June 2, 2011 - Sugar Pine Reservoir

On a cool June morning at 41 degrees F, nine Geezers hiked around Sugar Pine Reservoir in the Auburn State Recreation Area. Sugar Pine Reservoir is located near Foresthill and was about 4.5 miles around the lake at elevation 3500'. The terrain was mostly level with a few slight grades and quite easy. We stopped for lunch at one of the main river inflows to the lake. After arriving back at our cars, four Geezers, Merrill, Wayne, JD and Roland headed for home (via Auburn Foster Freeze) while five geezers (Dominic, Glenn, Larry, Loren S. and Sherm) survived the windy Iowa Hill Road and the Windy Point Trail. The trail began about a mile up the road from the crossing of the North Fork of the American River. The trail started out fairly level, but quickly began descending in toe jamming fashion toward the river below. About a mile of decending nearly 500 feet we crossed a creek coming from a side canyon with a rope stretched across the creek used by all for balance. Another 100 feet of elevation loss brought us to the river itself. After a brief rest and some pictures, we began the return trip up and up. The 600 foot climb required frequent stops to catch our breath. The wildflowers were past their prime, but there were a few left. We were certainly glad that the temperatures were in the 60's and not the usual 80's.
We were rewarded for our efforts with an ice cream stop in Colfax.