2018 Crooked Lakes Trail at Grouse Ridge CA

This was my grandson's second backpacking trip to this area.

Crooked Lakes Trail offers trail use for hikers, backpackers, equestrians, mountain cyclists, fishermen, seasonal hunters, and has excellent opportunities for outdoors activities for youngsters.

July 2018 update:  The weather was variable, warm, cold and windy, and rained most of one day.  Check for weather forecasts and go there prepared for unexpected changes that are common in this area.  On this trip there were no pesky flies at any of the many lakes we visited as were noted below.  Mosquitoes were there but not a high number. There were no more of the biting orange beetles mentioned in the article either, thank goodness. The trail to Milk Lake is more adequately marked than on our last trip, and for my 9 year old grandson's first backpacking trip, we camped there. Expect to see some kids as I do on every hike there, making a great family destination.
The forestry link is here.  

Distance: can be as little as one mile and can go for many miles over many days.
Difficulty:  Easy to difficult, according to your choice.  I would be comfortable taking an outdoorsy child who can hike at least 1/2 mile in and then out. They would enjoy the lakes. It really is not too steep for any length of time.  There were some tree falls to climb over or go around, and strollers are out of the question. We always meet people with kids here and it is an excellent place for backpacking with youngsters.
Weather: For forecasts click here.
Driving Directions:  Get onto Highway 20 West from Highway 80 west of Donner.  Turn right onto Bowman Lake Road, cross the South Fork Yuba River and keep going until you see the sign for Grouse Ridge.  Turn right on the forest road NF-17 which turns to a dirt and gravel road immediately.  When there are offshoots, just follow the road to the right.  It gets quite tricky just before you reach the parking.  There is a parking circle carved out on your right just before the original shaded parking area at the trailheads that will just extend your hike a little bit.  I drove my car successfully in.  The top parking is nice and shady.  
Note:  There are fees to pay at the trail head for using the backpackers campground facilities, but not if you backpack beyond it and camp near other lakes.  There are a countless number of sites throughout the area, but no restrooms beyond Carr-Feeley.  Fire permits are required, although there are currently fire restrictions, so check the Tahoe National Forest link provided at the end of this article before your trip.  Get your permit here: Fire permits

For a pocket map of the area, Right click on the image, Save image as....name it, and choose the location to keep it on your device.  Now you can print it as an 8 1/2" by 11" guide to take along. With all the lakes and trails at this location, it can come in handy.

This time, we arrived during a small heat wave! There were many day hikers and a few backpackers. Our camp site was along the west shore of Island Lake with good water access.  We didn't use our tent's rainfly, and sleeping bags weren't really necessary since the nights were very warm.

We discovered numerous sites along all but a few small unnamed lakes.

This campsite on the north side of the unnamed lake west of Island Lake has some nice flat tent sites nearby, is far enough from the lake, but clearly has a hazardous fire ring setup.  We chose a sunny site thinking it would be nice not to wait for morning dew to dry before packing up camp, but in this hot weather, shade like this might have been best.

There are trout and catfish in Island Lake and some surrounding lakes, although we didn't see anything large.  Only a few fish were observed feeding at sunset.

The local views of the lakes were satisfying at the end of our active days.  

There were some orange beetles (not ladybugs) voraciously biting our lower legs and feet, leaving itchy red bumps to remain for days.  Mosquitoes stayed until breezes kicked in, but the worst offenders were large black flies buzzing around our heads tapping our hair frequently, and I mean persistently.  Hikers we met reported them at other lakes they visited on this journey.  Breezes affected only the mosquito activities.

Our trip was enjoyable with weather perfect for swimming, fishing, and bonuses of viewing two eagles doing their own fishing.

FIRE RESTRICTIONS ARE IN EFFECT for Tahoe National Forest.  Get your permit here: Fire permits to use backpacker stoves and check any new restrictions.

For more tidbits of helpful information from previous trips in various weather conditions check out these posts:

Carr Feeley Trailhead and Backpackers Camp will give you more information about the area and another map of trails northwest of the Grouse Ridge. From there you use the Twin Lakes Trail or Round Lake Trail.
Crooked Lakes Trail Survivor Night describes an unexpected storm, hiking hazards and solutions. A true account with a happy ending.

Happy Trails!

July 2014

Bring the Kids: Find a Historic Mining Bridge!

Middle Fork American River in Tahoe National Forest

Fishing, Hiking, Camping

Mosquito Ridge River Access Trail  

 Find a rare gem, a miners' suspension bridge flooded out

and hidden across the river!

 

Mosquito Ridge River Access is a 3 mile round trip hike on a recently maintained trail climbing over the ridge and traversing down into the canyon to the Middle Fork American River. An old mining suspension bridge is downriver hanging in the trees! Several fishing campsites line the river.

 

The campsites are scattered along the river bank, each with a fire ring and flat space for tents.  Another treat is a short distance upriver there is a very tall waterfall across the canyon.  I bushwhacked uphill beyond the campsites to get a better view of it. 

The river is low this year (2012) and its difficult to get to water through tangles
of blackberry vines. 
Without heavy traffic, user paths have grown over.  Bit of a machete hike there!

