Old Mining Trails

We have been on a few walks these last couple of weeks, nothing too amazing to report, other then a couple praying mantis and some nice Autumn colors. The first two pictures below were taken at Empire Mine's Penn Gate Trail, while the lower was on Independence Trail off Highway Forty-Nine. 

We went to Penn Gate on the first day it rained, although it barely counted as that. I had to struggle with the low light to get a successful shot, but the silhouette one, I think, came out particularly monstrous. 

Independence is in a sad state right now, I don't believe we usually take late summer walks there, so maybe this happens regularly, but the last time we were there the waterfall was completely dry, only a few pools of stagnant water scattered down the hillside. It was depressing and disheartening, but at least I spotted a praying mantis with some of the best colors I've ever seen.

The Gold Hill Trail is on the other side of the Empire Mine property and affords some interesting views as most of the trails take you uphill through oak and pine. The path on the far left often gives us some excellent mushroom and fungus, even when it's mostly dry. This time was no exception, but the light was too low for anything to come out in focus.

We've  returned to the Penn Gate Trail a couple times since the rain, first to explore the dried creek bed and then to explore the tailings and old pond. I got the chance to see a squirrel skydive from the middle of the very tall pine, falling spread eagle through the air to land with a bounce atop the mountain misery (Chamaebatia foliolosa). We clambered around the tailings for a time and found some really interesting rocks, then wandered passed the old chimney towards the dry pond.

We found a few interesting things down the creek bed, although I'm sure we weren't the first to go exploring with treasures in mind. There was a half buried brick in the middle of the stream near some ivy and other plants that suggested the remnants of an old garden. And I have found old clusters of strange vegetation in areas not too far from where we were. I know there used to be houses for the workers in this area, hence the remnants of the old chimney earlier on the trail. There was also the usual twisted sheets of rusted metal, there from some old piece of machinery or siding. In this county you're almost guaranteed to see some form of rusted metal or piping while out on a hike, especially since most of our parks and trails are established around old mining operations.

We were able to forge down stream for about forty minutes before it began to delve through and under blackberry brambles, forcing us to stop.

While last nights walk was not spectacular by any means; we were too tired for exploration and there too late for good lighting. I did get some nice shots of the shift plants are making towards fall.

The days feel too short now, golden hour slipping passed while I'm still thinking it's midday. The air is warm, but there's a promise in the evening sky. People are saying the rains are coming, I hope they're right. We had a lightening storm here last Friday that took a long time to bring the rain, and when it did it lasted for less then an hour. October hasn't been cold or wet since I was a child, when the onset of night was met with anticipation, not dread to be that much closer to the next day. Here's to summer, and to rain and snow.

For our next post we will be going up into the mountains yet again, for a misty hike that afforded us a chance to see a very rare member of the California community.