There will be a meeting (5:30pm) at the Patent Road Site on Tuesday the 28th before the regular meeting to walk the site. Call Lori Lunsford 367-4254 for more information.

Wabena Trail Hike Report

The Wabena Trail Community hike was a success with a car pool, picnic and a fantastic view. Lori Lunsford reported that it was "an easy hike with a fun bunch of people:. Big Thanks to Jim Larimer for taking care of the details.

Let's go for another Hike

All summer some very dedicated and hard working trail advocates have been building a new trail at Robinson Flat. The date for a group hike is October 13th. Meet at the Elementary School in Foresthill at 9AM to carpool. We're hoping that the cleanup and rehabilitation work after the Star fire will be largely completed by then. Everyone is grateful for the work the fire fighters have done this year and anxious to see what has happened to the Western State Trail.

Mule Bridge

At the July meeting Evan Jones, with the Historic Trails Council, came to our meeting and spoke about the many historic trails in our area. Many of these trails are on the brink of extinction. The Historic Trails Council is dedicated to researching these routes and preserving them for future use. One example of an interesting project is the preservation of the "Mule Bridge" which linked two trails used by miners to cross the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American River.

"Mule Bridge"
Built in 1898 and known as the Oak Grove Bridge, this cable bridge is on the Michigan Bluff to Ralston Ridge Trail. It is thought to be the last bridge of its kind in the region and perhaps in California. Its counterpart over the Middle Fork of the American River was destroyed by floods. The Oak Grove Bridge is located about 1/2 mile downstream of the Circle Bridge (Mosquito Ridge Road) on the North Fork of the American River. It was used until the 1930's to pack supplies to mines in the area. As of this date (2001), the main cables are intact, but the wooden treads are gone. Information provided by Sharon Balmain.

For more information on this project or if you would like to help the Historic Trails Council, contact Evan Jones (916) 645-4361. The Foresthill Trails Alliance would like to thank Evan for taking the time to speak with us (and bring beautiful pictures). It is our hope that the two groups can help each other in the future. Evan also left us with a valuable booklet of trail descriptions. These will be posted on our website soon. Printed copies will be available at the monthly meeting.

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