, catting quietly, until it was time to get up and go on. We meandered a bit along the river bank, trying to figure out if at any place there would be a way to cross, but there wasn't, so we turned and started back whence we came.
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Once again on the high point, I detected a familiar white sight between the trees on the other side of the river - a snow patch! No wonder the river was running so high. The big spring thaw was going on strong.
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| Snow |
We reached the curve of the Wild Plum Trail and turned on it for a short distance. The entire loop would have been too long to d in the time that we had, but the short distance we did hike it, yielded another lovely wildflower sighting.
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| Larkspur, Delphinium decorum |
Eventually we turned back and walked quickly in the direction from where we came. At some point we saw the dirt road near by and we crossed to it, intending to avoid having to wade in the mud again. It was much easier to walk on the road
There were considerably less wildflowers along the dirt road, but the bright green of the early spring leaves of the deciduous trees was wonderful.
Back at the parking area I gave the blooming dogwood its due attention. The flowers are the little dots in the middle. The white, petals-looking leaves, are regular leaves that transformed to mimic actual petals.
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| Mountain Dogwood, Cornus nuttallii |
The yellow flowers were little buttercups, flowers I always find challenging to photograph due to lack f contrast within the flower itself.
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| Common Water plantain Buttercup, Ranunculus alismifolius |
When Pappa Quail returned we started our way back down the mountain. We had no more time left for another hike. I was left with a taste of more though, and I hope to return to this area again this summer. We finished the day with coffee and ice cream in the historic downtown of Downieville, then drove away back to Oroville, discussing our options for the morrow, the day we would return back home.
At home I did what I should have done before gong on the hike and searched online for Loves Falls. It was quite clear from the images that what we so wasn't it, so now I have a very good reason to go back there again.
Shame that you had so little flowers and missed the falls, but the flowers you saw and photographed are pretty :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's all a matter of timing. Higher altitudes get their spring later in the season.
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