Scary Cabin

It’s been just over three years since we bought this cabin in the woods and we’ve been working pretty much non-stop remodeling it. Seems like it’s about time for a break. So we decided to take some time off from work and from cabin work and explore the area a bit.

Day 1.
We had previously taken a drive to Quincy and passed through Grey Eagle and the Basin Lakes area on the way back. It looked like there were some nice hiking trails out that way so that was our first stop. After doing some research it looked like there was a nice hiking trail called the Bear Lake Loop so we made that our destination. Suspecting that this area could get quite crowded on a weekend, we opted for a Friday instead. It’s about a 2 hour drive from the cabin to the Basin Lakes area. To our surprise, the parking area for this trail was packed with some cars lining the narrow road leading up to it. We managed to find a wide area just down the road a bit. We started on the trail heading towards Big Bear Lake. The trail is well defined with nice views and at this point you’re headed a bit up-hill. When we got to Big Bear Lake, we detoured to get to the shore and worked our way around the lake to a somewhat secluded spot. There we let Sandie swim a bit and Duke got his feet wet.

After our rest stop, we continued on the trail to Little Bear lake. Little Bear lake is quite small compared to Big Bear lake. We didn’t stop, but continued up the trail to Cub lake. Cub lake is very small.

At that point we decided to try and make it to Long lake but Sandie’s feet started to get messed up by the hot rocks on the trail and instead, we headed back.

We also checked out a couple of other locations. There is a Fern Falls trail that leads to a water fall, it’s a short, paved trail, but we were told no water was flowing and we knew Sandie couldn’t handle the hot pavement so we’ll leave this one for another day.

Then we drove down to Salmon lake. The crowd there was much larger and parking was non-existent. This seems to be a popular lake for boating as there is a boat ramp. There’s also a lodge on the other side of the lake and the only way to get to it is to cross the lake in some kind of watercraft.

The trip there and back passes through a couple of stop worthy towns. Sierra City and Downyville. A lunch trip to Downyville would make a nice trip. There’s an old gold mine in Sierra City, the Kentucky mine. They do have tours so we’ll have to check that out at some point.

Day 2.
We planed to drive a couple of segments of the Backcountry Discrovery drive that the forest service put together. We started just outside of Laporte and headed towards Gibsonville on the old gravel/dirt roads. The guide does a good job of directing you and pointing out interesting historical sites. The road is fairly rough in places. Along the first section we did find a small steep spur that ended at the top of hill with great views. This would make a good stop for lunch if timed right. The first segment ends at Harrison Flat.

The second section is more of the same but with less historical sites. The second section ends at Hwy 70. We hadn’t planned on doing the third section but it did take us back toward home and the book said it was the easiest section of them (or something to that effect). Turns out they lied. The road was very rough and overgrown. We ended up with lots of pinstripping on the 4runner. I don’t think we’ll be doing that section again any time soon.

Day 3.
We had two goals for this day. Check out the Feather Falls trail and Big Bald Rock. The first stop was the Feather Falls trail. This trail is a bit more difficult than what we’re currently capable of so we only hiked in about a 1/2 mile. For that section at least, the tail is well maintained. Probably best to do this earlier in the year with cooler temps and more water for the falls. On the way back to the main road we turned off to investigate what looked like Lake Orville access. We did find an unmarked area that allowed us to drive almost to the water’s edge. This could be a good place to take the dogs swimming. After that, we stopped in Orville for lunch and to wash the dust of the 4runner. Then it was on to Big Bald Rock. The tailhead doesn’t look like anything special but then you encounter this:

After a short walk (the tail is only about a 1/4 mile) you get to the main attraction. Rocks, lots of rocks.

You can wander in and around the rocks for hours marveling at the strange shapes that mother nature has created. The only real downside is that there isn’t much shade so be prepared.

It was a lot of driving over 3 days, but now we have a better idea of what’s around and are excited by the prospect of more exploring.