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First Snow! November 2006



Veteran's Day, 11-Nov-2006. A cold stormfront brought rain to us in Sierra City, at 4500', but a thousand feet higher, a light dusting of snow on the ground and on the trees beautified even the stumps of past logging (by hiding them) and provided a stark contrast to the nuclear moss growing on the firs. The unforgettable sharp scent of winter asserted itself through the open window, and the sullen clouds became mists of snow above as the mountains and skies merged in fashion most vague ... promising more snow higher yet, while the view to the west in the mirrors as Bartholomew ushered us higher and higher up Highway 49 to the summit of Yuba Pass (6790' or something like that) indicated an indecisive mood to the storm: The clouds were beginning to break up.

Atop the pass, unpaved Forest Service (read: logging) roads extend to the north and to the south. Highway 49 continues eastward, and drops from the summit into the volcanic caldera known as Sierra Valley. The dirt road from the summit to the north appears to be in good shape, and, according to the maps, links to Haskell Peak road as well as others that can be accessed via Gold Lakes Road (like Mills Peak Road and lookout, but unfortunately, there is a sign at the head of it that indicates that it is closed. We will have to disregard that sign one of these days. The other choice, the one to the south, is another road we have never explored. During the winter it serves as an accessway of most arterial nature for the snowmobilers, who claim the large parking lot at the pass' summit as their base of operations, and during the summer, we just never got around to exploring it. So today, it would seem, would be the perfect day to check it out!

What we found was a decent amount of fresh snow, complete with fresh tracks, from both trucks and quads. Seems others were out playing as well! Having not brought chains, I took it easy, but Bart seemed to be happy to be playing in the snow again, and we thought it great fun too. Soon, however, it became apparent that the forests on this southern side of Highway 49 served mainly as tree farms...lots of little roads off to each side, and lots of stumps. However, with the snow covering any horizontal surface, it was still forest, and still pretty. Views would have been more enjoyable were it not for the heavy snow mist obscuring the hills below us, but instead of grand vistas, we were enthralled by the tall beshrouded firs, which gave the experience an aura of mystery. We went up a few miles, saw some roads to explore at a later date, and then, in the name of prudence (my one concession to the fact that we had planned to drive in snow was to throw a shovel in the back before we left), we turned back, but on the way down, tried another little side road, up which going that day we were the first. It should be noted that in this area, for the most part, there aren't really any places to play in the snow once it gets deep. Roads that serve as access to our usual playgrounds get closed and used as sno-parks, and everywhere else, we've been stymied by snow so deep that it would require either a snow-cat or possibly a SnowMoBart, which is a top secret design doomed to failure ... not unlike the great Dirigi-Bus Project.

As we got past Bassett's Station, on the way to Sierra City, a superb sunset began to take place. The Sierra Buttes were looking quite resplendent in their new clothes, and we stopped at a power line access area to take some photos, and also spent a little time shooting once we got back to the little hamlet we call home....

Just the day before, the mountain roads (courtesy of the Forest Service) were devoid of humidity solidified, yet the ground and the deadwood we were cutting were significantly moistened due to some light rain. You'll see a couple shots from that in the gallery, which is here: GALLERY! We went up there again today to see if we could get a little more lodgepole to add to our stacks (you can't have too much firewood!), and that is where I started to hear an intermittant strange noise from the front end. Strange noises didn't stop me from getting a decent truckload of wood in the snowy forest, but back in the garage, I found a broken anti-sway bar. Bummer!

Enjoy the gallery!