Olmstead - May '24

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On a Tuesday in mid-May, five of us met in Roseville and carpooled to the Olmstead property, at Cool, Ca., elev. 1,500 ft.,in the Sierra foothills, to go for a walk.   

My first visit here was in Nov. '22, part of Rich's group of 10 walkers, and we mainly took the Olmstead Loop trail, which starts & ends at the restrooms on Saint Florian's Court, just behind the Cool Fire Station. 

We walked 9+ miles that day, but were not on the path on the bluffs looking down at the north fork of the American River. This time, after a stop at St. Florian's restrooms, we drove 1.5 miles south to the Catecraft trailhead, at a dirt pull-off from hwy 49, under some big trees. Attendees were Jean, Kathy, Rick, Andrew & me.  

Right away we enjoyed the open space aspects, and rolling hills with Blue Oaks. Spring grass was fading & wildflowers were scarce, and I saw two types of dandelion seed heads, early blooming perennials with seeds ready for late spring winds to carry far & wide, and then they quickly head for the exits, before the big heat arrives.                

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again (with some exceptions). 

			spring becomes summer		brodiaea
		dandelion fuzzball		as close as we got to a group photo >
	woodsy at times		Jean & Kathy
		Oaks, continued.....
	a different kind of dandelion

The Catecraft trail headed west until reaching the river, where the ground suddenly drops 600 ft.  On a 30 minute walk on the bluffs above the river, west-facing, trees & undergrowth were so dense, it was hard to find a clear view of the river.   

Once we turned away from the river, the return route headed east on a narrow single track, and no sooner did someone say something about "finding a wide spot in the trail" than one appeared, at a miniscule creek crossing, so we sat and enjoyed lunch & banter.  

	American River (north fork)		after lunch
		Andrew in open space preserve

The after-lunch walk included an extended uphill section, which was a nice workout. 

In the end we walked 5 miles with about 500 ft. of gain. During the walk I heard hikers expressing appreciation for a nearly constant breeze, coming from the west.  

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A few photos from a Nov. '22 visit -     

	Linda & Diane on St. Florian's Ct...a false start turns out		Rich put us on the right path		we saw this oddity again today
		same open space terrain		same big Oaks

Same (ho-hum) incredibly beautiful landscape....

The Olmstead property is part of the (vast) Auburn State Recreation Area.

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