I think this just about sums it up.
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Day 1
Took off for a couple days of impromptu camping and headed up the 80 towards Auburn. Didn't really have a plan except for a couple swimming holes in the area and kind of forgot that there might be other people out camping on a Saturday night.
Lucked out with our second try and got a campsite right along the Bear River in the aptly named Bear River Campground. Got a nice fire going and had just enough energy to polish off a bottle of wine and a barbecued pizza before calling it a day.
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Day 2
The great thing about river camping is waking up and jumping in. Its like coffee and a shower all wrapped in one.
Hadn't paid much attention to our campsite the night before, but in the light of day it proved to be quite awesome. Blackberries everywhere and the water not 10 feet away.
Packed up some snacks and lit out for a place called Clark's Hole, a swimming spot on the American River off Hwy 49. Saw the tell-tale line of cars parked by the side of the road and threw ours into the mix then started walking upriver along the banks. The river's deep in a canyon and for whatever reason we kept coming upon funny things lodged in the rocks.
In the realm of things totally awesome, my ma gave me her old Nikonos V underwater camera.
Feels so wrong to hold a camera underwater. Oh, the fun to be had.
We knew we'd hit Clark's Hole when the water got really deep and kids were jumping off the rocks. Kept scrambling a while longer and found a nice perch out of high school earshot.
Eventually decided to head back, figuring it'd be nice to start dinner before sunset. Took the trail this time, spotting more strange debris and the remains of old bridges.
Passed under a very pretty bridge still in use. There was also a big gray squirrel barking out funny little chirps and listening to his echo.
Took a wrong turn in Auburn and stumbled on these gigantic concrete statues in what looked like the parking lot of a dentists office.
Looked them up when we got home and found out that there are even more of them around the city and they do in fact belong to the dentist.
Started a fire without the assistance of Machu Picchu. I just can't seem to shake that pinata.
Steak and veggies, man I love camping.
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Day 3
Packed everything up and set off for one more adventure before returning home. This time our swimming hole was a little further afield, but held the promise of total magic.
Found our way to the tiny town of Quintette and parked off the road next to the yellow gate that would be our starting point.
Looked like somebody tried to drive down the foot path.
Apparently not an uncommon idea.
Exploring is great and (as I'm sure I've mentioned many, many times) finding strange things along the way makes the getting there so much fun, especially when you're not entirely sure you're going the right way and will ever actually get "there" at all.
And then you do, and its a full on Goonies style water slide.
Three amazing boulder slides into consecutive pools. Start at the top and slide, swim, slide, swim, slide and then (if you're me) stop before the super sketchy looking falls. The water was freezing, but the air about 85 degrees and as luck would have it (aren't we just a couple of lucky bastards? Blame the clover) we were the only ones there. I guess there's much to be said about adventuring on a Monday.
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Good enough? This is one trip we'll definitely be making again. Its a bit of a trek from the city and probably worth your while to camp or stay somewhere overnight if you decide to follow suit. Clark's Hole is easy to find and there's plenty of swimming along the way as its part of the North Fork of the American River. To get there take I-80 east to Auburn then go south on Hwy 49. Stay on the 49 through Auburn and in about 3 miles you'll cross the American River. Park along the road near there and follow the trail upstream on the north fork (the trail itself is on the right side of the river and I think it looks like a service road). In about half a mile you'll pass under a highway bridge (Forrestville Rd) and in another quarter mile or so you'll see the river open up into a deep pool and you can scramble down a side path to Clark's Hole. University Falls is a bit more of a challenge to get to, though completely worth it. Start out the same way, I-80 to the 49 south but continue past the River to the town of Cool. Go east from there on Hwy 193 until you reach Georgetown. When you get to town, go left on Main Street (there's a Napa Auto parts on the corner) and this will become Wentworth Springs Rd. Drive about 12 miles to the town of Quintette and after passing through "town" you should see a bright yellow service road gate on your left, just after Harmony Lane. Park close by and walk through the gate and straight down the road. After about half a mile turn left onto Forest Road 12N67B (which oddly comes after C if I remember correctly) . Continue on this road for another mile and a half until you see a sort of bend in the road, with a clearing off to the left and blue arrows painted on the rocks pointing right. Follow the arrows and walk downhill for a ways until you hit a hairpin turn and see the Pilot Creek canal on your right. Stay right, keeping the waterway on your right. After another half mile you should see a fairly obvious trail off to your left leading down to the creek. Follow this trail past the abandoned trucks and stick to the blue arrows if side trails pop up. When you hit the creek, follow it downstream to the top of the falls. Altogether its about 3.5 miles and took us around an hour and a half from gate to falls, just keep in mind its almost all up hill on the way back...