Along the recognized trail to the campsites there is a fork to your right
heading down into the canyon 
that also leads down to the river. 
 

 

 

A classically built rock wall that supported the old bridge abutments that no longer have a bridge to support!

To see the bridge remains, walk downriver along the rocks from the abutment 
to this area where the river narrows.  It's also a nice place to catch some sun and picnic.

Where is the old metal bridge then?  Look across the river into the vegetation!



Watch your step when you get to the river because there are still cables like this one anchored into the rocks that can most inconveniently trip you!

Upriver view from below the bridge abutment.

The kids can have fun looking for lizards and salamanders!

Or other wild things!  These prints were near our tents in the morning, but nothing was disturbed.  Good advice to bear canister your foods though.

 

 

Below is a topo map of the trail you can enlarge by clicking on it.  Another fine place to camp, especially in colder weather, is on the ridge.


 In winter or spring the ice remains on vegetation down in the canyon. It is a thick frost that looks more like snow at a distance! You may sleep warmer at the top, and your short hike to the river might be more enjoyable.

Driving Directions:

• Take Foresthill Road at Highway 80 onto
• Auburn Ravine Road.
• Turn right onto Mosquito Ridge Road.
• Follow it into Tahoe National Forest, continuing until you see the sign on the right for Mosquito Ridge Access Trail.  There is a large dirt turn out for parking on the left and the trail heads uphill on the right.

For more possible hikes for you:

Trails by Areas:

Happy Trails!  Thank you for coming by!



Carr Lake under Snow!

Our goal was to hike around Carr, Feeley, and maybe Island and Penner Lakes along the Crooked Lakes Trail in the Grouse Ridge Area, toward Bowman Lake. We took 80E from Sacramento area, and got over to 20 then followed the signs to Bowman, Carr and Freeley Lakes.  The last road to the lakes is dirt and recommended for high centered vehicles although you might be able to maneuver around potholes and bumps, it would be a gamble.
Along the way we crossed South Yuba and it was roaring with swifter runoff than I have ever seen!

As it turned out, we hiked 5.85 miles, round trip, ascending from 5842 to 6703 feet at the backpackers campground, largely on snow!  We actually ascended and descended more than 1500 feet according to our GPS route.
The dirt road in was blocked with snow so we, along with others, parked alongside the road and began hiking up it.

Naturally the higher we got, the deeper and more consistent the snow.  Dog, cougar, deer, and bear tracks dotted the snow, some deep and fresh like our own, but no animal contact.  Water rushed out from under the fringes of the snow banks and made the snow unstable and potentially unsafe.

Some other hikers had their snowshoes, but we were able to hike in our regular hiking shoes.  The snow was just soft enough for our feet to sink in most of the time without slipping, or having the snow fill our shoes!  Our hiking poles came in handy for stabilizing our steps.
Good sense would indicate waterproof shoes and extra hiking socks, along with some layers for warmth.  Unexpected weather changes are not uncommon!  The weather was short-sleeve-warm and sunny, but I should mention that SAR recommends wearing long sleeves and long pants because falls can cause road rash like burns.  They also recommend carrying an ice ax to capture yourself in the event you do break through the snow.  The ground warmth melts the snow underneath and creates pockets of water and air you can't see to navigate around.  

Another recommendation is to avoid going too near trees and plants when traveling over snow because the roots create warmth that melts the snow near the ground and that you can fall through.

Once at the backpackers campground overlooking Carr Lake it was apparent we couldn't get further safely due to snow melt.  We hung around taking photos of the snow and even a few wildflowers!  The snow trek was similar to hiking in sand, and the final stretch to the lake was steeper and more work.

These are photos of Carr Lake: The first shows the lake covered in snow at the bottom of the "hill" in the background.

There was a thick layer of snow, submerged and yet interestingly visible around the edges.  From the opposite side of the lake a wind was blowing towards us, pushing the snow across the lake and chilling our bones!

We found wildflowers blooming even in this unexpected place.

The photograph below was of the gate to the parking area (used when the snow melts)!  It wasn't an "illusion" shot; the snow thickly covered the rest of the gate!

Any snow precipice could have crumbled down at any time.

Another view of the lake through the budding willows that had provided us camouflage for our golden tent last fall.

The lake was stunningly bright and beautiful! 

I am reminded of my goosebumps simply reviewing our photos!

As we hiked lower in elevation, in the afternoon heat, the more mud and water we hiked through.  Snow was melting fast!  Overall it was a fun hike, but for us, a long drive to be able to see only one of the numerous lakes in the area.
Check out Google Earth for the Grouse Ridge Area and plan some hiking and backpacking once the snow melts and it becomes accessible.  There is another blog entry here from our "Survivor" camp up there with photos of what you can expect to see after snow melt.  (In fact, the photo used as my standard headline photo was taken in that area!) The trail we primarily used was "Crooked Lakes Trail".  It is fairly well marked and by following it you can get fabulous views of distant ridges, and local finds including a variety of plant life, many small lakes and suitable swimming holes, not to mention fishing, and if you are so inclined, there is a hunting season for game as well.

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Happy Trails!