I went on an interesting ride last week, with the middle portion on dirt. I started from Arnold, CA, on State Route 4 going north to Dorrington, where I turned onto Boards Crossing Road. Its well-maintained asphalt, with no traffic on a weekday. I passed by a campground where I could see some fly-fishermen from the bridge over the north fork of the Stanislaus. I kept going, past the Pavement Ends sign, following my nose, trusting my sense of direction and memory of place. Id been here before, three years ago. I saw only one person, a woodcutter with a small pickup truck, over the course of the next three hours. I did see a coyote, numerous quail, and one deer (no bears this trip). I reached the point where Id been forced to turn back three years ago because of impassable snow drifts. That was also during the first week of July. Quite a contrast, this year I saw no snow at all. Eventually, after navigating a maze of logging roads (thanks Sierra Pacific Industries), I ended up on National Forest Route 52. I saw a sign for river access and an area called Hells Half Acre, but it was four miles there and back (next time!). Another sign informed me that Beardsley Reservoir was 18 miles ahead. I was surprised to be back on tarmac only 12 miles later. The descent to the dam made me glad it was paved. The road runs along the side of a steep cliff, one lane at some points, with a long drop visible. Around 2:00 p.m. I took a break at the reservoir. Theres a campground, but no services. The road from the dam out to Highway 108 was good pavement all the way, with some fun twisties. I made a quick stop at the Cold Springs store, then pressed on all the way to Manteca and Highway 580. I took the Mountain House exit and turned onto Grant Line Road in order to take the old Altamont Pass road into Livermore. At 5:00 p.m., its a heavily used commuter route, but all the cars were headed east. The traffic over Dublin Grade was so heavy that I got off in Castro Valley to take Redwood Road (far more pleasant) to Highway 13 for the last leg of my route home.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:29:28 +0000
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