Gold Lakes Basin and Eureka Peak

 With the snow level at about 6,000 ft. there are limited places you can go without a snowmobile. We skied up behind the Gray Eagle Lodge, past this small waterfall and the old water wheel, climbing steadily up into the Gold Lakes Basin, having to depend first on snowshoe tracks but later just many year old blaze scars on scattered trees as all the trails disappear under the snow. Once we finally got up there the sun was low and we had to head back. The way back on the actual road was so churned up with snowmobile tracks I just walked down 3.5 miles rather than take on a bad fall arriving at the VV after sunset. Despite the complaints of my toes inside my ski boots it had been a beautiful day.

 The second ski/snow shoe day out we went up behind the old ski area (clear cut now filled in with manzanitas) and climbed the old Eureka Lake road. My mind was filled with thoughts of the old growth forests. Here you can see the critter tracks. They always go from tree to tree because there is space in the roots or in the clumps for denning and protection and food. In the clear cuts the snow is soft, the food is limited, the cover almost non existent. My mind was reeling with the implications of clear cut logging, seeing all the dead trees at the edge of clear cuts we passed and seeing the lack of snags for nest holes and insects; the lack of seed baring trees for any of the creatures, plus the sheer steepness of some of the clear cut slopes over tiny feeder streams.

 Sasha, at 13, still keeps a lively snow loving presence on these outings although she prefers these hard packed snows at her age to the powder or mushy snow she falls through.

Our picnic destination was Eureka Lake with Eureka Peak standing craggy above it. It was a good start to my second retirement. We camped our last night on Spanish Creek in an area messed up by gold mining. We returned to a balmy valley day with the chance to disk for the spring garden but for me the importance of coming back was to sub on the Ecotopia show on KZFR on the subject of clear cutting. Mission accomplished--- see www.stopclearcuttingcalifornia.org for more.