The trail goes through some open fields of what appears to have once been a ranch, but after about a mile we found ourselves in a forested area. There were quite a few people out on the trail, each of them trying to get a hike, a run, or bike ride in before the heat settled in - us included. These trails are also frequented by equestrians and, for reasons I don’t quite understand, the horse riders always have the right of way, even they’re moving at a snail’s pace.
Part of the Western States Trail goes through here and we are fans of the race. In fact, in June we drove to Auburn and joined hundreds of others to watch the winners cross the finish line.
We followed the Wendell T. Robie Trial at first, and that took us through the forest.
This was a beautiful hike with lots of trees and plants and, in fact, poison oak - so be careful. There were also a few large flies and some mosquitoes, though I managed to avoid getting bitten this time around. And the trail is mostly wide, except for parts of the forested areas.
After walking about two miles, we saw the Forest Hill Bridge that goes over the American River in the distance, and then we suddenly arrived at the base of the Training Hill Trail. On whim, we decided to do the climb, which is 1.9 miles of hill that is very steep in several parts. A couple of men went up right before us, but they were moving quickly and we found that we had the trail to ourselves and proceeded at a slower pace.
The hill goes up and up and up and just when you think you’ve reached the top, it goes up again and again. We finally reached the top, where we paused to drink water and dab on some more sunscreen.
I noticed a small bench that had a Girl Scouts graffiti on it and some cigarette butts nearby. Is this what Girl Scouts are up to these days? Defacing public property and smoking? Just kidding. I'm pretty sure that the bench was donated by Girl Scouts.
The remainder of the hike back to Cool was mostly in the open along the Olmstead Loop Trail and, therefore, no shade. That did not detract from the beauty of the landscape, it just opened it to new perspectives. We also saw some horses moving very slowly and moved out of the way and into the shade as we waited for them to pass (along with another couple).
We ate sandwiches while we walked back to the initial trail leading back to Cool. We saw fewer people along the way as we meandered back to the parking lot, which was next to a fire station.
It was a lovely, 5.9 mile hike and a fantastic morning!
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