From the Truckee-Donner Land Trust News:
Summer is here and the snow has melted from most Royal Gorge trails on Donner Summit, giving way to bright green foliage, blooming flowers and sweeping views – making now the time to hit the trail.
Thauvette's Frolic, named for former Truckee Donner Land Trust Board President Bill Thauvette, is a great trail that links to many others, giving you the opportunity to hike as far, or short, as you want.
Start at the Summit Station Trailhead at the end of Pahatsi Road in Soda Springs to take Thauvette's Frolic, linking any number of the great trails at Royal Gorge replete with views of Castle Peak and the Upper South Yuba Basin. Wildflowers, including corn lilies, leopard lilies, delphinium, penstemon and more start blooming this time of year, lasting into mid to late july. The trail features a bench at a scenic overlook for a short evening stroll.
Associate Director John Svahn's favorite loop starts on Big Ben Trail to Buckeye Trail, then connecting Thauvette's Frolic to Hellman's Way Trail and Castle Pass, which brings hikers to a beautiful stand of mature red fir. Take Reindeer back to the trailhead to complete the loop. An out-and-back on the Point Mariah Trail can be added to reach a beautiful overlook of the North Fork of the American River.

Please note: While Thauvette's Frolic is a foot trail, most Royal Gorge trails are open to mountain biking.

To read the original article and see photos, CLICK HERE.

Find more information on Donner Summit hiking here.

Hike this trail in early spring when you have to dodge butterflies. Take in the panoramic view of the Yuba River but don’t forget to enjoy the variety of wildflowers at your feet. Appreciate the rock benches and well maintained trail and ignore the parking and mass of people you will share this trail with. Take the dog but make sure you have them on a leash. Enjoy the blissful suffering of a high traffic, but amazing, trail at its peak.

This trail used to be our little secret. I blame social media for its rise in popularity. But do it anyway. Then after you have enjoyed the spring time version of this trail, come back. Come back during the week. Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Come back in every season.

The sound of the river pounding forward toward the sea against sun bleached granite boulders is worth the trip. With each bend in the trail that follows the hillside a new view of the river is a gift to the eyes. If you are lucky enough to see a kayak float through the canyon, you get some perspective of just how massive this river is. Photo by Mary West.

Toward the end of the trail, you find several volunteer trails down to the water. A few have small sand bars ideal to spend time on a hot summer day. At the 1.25-mile point, a sign clearly marks the end of this mostly level and easy trail. This is where you enjoy the view for the just as amazing return trip.

There is one gentle upslope. A few narrow sections require you to watch your step.

To get there: take Highway 49 north to Grass Valley. Take the Highway 20 exit toward Penn Valley/Marysville. Turn right at Pleasant Valley Road. Go over the modern bridge and park in the north parking lot. The fee is $5.

Mary West is a retired radio personality and news reporter with a longtime love of the outdoors, sharing her favorite day hikes in Placer, Nevada, El Dorado and Yuba counties. West won Best Outdoor Newspaper Column for this column, Day Hiker, from the Outdoor Writers Association of California 2017 Craft Awards. Learn more about local trails by following Mary on Facebook and Instagram.

CLICK HERE to see original article and photos by Mary West

Pennsylvania group joins stand against mountain bikes
Add the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness to those opposed to mountain biking in wilderness areas. Last week the group joined 149 other conservation groups in opposing legislation in Congress.

The sign-on letter from 150 organizations was prepared in response to two Republican bills (S. 2877 and H.R. 1349), which would open up all of America’s 110-million acres with “wilderness” designation to mountain bikes and other wheeled vehicles within two years of passage. The Senate bill was just recently introduced in Congress.

“Tionesta, Pennsylvania native and Wilderness Act of 1964 author Howard Zahniser during his long career wrote chapter and verse emphasizing that all forms of modern mechanization must be prohibited from wilderness areas in perpetuity,” said Friends of Allegheny Wilderness executive director Kirk Johnson. “For example, as early as 1949 Zahniser wrote the following to Congress: ’Wilderness areas must be forever kept free from the sights and sounds of mechanical civilization, and all the influences which clash with the primeval environment or detract from its full enjoyment.”

“Any honest person can readily see what the original intent of the Wilderness Act was in this regard. Zahniser would be spinning in his grave in Tionesta’s Riverside Cemetery along the banks of the National Wild and Scenic Allegheny River were these two obtuse and hostile, overtly anti-wilderness, bills to pass,” Johnson said.

To see the original article in GoErie.com CLICK HERE. This article is added to our SPECIAL NEWS SECTION: ASSAULT AGAINST THE WILDERNESS ACT on our home page.
News from around the nation regarding Bill HR1349, pushing to change the 1964 Wilderness Act, that would allow mt. bikes and other wheeled vehicles into our public designated Wilderness. Now 150 conservation groups and the International Mountain Bicycling Association are firmly against this threat to our most vulnerable lands, which consist of of less than 5% of our federal holdings.

--Article and photos by Mary West
I return to Cronan Ranch in Pilot Hill every year in the springtime. It’s a great trail system any time of year but the panoramic view of green hillsides in spring is a favorite. Each year I check to see what is left of the Hallmark movie “Loves Comes Softly” movie set. Katherine Heigle starred. On my last visit I noted the rough-cut ladder featured in the movie that used to lean against the tree is now gone. The barn is on the ground. The homestead is still standing but who knows for how long.
So much more than the movie set makes this area worth visiting. Access to the American River is one. Wide open green space is another. I enjoy watching the hang gliders soar from one of the hilltops near the trailhead. The grass grows lush beneath the majestic live oaks that dot the area. Wildflowers and rattlesnakes can also be found here. The area is open to equestrians but there is ample parking for all. Parking fees are not collected here. 

This is another trail friends tell me not to write about. With the Auburn State Recreation Area becoming so popular as is the Hidden Falls regional park, Cronan Ranch is a low stress destination for local hikers.

To get to Cronan Ranch from Auburn, take the Elm Ave Exit (119c) off Interstate 80. Turn right on Elm Avenue up to Highway 49/El Dorado Street/High Street. Turn left on Highway 49/El Dorado Street. Take it into the canyon. Turn right over the American River at the Confluence. Follow Highway 49 out to Pedro Hill Road into the parking area.

(Equestrians can continue 2 miles further to the Magnolia Ranch Trailhead with a larger parking area.)

Mary West is a retired radio personality and news reporter with a longtime love of the outdoors, sharing her favorite day hikes in Placer, Nevada, El Dorado and Yuba counties. West won Best Outdoor Newspaper Column for this column, Day Hiker, from the Outdoor Writers Association of California 2017 Craft Awards. Learn more about local trails by following Mary on Facebook and Instagram.