Snodgrass Slough - Dec. '24

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On the Friday before Christmas, ten of us ventured into the Delta for a new (to us) walk at Walnut Grove. Snodgrass Slough is a vast tidal backwater, fed by a diversion structure on the Sacramento River levee. 

The hikers were pleased with the woodsy and open-field scenery, and it was amazingly quiet. At one point we surprised a large group of migratory geese (possibly white-fronted), a stunning sight & sound as they lifted off & sped away. I was lagging a little behind so I didn't get a photo.  

	the walkers		heading out		< wood sorrel & the Slough >
		Barb Gr.		levee walk		Marcia & Barb Go.
	bee boxes, dormant in winter, note 1		willow
		fishing spot		Twin Cities road		nest
	colorful algae		Irish wool cap fits the weather		a great walking path
		poison Hemlock, note 2

note 1 - On AllTrails, summer hikers comment that bees are sometimes a (minor) nuisance. 

note 2 - also known as Devil's Porridge

The Snodgrass Slough walk was almost 6 miles, with negligible gain.  

Locke  - From the trailhead to the historic town of Locke was a 1-minute drive.

	Locke Boarding House State Park		a falling-down town today
		Al's

Postscript - The last monthly hike of the year was intended to be relaxed, with minimal driving. We met (later than usual) for coffee at Rescate in Elk Grove, and it was a 20 minute drive to the trailhead. After the walk we enjoyed a 2:30 pm lunch at Al the Wop's, in Locke, with great service. 

Locke is a historic Delta town founded by Chinese immigrants around 1915. The day-laborers who lived here at one time worked at the largest asparagus growing operation in the US, but over time local growers transitioned to pear orchards.

In his book Bitter Melon, author James Motlow, the only non-Chinese resident of Locke in the 1970s, who photographed  and interviewed the last remaining Chinese residents, wrote that both men & women in Locke fished daily from the Slough on the levees where we walked today.    

Finding good scenery so close to home, plus the coffee stop and then lunch in Locke after the walk, seemed a fitting way to end another good year of monthly hikes. Thanks to everyone who attended !     

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Reference - Bitter Melon, Inside America's Last Rural Chinese Town, by James Motlow and Jeff Gillenkirk, 1987, Heyay Books, Berkeley, Ca. After his career as a Bay Area Ferry pilot, James moved back to Locke in 2005, where he recently passed away at age 73.