Pioneer Express Trail 1 - Feb. '25 

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On a mid-week February day, five of us drove to the Granite Bay area to walk on part of the Pioneer Express Trail, on the west side of Folsom Lake. We parked in a neighborhood near Horseshoe Bar.

This area is where the north fork of the American River meets Folsom Lake. The walking trail was usually 50 - 100 ft. above the Lake's high water mark, and we were mostly in the woods.   

Lake elevation looked normal, with spare capacity for early summer snow-melt & runoff, which varies a lot; in the Sacramento area, great rain years and extended drought years alternate, and have for a very long time.

note - on a pc or laptop you can zoom in & and out, but not on a smartphone.    

	Folsom Lake/North Fork junction		Soap plants
		Toyon berries, see note		winter light
	Jean				Dave & soap plants
		dropping to lake level		impressive palms
			lunch view

note - The berries show that last summer was too hot & dry. 

We found a perfect beach-like setting for lunch, with boulders. 

	high water mark		lunch spot		heading back
		Dave
	poison oak		almost back

This was a scenic walk, about four miles total, with many grade changes & a variety of landscapes.  It seemed like a good workout, on a perfect mid-winter's day, with little wind and our walking pace kept us warm.  

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